My Anal Cancer Experience

Thanks so much for sharing. I’m beginning treatment next week and found this to be really helpful!

Thank you, McG. I'm doing my best to stay calm and positive as treatment date gets closer. I am shocked that anxiety attacks are coming over me in waves, out of the blue. I've never had anything like it, and it's weird. My GP has prescribed Ativan haha hope it helps.

dear kateril, i also had anxiety, very normal, i had care from a psych doc ( ativan and seroquel rx ) who was very helpful, fyi

Thanks... we'll just have to see how I respond to things, and be ready for whatever comes. Not sure how I'm going to deal with pain. I have Tylenol, and an rx for percocet, which made me sick in the past when I took it.

hi there! I’m on day 28 of my chemo/radiation treatment. My cancer was located low in the anal canal. I haven’t needed an adult diaper. I’ve had a lot of very loose bowel movements and was told to stay on a low fiber diet. Small meals definitely helped. I was given lomitril for diarrhea which helped reduce the number of spasms and spare me some pain. Everyone is different but I wanted to share that with you in case it is helpful. Best wishes on this journey.

Sorry! I spelled lomotril incorrect before; the generic name is diphenoxylate/atropine. Bananas, rice, applesauce, baked potato, toast … eggs and chicken for protein. I found the posts here to be very helpful (thanks to all of you out there!) so I’m happy to help anyone else if I can. This week is the toughest one for me so far but…. Three. More. Days!

I just received diagnosis of anal cancer yesterday, following results of biopsy taken during colonoscopy. Still in a bit of shock but your post is very encouraging.

surgery for removal of tumor is scheduled next week and will know more then, but based on fact the tumor is “golf ball sized” I’m guessing stage 2 or above.

Since I’m probably looking at radiation & chemo, I’ve made notes of your practical advice.

Thank you!

Hello, I am new to this forum and I think that I may have mistakenly posted instead of replying to a previous post made be a member of this forum. I believe the name is 'Grant' and I really appreciated his post about the whole anal cancer 'experience.'

I have stage 3C Squamous Cell Anal Cancer and I have just finished my treatments on May 5, 2022. The chemo wasn't all that bad except for the infusion pump that I had to carry around 24/7 like a small child attached to my hip. The radiation side effects really didn't hit me until my last week and they are still lingering around today. It was the burning urine that tore my world apart! I didn't want to eat or drink anything that made me have to use the bathroom and so many suggestions and medications and creams were offered to me by the very helpful cancer team nurses and doctors. I even used to stand up in the bathtub to urinate because it would kill my vulva when the urine hit down there causing me excruciating pain. Finally, my son went and bought me a sitz bath that provided some relief and some THC helped me sleep better as well as helped me get my appetite back up to par.

I didn't experience the painful bowel movements as I had to have an emergency colostomy bag attached to my large intestine because the tumor had blocked my anal cavity so bad that I was full of poop and the surgeons didn't want me colon to explode with backed up poop. The problem with the colostomy bag was the extreme diarrhea that accompanied the radiation and chemo treatments. I went from low fiber diets to high fiber diets to no avail but now that the treatments are over, my bowel movements are more solid. The tumor and the smaller ones that were outside of my anus are flat now but there is still the large one (6 cm) that's being watched now with hopes that it has shrunk or is shrinking. I'm super nervous about it because I do not want to go through anymore treatments! My cancer team is trying to assure me that the tumor may shrink or they may have to have me go through more rounds of chemo but I don't want it. I want them to do the surgery to take whatever is affected out and let nature take its course after that.

My entire quality of life is so low at this point that I even considered suicide. Thankfully, my sons and my cancer team are not letting those thoughts remain on my mind all of the time. After reading the comments on here, I now know that there may still be hope for me after all, it takes time for things to get back to 'normal' as well as time to see if there are any updates to the tumor.

Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences with the rest of us who are at our wits end with this disease.

Hi! I was diagnosed a few weeks ago and go for my MRI PET scan tomorrow. Hearing what others have experienced helps to set some expectations knowing everyone is different and recommended treatments. I keep asking my doctor if I'll be on a restricted diet and they said no but will see what the oncologist says. I want to know because I live alone with no support system near by so was hoping to stock up on some things I might need since it might be hard for me to get out. I rely on the bus or Uber at the moment and can walk 1/3 mile to a grocery store.

I was hoping to walk to some treatments early on since it is about a 35 minute walk and maybe Uber home but that might be unrealistic with fatigue. I'll have to see how it goes, I guess! I'll be happy when I'm on the end of the treatment and praying all goes well. I haven't had any stress about it but it doesn't seem real at the moment. I haven't told more than my manager and 2 close friends. I'm estranged from my family so not telling them at the moment. I have worked remotely for 6 years and don't plan on telling anyone at work. I hate to tell "friends" because then they think you will want something from them so I'm not telling anyone. It puts them and me in an uncomfortable place. Of course, help would be great if you need it but I have found in life I can depend on the kindness of a stranger more than anything else. Thankful for this forum!