beginning symptoms...

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  • sissy310
    sissy310 Member Posts: 300
    #22
    mp327 said:

    My symptoms
    I was diagnosed with anal cancer in June 2008 by a colorectal doctor after my former internist misdiagnosed me with a bleeding hemorrhoid. I will give you a list of my symptoms below.

    1) Blood in stools (I also had blood covering my stools)
    2) Chronic constipation
    3) A feeling of never being completely emptied out, even after a BM--like I always needed to go
    4) Abdominal bloating and cramping
    5) Stools thin in diameter
    6) Mucous with BM's
    7) Unexplained weight loss

    My doctor did not explain to me the differences you refer to in your post between a tumor and a hemorrhoid. However, since my internist incorrectly diagnosed me, and so many others with anal cancer have had the same experience, I advise anyone with any of the above symptoms to get an opinion from a specialist who can do anoscopy and actually get a visual of what is there. The only way to know for sure is to biopsy any lesion that looks suspicious. My recommendation is that you contact a colorectal surgeon and have this looked at. I wish you the best and hope that it is, indeed, a hemorrhoid.

    Well said. I wish I had
    Well said. I wish I had read this 6 months ago but now that I know what I know I think this should be put on a billboard so individuals are educated and seek help early.
  • dmid
    dmid Member Posts: 2
    #23
    msannstar said:

    early symptoms
    I had all the symptoms u did and my doctors telling me it was hemorrhoids in 2008, had a colonoscopy also in 2008 it showed nothing wrong and at the time my rectum skin was looking awful like a open sore just growing. Not until I went to another Doctor because every time I had a BM I was in awful pain this Doctor had me take a colonoscopy also and July 10, 2009 I was dx'ed with anal cancer on the outside of the skin. Then I had biopsy of lymph nodes of the groin and was dx'ed Anal Cancer 3B the cancer had spread to two lymph nodes in my groin , one on the left groin and one on the right side. So I was so thankful this doctor did another colonoscopy.

    hello msannstar

    Hello I have the same symptoms you mentioned above and am curious as to what the diagnosis was. Glad to find anyone with similar symptoms, was lost.  Thank you, darrell

  • sandysp
    sandysp Member Posts: 868 Member
    #24
    You described my symptoms

    So surprising to hear that you had the experience of having a bowel movement everytime you went to pee. I got to thinking this was normal it went on for so long.

    My GI doctor had never seen anal cancer before mine and he had been practicing well over 25 years, so they really don't have a clue, these GI's. You have a much better chance of getting a real diagnosis if you can "man up" and go see the best colorectal oncologist surgeon oncologist you can find. 

    I think the medical community is really under educated about rare cancers and rare diseases. 

    It is wonderful we have each other to push us forward to seeing to it you, like so many of us were either misdiagnosed or not diagnosed, or diagnosed and then treated incorrectly, not according to protocol. Two of my doctors told me I needed "surgery right away." My internist referred me to a "general surgeon." I don't live in the outskirts of North Dakota. I live in Westchester County. My doctor went to Yale! What is wrong with this picture????

    And I have excellent insurance. My doctor, while I was still in shock over the diagnosis and his urgent plea to have surgery, said my insurance might not pay.

    I have had to make some changes in my doctors. I hope and believe this experience has opened my eyes quite a bit.

    Good for you for finding us and putting your concerns out there.

    Keep us posted. We are rooting for your proper diagnosis and treatment. You have been uncomfortable long enough.

    Sincerely,

    Sandy (last tx August 18, 2011, Stage III with lymph node involvement)

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #25
    macandcheese said:

    Anal ca diagnosis, treatment and now - difficulty recovering....
    Hi All. I wish I had found this site a long time ago!!!!! I guess I was one of the luckier ones from what I have read....I was at my regular doctor's office for an unrelated issue and at the end of the appointment I mentioned that I had been having some bright red bleeding with bowel movements for about 6 weeks. No pain, no itching, no constipation, no nothing else. She gave me a digital exam and said right away that she felt something that shouldn't be there. Within 2 days, I was having a colonoscopy/biopsy. The biopsy result was positive for squamous cell cancer. I started treatment within 2 weeks. 28 radiation treatments and week 1 and week 5 was chemo - mitamycin and 5FU by pump for 5 days. I was hospitalized 3/4 of the way through because I was burned so badly in my pelvic area front and back and in an extreme amount of pain. After radiation, I started to get up, move around more, start walking/exercising and had horrible hip pain. The drs say its not from treatment, it must be something else. MTI showed no hip problem but some spinal stenosis and facet degeneration which could be causing the pain. I have had fibromyalgia for 15 yrs and this is not the usual fibro pain. The drs all feel it must be fibro but I disagree. That sent me to the internet for research and I found that I am not alone with these symptoms. Knowing that helps some. My numbers are also still lagging - WBC, RBC, hemoglobin, hematocrit and abs lymph are still low. I am 16 weeks out of treatment and am still not back to work. I still cannot sit for long periods....if I went back to work now I would surely get fired!! Anyway, does anyone find themselves in my same position? I still get easily winded and tired - and some days absolutely cannot even hardly move! Appreciate it, Dawn

    macandcheese

    Hi Dawn.  I just found your post buried in this thread and apologize for my late response.  I hope you are doing well and that your recovery is continuing on a forward path.  Your experience was almost identical to mine regarding initial diagnosis.  I saw my internist--she told me I had a bleeding hemorrhoid.  But due to the fact that I had not yet had my first screening colonoscopy at age 54, she referred me to a colorectal surgeon for the scope.  At my meet and greet appt. with the CR doc, she was concerned that my bleeding may not be caused by a hemorrhoid, so she did a rectal exam on me and told me she was 99% sure I had anal cancer.  Two days later, I had a colonoscopy, at which time she did a biopsy.  The results came back the following week showing I had squamous cell anal cancer.  I had the same chemo as you and 30 rad treatments.  That all happened back in 2008.

    Fast forward to 2014 and I have dealt with hip and back pain through the years since treatment.  I have had several DEXA (bone density) scans and my most recent one shows that the osteopenia seen on prior scans has now progressed to osteoporosis in my right hip.  My left hip and lumbar spine still remain in the osteopenia range.  I was started on Fosamax.  Your pain, I'm sure, has everything to do with your treatment.  It is such a common complaint among us who have had pelvic radiation.  If you have not had a DEXA scan, I would highly recommend one to get a baseline assessment of your bone health in the affected area.  If you have had a baseline, then depending on how long ago that was, it may be time for another scan.

    As for blood counts, mine took years to get back in the normal range.  My internist was always freaked out about it, but my medical oncologist not so much.  Being that you are not yet that far out from treatment, do not get overly concerned about those counts.  They may take awhile to rebound.

    I would say that, in many ways, your journey mirrors mine.  I am here, about to celebrate my 6-year survival anniversary, so take heart in knowing that long-term survival and good quality of life are very, very possible after this treatment.  Hang in there!

    Martha 

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