I am 55 years old and Been having some problems with bleeding and a lump put down to hemmeroids in January was becoming painful with more blood eventually convinced my Dr to have the camera which despite alot of sedation was excruciating at one point they were holding me. Afterwards they told me I had rectal cancer and would need a bag which they would do before treatment due to the pain. After the ct scan I was told it was anal cancer and am now waiting for chemo and radiotherapy don't needthe bag.My issue and don't know whether others have suffered is lots of blood and mucus when feeling like the toilet nothing else constipation and pain in anus laxatives and docsolate sometimes not working.Paingul shooting pains in anus and extreme pain when I go to toilet and anesthetic creams causing more pain and bleeding the pain is debilitating even though I fight it will it improve
I have already had both kidneys removed due to polycystic kidneys and cancer was clear
.5 years dialysis before transplant
Drug induced diabetes on insulin
2 heart attacks put down to years on dialysis
So have some concerns on treatment but moving nicely through the charities hopefully will still mske help the aged
Hi Sinbad1965,
Firstly I’d like to welcome you to the Macmillan online community although I’m very sorry you’ve had the need to find us.
Wow you’ve definitely been through the mill health wise & now this!
My journey through treatment was slightly different with surgery first followed by a reduced course of chemoradiotherapy, if you click on my username you can read a little more there, but we have had members here that have noticed, once treatment starts, quite rapid shrinkage in their tumour size so hopefully if your treatment is imminent then this will also be the case for you. Also we have others that have had temporary stomas to elevate issues with bowel movements due to size & position of their tumour causing obstruction. You seem to be doing everything possible to make things easier, stool softeners, creams etc., but if you’re in so much pain & discomfort please give your treating team a call & make them aware of this there may be other options. Personally I had very few symptoms prior to diagnosis but hopefully others will read your post & if they’ve had similar symptoms then they may be able to offer some advice.
I hope you find some relief from this discomfort really soon the pain can be so draining.
Nicola
Hi Sinbad1965 and welcome to the group. I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis on top of everything you've already been through. Like you, I was in pain before my treatment. In fact I suspect the tumour had ulcerated at the end which caused problems when walking. Every time I went to the toilet I bled and I could feel a lump. After this had been going on for about 4 -6 weeks I made an appointment with my GP who was on the ball and referred me to the hospital. A lot of people on here have had delays with referrals. I was diagnosed with stage 2 anal cancer and completed treatment in August 2019. The usual treatment is chemo and radiotherapy. The chemo was fine although I did have some nausea I was not sick and the anti-sickness tablets worked well. The radiotherapy wasn't too bad although I did have diarrhoea and it was painful going to the toilet. Your treating team will be able to advise about pain killers and other medication for other side effects. Having read your profile I see you've achieved a lot with your swimming, I'd love to try wild swimming but at the moment I'm just going to my local swimming pool. Please come back on for further advice whenever you need to. Bev
