Anal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

I have Mets to my liver and trying to get into a trial w immunotherapy and chemo. Where are you being treated ?

I can understand your worry. No one tells you how damaging the treatment can be. It just doesn’t seem fair. Is your cancer in the same spot as the original? You’re not alone in this nightmare. I understand completely what you’re going through. We can do it! I try to take one day at a time. I get angry at myself when I’m trying to fall asleep and all I can think about is my cancer. I try to focus on something pleasant like my grandchildren. I go into my husband’s restaurant for a few hours a day to help him out…we’re so short staffed. Really it’s just to give myself a break from cancer. We all do what we have to do to get through this. My thoughts are with you!

I hope very much that the procedure brings you some relief. I will begin chemo radio therapy on 4/3, for an anal/rectal squamous cell cancer. Your experience is my fear. I had chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy to my pelvis from 3/21-10/21, it caused severe constipation from radiation enteritis, followed by months of diarrhea with fecal incontinence. This treatment is supposed to be worse than the last. I’m very worried.
I am sending healing thoughts, & a big hug your way. Keep us posted.

I have anal SCC. I was treated with chemo and radiation for 6 weeks in2022. Most of the cancer is gone except for about an inch. The doctors feel that that will disappear too as the treatment continues to work even after it’s stopped. I’ve had radiation enteritis and now I have anal strictures causing fecal incontinence. The cure is worse than the treatment. I was prepped and sedated for my first crafter treatment this Thursday. The colonoscopy could not be done. The anal opening is smaller than a pinky and they could not get in. I woke up to hear that news. I’m feeling so worn out and a bit depressed. Now I am scheduled to have a flexi sigmoidoscopy with a doctor who is more specialized in this treatment than my regular gastroenterologist. He is going to do an anal dilation. Has anyone had that done? Did it work? I forgot to mention that I am also dealing with fecal incontinence.

I had chemo/radiation in Aug/Sept 2022 after discovering it in July 2022. It worked well on the spots in my anal/pelvic area to shrink it but during the petscan in Dec 2022 is when they saw that it had metastasized into my blood stream. I will you well too!

I’m so sorry to hear that the immunotherapy did not work. I too have anal SCC. I was diagnosed in September of 2022. Did you have chemo and radiation on the original site? My doctor told me that I have a 25% chance of it returning in the same location or another. It’s very frightening. How long after your first cancer did it metastasize? Hopefully your new treatment will shrink your tumors.

Sadly enough I found out yesterday that the immunotherapy (pembro) did not work on my tumors and the anal SCC keeps metastasizing elsewhere. I now have two tumors in my lungs, one on my liver and two on my spine L3 and L5. I start chemo, carbo and taxol on Monday to try and shrink the tumors.

Three weeks? That’s a lot to ask of you. The waiting is the worst, I agree. Did you have radiation and chemo together? Do you have any issues with your stomach?

I asked my doctor that exact question yesterday. I had my first scan since my treatment ended in December. Most of the cancer is gone but a small area remains. He expects it to shrink as the treatments continues to work for 6 months after it’s stopped. He said there’s a 25% chance of occurring again. It could be in the same area as the original site or spread to lymph nodes. Everyone is different. I hope this helps you.

My doctor also said that the treatments can continue to work for 6 months or so. I'm so sorry you have to wait and see what the outcome will be. The waiting is the worst. My PET scan was cancelled today and now I have to wait 3 weeks for another appt. It sounds like we are on a very similar journey.