Start of anal cancer treatment

Hi Marie,

Im 3 weeks into treatment now, so can only tell you what I’ve learned so far (hope it helps a bit).

1. Don’t google too much  because you’ll scare yourself silly and most things that come up on google are either widely out of date or cover absolutely everything and the truth is it’s not common for everyone to suffer all side effects severely.

2. Play about with your pain meds until you find a balance (obviously don’t take them more often than you should). I found alternating paracetamol with ibuprofen every 2hours (so 4hoirly for each) has kept me pain free (I test it every so often by skipping one or the other and yes, I get breakthrough pain when I do this so know it’s working). This may not be right for you so play about with it a bit,

3. Buy a sitz bath or portable bidet spray (or bot) they are pretty cheap on amazon) and are a godsend for soothing tender bits as things get a bit stingy and sore.

4. Epsom salt baths seem to help relax and soothe...you can get lavender scented Epsom salts which make your bathroom smell like a spa :-)

5. If you can rest and take naps if you need them...it helps when you are trying to work through feeling tired.

6. Let people help you (you might need to tell them what you need because if they love you they’ll be feeling helpless too.)

7. Take one day at a time, you’ll get through. I’m 3 weeks I already and the time flies by.

Good luck with your treatment....if you come across anything that helps please share too...most of the above I learned from other people sharing so it’s great to find out new things to try.

Lil x

Hi Lil,

thank you so much for your reply, it’s a real help seeing how others are coping with it. Good luck with the rest of your treatment. 

Marie x

Hi Mom of five,

Some excellent advice there from . What better person to pass on useful tips than someone that’s working through it right now? Regarding pain relief I did exactly the same I alternated paracetamol & ibuprofen 2 hourly, I also took omeprazole to protect my stomach as I was taking the maximum dose of 400mg ibuprofen. I had to stay away from any opiate based painkillers (morphine, codeine etc.,) as they made my system really sluggish & I ended up with horrendous constipation, not something you want when you have a sore butt!! If you have time on your hands while you’re waiting to start treatment a few people I know that have been through this did a bit of batch cooking & stocked up their freezers so that if they didn’t feel much like cooking there was always something ready just to defrost. 

It’s difficult right now as you’re waiting to start treatment & believe me that is the scariest part, once you start you’ll start to relax a little, just take each day at a time & as has said believe it or not once you’re making your daily hospital visits it really does fly by! 

Once again just ask if there’s anything else you want to know or if you just need a little reassurance. 

Nicola 

Hi , 

Just have to say you’ve provided some great advice there. Hope you’re coping ok & good luck with the rest of your treatment, hope it passes quickly for you. 

Nicola

Hi Nicola,

Thanks....most of it I picked up from people here or on similar online communities but it’s been such a help to me so far.

I was fairly surprised to find out this type of cancer is relatively rare (at least compared with breast cancer for example). 

I think it’s hard sometimes to talk about anal cancer (it seems to be a bit of a taboo subject) but it’s been really helpful for me once I found this community, and seeing people who have come through treatment and are NED years down the line gives me hope.

Thank you. Good luck to you too x.  

Hi, just one tip to add to the many excellent tips so far, I began using aloe vera gel- ensure it's the stuff with NO alcohol on day 1 of the radiotherapy.  Do not put it on just before your radio sessions, wait until after then slather it on. I also had up to 3 salt baths a day (I used normal tablet salt, it's very healing), then applied the aloe vera gel straight after, then lay airing myself naked on the bed. I was very lucky to only get a mild reaction on my external skin and I had the standard 5.5 weeks of chemo radiotherapy.  x

Hi Marie,

I completed my 6wks chemo/radio On 24 April and although at the time it is a tough few weeks, I now nearly feel back to my old self.  i struggled with the chemo but purely the sickness side.   The radiotherapy didn’t really impact me until week 4/5. And just after completion but the Sitz Bath was my god send.  It literally made all the difference.   

good luck  with your treatment.  
Mary x 

Hi Mary, 

thank you for your reply. Glad you’re out the other side and starting to feel like you again  I cope as well as all you lovely ladies, it feels really daunting right now and my body feels tired without any treatment, but I’m told that’s just the cancer. I can’t wait for a time when I feel well again. 

take care

Marie x

Hi,

Thank you for replying. I’ll get some gel in ready, I won’t be able to have the baths as I’ve got bad knees so I just take showers. I’ve bought a portable bidet do you think I could put salt in there? 

take care

Marie x