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Worried this might be anal cancer

Colorectal Cancer | Last Active: 18 hours ago | Replies (99)

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@rioa21

Hello! I too had squamous anal cancer. It was diagnosed in 2022. I was 72 at the time. I had six weeks of chemo in pill form and radiation. I didn’t have much of an appetite and felt very tired. After the first week of treatment I could feel the tumor shrinking because the pain was abating. A couple of weeks into the radiation is when the after effects began. I was told that throat and pelvic radiation are the two most painful to tolerate. That was so true. Installing a bidet on our toilet really helped to soothe the pain. The pain was bad enough but then the fecal incontinence began. I either spent all my day in the bathroom or was looking for one. The radiation damaged my sphincter muscle. As a result of that in October of 2023 I had colostomy surgery and now have a stoma. I named her Libby because she’s liberated me from the bathroom! My quality of life has increased 100%. I have been having Ct scans and MRI every 6 months. I am awaiting an MRI on Monday. If the results are good I will be able to go a year until the next round of scans. To say it’s been a roller coaster would be putting it mildly. Hernias are very common after colostomy surgery. I unfortunately have developed one. I will probably be facing surgery to repair it in the next few months. It’s not easy but we do what we have to do.

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Replies to "Hello! I too had squamous anal cancer. It was diagnosed in 2022. I was 72 at..."

Wow Rio, sounds like you’ve been through a lot! Happy to hear that your quality of life is better now. Hernia surgery is a piece of cake compared to your prior medical treatments. Do you know if you had photon or proton radiation? I have read that proton radiation is more targeted to needed area and is less likely to damage surrounding areas. I’m having surgery soon but need to figure out next steps after surgery and staging.