My 75 year old husband was diagnosed with rectal cancer last November and began his first treatment in late January. They were trying to stage it because of possible liver and lungs involvement. He refused the remove the anus option and began aggressive chemotherapy for rectal cancer and did 8 chemotherapy sessions. Then he did 6 weeks of chemo radiation, again because he refused the remove the anus option. Just completed that about three weeks ago and his latest bloodwork shows no rectal cancer DNA strands. His doctors say he is the poster child for organ preservation. He's going in for scans in a month to see how the questionable lung "dodads" have behaved. So yes, you should read up on the OPERA studies that save the anus. There is definitely hope!