Overwhelmed

mp327 said:

Wisteria83

Please don't apologize for the length of your introduction.  Giving us your full story will help us help you.  I'm sorry that your diagnosis has brought you here, but the support here is great. 

I was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2008, very similar to yours--on the fence between stage 1 and 2 with no nodal involvement or metastases.  I had 30 radiation treatments and 2 rounds of chemo (5FU and Mitomycin).  Despite some manageable long-term side effects, I am doing quite well.  Like you, at the time of diagnosis, my weight had dropped for no known reason.  I now believe it was because of the cancer.  Of course, once I began treatment and got far enough into it to begin having side effects, my appetite tanked and I lost even more weight.  My medical oncologist became very concerned and threatened to put me in the hospital for nutrition if I lost any more weight.  I literally had to force myself to eat.  So, my advice to you echoes what your doctor has said--try to gain some weight now, prior to treatment.

I would certainly want an explanation from your doctors as to why they are calling it Anal/Rectal cancer.  Anal cancer is typically squamous cell cancer, whereas, rectal cancer is typically adenocarcinoma.  This means the cell types are different and are treated differently.  I had an experience with a hospital tech who kept referring to my cancer as "rectal."  I finally had to correct them and explain to them that anal and rectal were two different things and referred to two different parts of the anatomy.  Geez!

I cannot really answer your question with any authority about how fast this cancer grows.  However, in my own experience, I believe it was present for years prior to my diagnosis.  The rate at which it grows could depend on the person and any other compromising factors.  In your case, it's possible that your immune system was compromised by your other health issues, but I just don't know.

As for pain management during your treatment, I can see your dilemma, since you are already on pain management.  I do know that some people have used Fetanyl patches for pain control during this treatment, so perhaps that will be what your doctors will continue.  Obviously, all of your doctors will need to confer about this.  I will tell you that my burns were quite painful, so I hope you can get something that will be effective in controlling your pain.  I was guilty of not taking enough of the prescribed medication and suffered needlessly, IMO.  If I was doing it over, I would have taken whatever I needed to to avoid that kind of pain.

This will be a challenging journey, albeit relatively short, as compared to treatment for other types of cancer.  So many of us have been there, done that, and are still here to talk about it.  You will join our ranks as a survivor when this is over.  We are here to help you get through it, so please come here and let us know what you need from us.  As good as doctors are about knowing how to get rid of the cancer, some of them are very little help when it comes to helping us get through treatment and deal with some of the possible side effects.

So that you are well-informed about this disease and the treatment, I urge you to go the website for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and learn as much as you can about it.  You'll need to complete a brief registration form online, then you'll have access to the latest treatment guidelines, which will help you when discussing your treatment with your doctors.  The website is http://www.NCCN.org

I wish you all the very best and hope you'll let us be your virtual support as you begin this journey.  You will get through this!

Martha

Thank you Martha.  I  spoke with my nurse yesterday.  She's going to be my "Navigator" throughout this journey.  She told me that it is squamous cell carcinoma and it's location is right where the anal sectection becomes the rectal section.  She said the Dr. is now calling it Anal cancer because he thinks it originated there and just travelled up a blood vessel to the rectum.  I'm glad that's cleared up.

She also said that she would call my pain management dr. and tell him what's going on and that they would be still managing my pain with input from my oncology team.

Thank you for sharing your story.  It really helps.

Phoebesnow said:

Anal rectal cancer

i was diagnosed the same because it was on the dante line(not sure about spelling but something like that).  I have Kaiser as a provider.  I also had weight loss and I was eating gigantic amounts of food.  It is also important to know if it is the slow growing kind or the more aggressive type.  This information will be in the biopsy report.

 

i understand your worries regarding your other issues.  I believe the body has a way of protecting it self.  I think you will see the other issues subside a bit while going thru treatment.  The first 2 1/2 weeks is not so bad, certainly  not what we build it up to be in our mind.  Even the chemo is not so bad.  Week 3 things get a little rougher but with pain management you will be ok.  The last 3. Treatments were the roughest for me.  The 2-4 weeks after treatment were pretty horrible for me.  I am Irish and have very thin delicate skin and I have no meat on my bones.

 

try to enjoy yourself before treatment so you have those fun memories to think about while you get thru this.  i only watched comedy tv and films during this time.  It helped me.

 

at this point I would say concentrate on the destination and not the journey.

 

god helped me alot.

Thank you.  My back has been in a flare since I had surgery on Feb. 2nd.  My surgeon said it's because of the position I was in for the hour and a half that it took, and it's common for people with orthopedic problems to experience this post surgery.  Hopefully it will subside soon because it's sure not helping my situation.  I know that I can go to pain management for treatment if needed.  I had two epidural steroid injections last summer that helped tremendously, I'd just rather not have to deal with that too if I can help it.

I'd like to do something fun before treatment begins, but honestly, I'm so tired, I can't think of anything to do.  I've been bleeding since just before Thanksgiving and while it stopped for nearly two weeks post surgery, it's been back with a vengeance for over a week now and I'm also having pain up inside that I didn't experience before.  I'm anemic, but not quite to the point where I need a transfusion.

In October we got two Golden Retriever puppies.  They are nearly six months old now and take a huge amount of time and energy.  They really tire me out, but they are also wonderful for taking my mind off things.  They are so much fun to watch and play with, and the male, Fergus is extremely affectionate, so that helps too.  Sadie is Satan's Spawn most of the time, but she also has her sweet moments.  They will definitey help me through this ordeal to come.