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Anorectal Squamous Cell Cancer w Protruding Externally From Anal Verge
Colorectal Cancer | Last Active: 5 days ago | Replies (17)Comment receiving replies
Hello!
Your story sounds a lot like mine. It began almost 4 years ago. I thought my hemorrhoids were acting up. I saw my gastroenterologist several times and told them that I felt like I was sitting on a golf ball. They never took a look…only kept prescribing creams. Finally, I insisted on a colonoscopy. That’s when it all began. Six months wasted. Needless to say, I never saw that doctor again. Chemo and radiation for six weeks. Pill form and two infusions. The radiation was rough on my skin. It caused me to have fecal incontinence. I spent all my days either in the bathroom or looking for one. We had installed a bidet over our toilet and it was my go to place for some comfort. A year later, my doctor recommended a colostomy. I sobbed in his office when he told me. I was terrified. After educating myself as much as possible, I went ahead with the surfer and have never looked back. For me, it was life changing. I could finally function again. Yes, there’s a lot to learn and at times it can be so overwhelming. My scans have all been great. One important thing to know…the treatment continues to work even after it’s completed. It can take up to a year to do it’s job. So don’t panic. Doctors don’t always tell you everything upfront. I’m 76 years old and still going strong! You will too. Best wishes!
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@rioa21
Hello Rioa, thank you for replying to me and sharing your story. Wonderful to hear that you are surviving and doing well now. I admire your courage to go through with the colostomy surgery, sounds like it was the right decision for you and has brought you peace. Our stories are very familiar! I started out thinking I had a hemorrhoid and honestly kept going for a while thinking it would calm down on its on. Then in late December 2025, I had in incident where I passed a large amount of blood, even then I thought maybe the hemorrhoid was internal and had just burst. The 3 weeks later I had another incident passing a large amount of blood so I scheduled a colonoscopy. Life as you know, changed that day. It’s very shocking to hear what you went through with that gastroenterologist. Glad you gave him the boot!
Now post treatment plan, I feel very blessed that I am able to have somewhat normal BM’s. During the treatment I dealt with very loose bowls throughout the day and evenings, it was miserable. The pain, burning, skin irritation, not just effecting the anal area but the vagina as well. I cried a lot, prayed a lot asking for healing. The Oncologist told me that after the treatment stopped I would feel worse and this would peak at about 3 weeks post. For me, as for today (6 weeks post treatment) I felt better with each day forward. My only issues in with my sphincter muscles. When my body says go, they are not working well enough to hold things till I can get to the toilet. I can only hope in time this will improve. My biggest issue is the fatigue, it’s awful! Spend a lot of my time napping, struggle to do the smallest of task. I hope it too will move on quickly as I want to return to work in July.
How did you do through the early months post your treatment? Did your tumor protrude externally? If so did it ever disappear at some point? It worries me terribly that it’s not shrinking away. I am so thankful for you and the others here! 🩷 We have our family and friends to talk to, and even our Doctors, but talking with people who have or are currently living with this awful cancer is what we need. You have to go through it to understand and relate. Take care and hope to hear more from you soon. Hugs!