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Anyone have Surgery success with tumor at the internal sphincter ?
Colorectal Cancer | Last Active: Oct 12, 2023 | Replies (42)Comment receiving replies
I just finished up with chemo and radiation for anal cancer. I thought I had hemorrhoids. Surgeon went to remove them and found a cancerous tumor instead. He removed it and I started treatments! Worst time of my life. I was so sick from chemo and the burn from radiation was miserable. Bowel movements were so painful and of course I had a UTI twice. Thankfully I did not have to have a colostomy bag as it seems the muscle down there although weak is working ok! I am now just trying to get better since my treatment is done. It was two chemo treatment and 30 radiation treatments. I will have a petscan in about 2 months to confirm I am cancer free!
Replies to "I just finished up with chemo and radiation for anal cancer. I thought I had hemorrhoids...."
Your story is exactly the same as mine. One month out from completing 2 rounds of chemo + 30 days radiation. Recovery has gone much slower than I anticipated, and doctors could not give me an estimate of when I might start feeling like a human being again since everyone's treatment and recovery journey is different. I will be having a pelvic MRI and sigmoidoscopy in coming months to see if all cancer is gone. If so, there will be vigilant watching and waiting, since recurrence (if such is to happen) shows up in the first 12-16 months after treatment ends.
I plan on radically changing my diet and exercise programs to do all I can to avoid recurrence. This time between diagnosis - Feb 6 - and now has been hell. I do not want to go through this again and wouldn't wish this disease on my worst enemy - if I had any enemies, which I don't. I'm sending love and prayers to you and all my fellow cancer warriors.
Sounds very much like my situation. I had a polyp(2.5m) 90%snare -removed from my anal canal. I was told for years it was a hemorrhoid. Turned out to be stage 1 squamous cell cancer. Hoping to possibly reduce the collateral damage from radiation, I entered a phase 2 trial . The computer picked me for the arm I was hoping for, 1 chemo round instead of 2 and lower dose radiation for the 30 treatments. Hoping to avoid Sexual_dysfunction and/or fecal incontinence. I'm on my 3rd day of chemo and radiation with no side effects yet. I know the radiation will eventually take it's toll. I"m really hoping for the best outcome as I'm 75 years old and not fully retired. I'm otherwise in great shape and still do alot of physical labor.
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Yes, I thought my problem was hemorrhoids too. I saw the PA a few times, never the doctor. After nothing was working for my pain…I kept telling them I felt like I was sitting on a golf ball. And I was! The tumor was quite large and only found after I insisted they do a scope. I also had 30 rounds of radiation and chemo. I know all about the burns and pain. My treatment was completed in early December 2022. My first PET scan after Tera was in March. Cancer had shrunk a lot but was still there. I was told treatment continues to work for up to 6 months after it’s stopped. My next PET scan is in a few weeks. Hopefully it will all be gone by then.