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@lizbrochu

Hi there!
I think that the gyne is the right direction. It is likely that the colorectal surgeon would send you to one anyways.

I'm going to be brutally honest here, this is what happened to me. You might be lucky and just get surgery. But if you don't, this is what happened to me.

I can tell you that the initial set up of everything is the scariest part. Once you start treatments (whether it's surgery, or chemo and radiation) it will become a routine, which oddly adds some comfort. At least, it did for me.

I couldn't have my tumor removed, since it was so close to my urethra and anal verge that if they had operated, I would have lost the ability to go to the bathroom completely. So I had 30 rounds of radiation, and 6 rounds of booster chemo, which made the radiation stronger. It didn't make me sick, (there are meds you take beforehand to help that) and my hair didn't fall out. It did take 4 hours to be run through though.

The radiation was the hard part, cause with that many rounds, it gave me "burns" on the backs of my thighs and buttocks, which had to be treated by a wound specialist. Creams, soaks, medicine, etc. As it heals, it's not as bad, but at the beginning it really hurts.

And the radiation hurts. It takes less than 5 minutes (again, for me it did) but after a while, the whole area just hurts all the time. Make sure that you stay on top of your pain medicine. I couldn't take advil (allergic) so I don't know if that would help with the pain. Sitting hurt so much. I found that sleeping reclined on the couch was the most comfy for me.

Any other questions, please feel free to ask me, I can try my best to help.

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Replies to "Hi there! I think that the gyne is the right direction. It is likely that the..."

I had surgery for squamous cell vovular cancer last November and then went through 6 weeks of chemo and radiation. My tumor was the size of a grapefruit and I'm thankful it was able to be removed but it's been quite an experience for sure. The worst part is make sure that you don't rip your stitches which is really hard to do as far as I'm concerned cuz I ended up with more scar tissue that expected which affects everything else down there. It has been 5 months since my treatment ended and it still bothers me day today as it probably will for you too because every time you sit or get up you feel it. But it is great to know my cancer is gone. So I wish you the best of luck and keep asking questions because it's not a popular cancer so a lot of people don't know about it