Biopsy Results: My Son

Hey,

I'm actually only a year older than your son and it was my mum who has/had anal cancer. I'm really sorry to hear about his diagnose, especially at his young age.

I don't know anything about the surgeon etc, hopefully someone can answer that for you. What I do know though is that whilst the treatment is gruelling (and you'll need to be there to keep him going mentally and physically), it is very effective. You only have to read the stories on this forum to see that.

Wishing you the best of luck.

Mom2MJ said:

Thanks

Thanks for your reply. I'm sorry to hear about your mom. 

I'm preparing myself to be the caregiver and to be positive. It's so hard and I'm praying this is all a mistake. I know it isn't though. 

I am looking at this as a fight, a battle and I want to be prepared.

Hi there, 

I am so sorry of your need to find this site.  I understand your wish for the news to be wrong, but fortunately AC is on the right side of statistics for a positive outcome. The treatment is intense & not pleasant. However, it is doable. I am almost 2 years post treatment. I was very thankful of the support here, and also of my family. Have a browse through previous posts & ask anything. There are a few men here who can help with questions we ladies can't. 

Stay close

Liz

I too have squamous cell carcinoma and was referred by my oncologist to a place that did trials for treatment of certain cancers. I know they were looking for the HPV virus for one of their trials.  I didn't qualify but your son may.  Ask the oncologist if there are any trial studies being done in your area. 

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your son to find a cure. 

Welcome to the site.

Mom2MJ said:

Thank you

Thank you for your advice. I joined that site and have printed some items. 

 

My son is not so much worried about the pathology report as he is getting relief. He is in pain. He has an appt. tomorrow with a new surgeon who will go over the previous file. What else will he do? Schedule a new biopsy? What typically comes next?

 

 

Hi, I am so sorry for this challenge your son faces at such a young age but I'm sorry for you as a mother as well.  While I struggled to get through this myself (its been 4 yrs now) it would break my heart to see my son or daughter in this situation even more.  Know, as all the folks here have said, while a tough road, it is short lived in comparrison to many others and most often doable.

I too was in a great deal of pain upon diagnosis.  I don't truthfully remember the details of what came first but had a series of lab work, I was severely anemiac so needed blood and iron infusions, and surgery to place my port, and what seemed like weeks of doctor appointments before beginning chemo and radiation. What I do remember though is that I was given a prescription for pain meds immediately.  Please ask for this if needed.  I was not the kind of person that regularly even took tylenol but was in a routine of taking something every 4 hrs until I went in......I hurt soooo bad! The prescription they gave me had to be increased during treatment but did offer some relief.  It wasn't long after that I was able to wean off it and have had no need for any since.

I will keep you in my thoughts as you help your son.

katheryn

Mom2MJ said:

He was given a rx for pain

He was given a rx for pain and he isn't one to even take Tylenol often. That's how I really know he's bad. It is driving me wild. I wish it were me in his place. I want to push everything NOW and TODAY. Yesterday in fact. 

Thank you for your kind words. You will be in my thoughts as well.

I'm glad he has been given something for pain, do not hesitate to increase if needed once treatment starts.

I can relate to your wanting to push things NOW, patience and waiting is so difficult.  I remember my sister putting the whole thing in perspective of a pregnancy. ( I have five children and a couple either just had babies or were pregnant when I was diagnosed) She reminded me how when you first find out a baby is coming it seems so far off, and then in reality, before you know it the baby is here and crawling. So, this whole treatment thing is not even half that long, its almost spring and before long this will be a thing of the past....just look ahead down the road to something happy.  It did help me to look at the time frame in a different perspective.

While you can't trade places with him, just being there to share his pain will make it easier.

katheryn

I would STRONGLY suggest your son have a colotrectal surgeon.  They are the most familar with this type of cancer.  A general surgeon may not have the same knowledge of this type of rare cancer.  My colorectal surgeon diagnosed my anal cancer in 2008.  He removed one half of the tumor surgically. After this procedure I then had the standard chemo and radiation treatments.  I was Stage 2 anal cancer.   For me the removal of one half the tumor was the most painful part of the whole treatment process.  Since your son is so young I might suggest he have his sperm in a sperm bank in case he wishes to have chidren in the future.  One of the radiation side effects can be that a male is sterile after radiation treatments and the male can no longer produce sperm.  I am much older than your son so this was not an issue for me as far as able to produce children. 

Mike