Connect
← Return to Don’t want to lose anus
Discussion
Colorectal Cancer | Last Active: Aug 6 2:06pm | Replies (81)
Comment receiving replies
Thank you. I’m aware of all this but people with far less margins than me have had surgeons attempt to figure out other ways and do so successfully. Im only stage 2a. I’m not unaware of how this works. And my experience and perception of not receiving other options and efforts is also valid.
Replies to "Thank you. I’m aware of all this but people with far less margins than me have..."
Connect
I was diagnosed with anal cancer last summer. My treatment regimen (2 rounds of chemo with mitomycin and 5-FU plus 30 radiation treatments) worked very well. The tumor has shrunk way down, but of course they're still doing PET/CT scans every 3 months to check progress. I've seen 2 different colorectal surgeons (one with UC Davis,) who've told me the same thing: once the tumor is in the anal canal, there is no possibility of surgery unless it's a colectomy.
After all the pain I've been through, I'm honestly not too stressed about it. If the tumor is still there later, I think a colectomy would resolve a lot of pain. My tumor was staged 3C and had grown to 7 cm by the time I started receiving treatment. The fact that it has shrunk down to practically nothing is amazing to me! But we'll be watching it to see if it completely resolves.