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Anal Cancer Journey

Jannaec
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Hi. I was diagnosed with anal cancer almost 7 years ago and after treatment and 3 cancer free years diagnosed again in 2014. After more treatment and surgery which involved me going to sleep with two lungs and unexpectedly waking up with one there’s been no sign of cancer for nearly 2 1/2 years and I’m trying to move on but it’s not easy. Will it come back again ? That’s the million dollar question and it’s hard living with that  

Anal cancer is not common and hardly even mentioned so you can feel very isolated. If I can answer any questions about the journey I’ve had I’m happy to try if it will help anyone facing a similar diagnosis  

Its really helping me to me to read other peoples stories and how they’ve coped. 

  • Offline

    Hi Jan

    i hope you are ok and more years to come and well at the moment 

    can I ask your symptoms please I'm at the start of my journey I'm hoping I'm ok 

    my blood test are fine and no blood in one stool sample 

    I've been constipated and then the runs some red blood In toilet once or twice and red when wiping doc says it's not pile that bleeding 

    ive been like this from Sep but with my mum I'm not taking any chances think she left it to late 

    many thanks 

     

  • Offline in reply to samdougie
    Hi. I am very well at the moment thank you. Just had a CT scan last month so will relax for a little while ! I’m sorry you are facing this worry. The only symptom I had was slight bleeding sometimes when passing a stool and a feeling of pressure and during 2/3 visits to the doctor over maybe 6 months I was told it was piles. I trusted the doctors opinion but that delay meant it had time to spread to my lymph node. If I had been diagnosed sooner it probably wouldn’t have come back in my chest 3 years later. Please please don’t delay in pushing for a definite result one way or the either. More than likely you’re absolutely fine but the worry is awful. I finally asked to see a senior doctor at the practice as I was unhappy with what i was being told and she immediately referred me for an endoscopy which showed up a substantial amount of blood so a week later I had a colonoscopy followed by biopsies which confirmed my diagnosis. I bitterly regret not pushing sooner for the endoscopy. Pester your doctor so you can move on with your life one way or the other and very best of luck. Sorry about your mum too x
  • Offline in reply to Jannaec

    Hi Jan 

    thank you for your reply in glad you are ok can I ask your age are you a lady 

    ive got a colonoscopy 2 weeks tommrow so I've been referedI'm so scared of that to be honest the prep and the procedure

    I do have a internal pile that comes out but doc says that's not been bleeding .

    ive had 3 doctors and a nure looking at my bum the joys lol they all say it's a pile I've been using cream from Sep no joy .

    my bum is so sore and feel pressure to my mum was 57 she died in 1989 I was 19 not quite 20 In now 48 I'm female 

    I'm just so fed up with it all 

    thanks Samdougie x

  • Offline in reply to samdougie
    Hi Samdougie I’m a 53 (nearly 54 ) woman called Janna. Please don’t be scared of the colonoscopy. There’s really nothing to it. The prep is a gross drink but in the grand scheme of things it’s not something you should worry about. The procedure doesn’t take long and you will probably be semi-sedated so apart from a slight discomfort shouldn’t feel (or remember !) much. The only thing I remember is I kept trying to pull the mask off my face and the nurse kept plopping it back on !!! The main thing is it’s getting you nearer to knowing exactly what’s going on so you can deal with it whatever it may be. I know how fed up you must be feeling but the only way to move on a bit from that is to get that procedure done so please try and think positively about it and look forward to it giving your doctors the information they need. Ive had so many procedures etc it’s easy for me to say not to worry I know, but information really is power and crucial to staying healthy. I would be scanned every week if they would do it !! Hope that helps x
  • Offline in reply to Jannaec

    Thanks my stomach isn't that geat I'm worried with taste of it and being sick plus with my bum due to pile being so sore the amount of times I will be at the toilet 

    you are a brave lady going through all that I'm just a stress head to be honest 

    what treatment did I get when you were diagnosed and how long did it take for you to recover 

     im glad I went to doctors quick as soon as I had wee bit blood I went 

    ive no kids but love my man to bits 

    thanks 

     

  • Offline in reply to samdougie

    Hi samdougie

     

    Good luck for tomorrow and hope all goes well for you x

  • Offline in reply to Jannaec

    Thanks I'm not up yet can't say I'm looking forward to taking the moviprep at 5pm 

    my nerves are going mental I just want to cry to be honest 

    just so tired I'm not sleeping plus my pile worrying me with this moviprep 

  • Offline in reply to samdougie

    Hi jannac

    thank you for your support 

    thats me all done the prep was the worst part I only managed 2 Thirds then I was sick so not good 

    I took sedation I felt a bit discomfort at one bit but it didn't last long 

    he removed a polyp and done some biopsies but he didn't seem to concerned 

     

    so it a wating game now just have to see what happens 

    thanks again xx

  • Offline

    HI

    I wonder if you can confirm it was anal cancer both times please- or did you have lung cancer the second time? What treatment did you have the first time? Was it chemo radiation followed by surgery? In which case what surgery did you have? 

    I was diagnosed with anal cancer in June 2019 and it is stage 3 but has not spread anywhere. I have had 5 weeks of intensive chemoradiation therapy which finished 4 weeks ago, and I am now awaiting a scan to see if it has shrunk enough to enable me to be operated upon.

    many thanks

    Sean 

  • Offline in reply to wildandfree

    hi sean

    it was anal cancer the 2nd time which had spread to lymph nodes in my chest and when I went in for the surgery to have the nodes removed they found the cancer was in my right lung. 
     

    I had the same chemo radiotherapy as you the first time but no surgery was needed as there was no sign of the cancer so I was lucky there. 
     

    im still well and have CT scans every 6 months. 
     

    good luck with your scan. 
     

    janna 

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