Intro New Member

BillKist
BillKist Member Posts: 6
edited March 2014 in Anal Cancer #1
HI I am Bill...Had minor rectal bleeding ..colonoscopy..tumor...the dreaded phone call..the whirlwind DX process and the final word...tumor on your sphincter,6 weeks combo 5FU/radiation followed by a couple weeks rest and the surgery to remove my rectum,insert a stoma for my colostomy bag ( permanent) and to make me impotent. I am in week 5 of 6 now...my tumor is swelled,burning,itching and being a general pain in my .
I am struggling hard financially as I have been on layoff for over a year. My wife retired and her pension check cannot support us. I am having some seriously bad nights emotionally as I am sure you all have as well.
Thats my story and I'm sticking to it.

BillKist

Comments

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #2
    Hi Bill
    I'm sorry that your circumstances have brought you here--none of us wants to be here. But we are all supportive of one another and I hope we can give you the support you need. If you are in week 5 of radiation, I feel your pain. I remember it vividly, although I try to forget. The burning and itching can be awful--has your doctor given you any creams or ointments to apply? If not, please ask! I had silver sulfadiazine and it helped. Just make sure there is none of it left on your skin prior to getting a radiation treatment. I'm sure with the surgery coming up and knowing that you will have a permanent colostomy, it's taking a toll on your emotions. I think the emotional part of cancer is worse than the physical pain. I hope you have a great stoma nurse who can help you get through this, and perhaps an ostomy support group could give you some additional support. I wish you the very best with the completion of your treatment and your upcoming surgery and hope that you will let us know how you are doing.
  • duckyann
    duckyann Member Posts: 159
    #3
    Hi Bill,
    I am also sorry
    Hi Bill,

    I am also sorry that you have to be here under these circumstances. This is a good place to be for support, advice and just to vent. It seems you have a lot on your plate right now and I hope that some of it can be relieved soon. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

    Take care

    Nancy
  • z
    z Member Posts: 1,414 Member
    #4
    duckyann said:

    Hi Bill,
    I am also sorry
    Hi Bill,

    I am also sorry that you have to be here under these circumstances. This is a good place to be for support, advice and just to vent. It seems you have a lot on your plate right now and I hope that some of it can be relieved soon. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

    Take care

    Nancy

    Bill
    Hi Bill,

    I'm sorry you have to be here. I have a question. Could you tell me why they are doing chemoradiation 1st, if they are planning to remove the rectum. I know of patients that have a temporary ostomy so they may undergo chemoradiation without all the bad side effects, and then after treatment they have a reversal. Are there any hopes that you might not need a colostomy? I wish you only the best, and remember that you will start healing pretty quickly after tx stops. This will cure you. Lori
  • cbs6931
    cbs6931 Member Posts: 63
    #5
    Wishing you the best
    Sorry you have to be here... and yes the itching is enough to drive anyone crazy. Wishing you the very best results possible.

    Cathy
  • lizdeli
    lizdeli Member Posts: 569 Member
    #6
    cbs6931 said:

    Wishing you the best
    Sorry you have to be here... and yes the itching is enough to drive anyone crazy. Wishing you the very best results possible.

    Cathy

    Bill
    Hi Bill
    Sorry you have to go through all of this. We're glad you found us though so that we can help you through it. Were you diagonosed with rectal or anal cancer? Reason I ask is because you mentioned surgery which is usually done for rectal but not always for anal.

    Liz
  • pjjenkins
    pjjenkins Member Posts: 173
    #7
    Surgery
    I, too, wonder about the certainty of your surgery. What stage and what specific kind of cancer was your diagnosis? My tumor was actually mostly in my rectum but was squamous cell carcinoma and partly in my anal canal. Docs decided to treat as anal cancer and see how I responded to the radiation and chemo for that before making a decision on surgery. I lucked out because my tumor was gone with NED (No Evidence of Disease) two months after treatment so I never even saw a surgeon.

    So sorry you have had to join our numbers and wish you a very successful treatment - and question the surgery!

    Priscilla

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