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Hi Grandmaof8 ,

Firstly I’d like to offer you a warm welcome to our little corner of the MacMillan Online Community although I’m sorry to learn of your recent diagnosis. 

I’m presuming you’ve just received your diagnosis & were given the MacMillan booklet on Anal Cancer? If that’s the case this is exactly how I arrived here a little over 6 years ago & I’ve been so thankful for this forum especially in the early days when things were really scary! 

You’ll find the majority of us here have received a diagnosis of anal cancer of various stagings, many of us have hung around to pay forward a little of the support we received when we were where you are right now. We have members here that are right at the beginning of their journey as you are, there’s people that are actively in treatment & those of us that are through the other side back living a cancer free life, so any questions you have please just ask, no matter how personal it may seem were an open minded bunch here & are quite used to discussing all things bottom & toilet related, we’ll do our very best to help. 

It really is the scariest of places when you initially receive your diagnosis & you’ll find yourself in a bit of a whirlwind of hospital appointments etc., but please be assured once you have a treatment plan in place & you make a start things will settle down a bit. 

Please remember we’re here to support you however we can. 

Nicola 

Thankyou Nicola for your kind message and yes I have recently been given the diagnosis but I have had Bowen’s Disease outside my anal area for about 8 years and have have lots of preventative surgeries over the years and plastic skin flap surgery in November 2022 but then a ulcer grew and now it’s anal cancer I’m so confused I think but I know il get there castle hill hospital are so nice they putting my plan together and have explained my treatment so it’s sinking in 

Thankyou so much again for yr words of reassurance and I hope to speak to you again and other in the group 

Gail 

Hi Grandmaof8,

I'm so sorry about your diagnosis, but I'm really glad you've found your way here. I think you'll find this forum so helpful.

I hadn't heard of Bowen's Disease before this. I'm desperately sorry that the preventative treatments and surgeries didn't spare you getting this friggin' cancer.

The good thing about it is that the treatment, while Wild West crazy, is very effective. Hopefully no more faffing about like you have for the last 8 years. Under 6 weeks, bam, and onto the next thing, which is a cancer-free life.

Hugs

Suz

Hi again Grandmaof8 , I’m sorry you’ve had these ongoing issues over the last 8 years but it’s good that you already know the hospital you’re going to be treated at & you’ve confidence in the team there. We’ll help you through this however we can. 

Nicola 

Thankyou it means a lot and I had never heard of it before this either apparently it’s rare on genital area normally it’s on face and body 

Yes I know the staff at castle hill very well now they are wonderful so I do feel at ease with them a lot 

Hello Grandmaof8

A late welcome from me, and I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis.  You have come to the right place, just about all of us have had a similar journey, and I for one certainly wasn't ok in the early days, I was walking about in a huge bubble of fear.  In fact I didn't even want to visit any forums as it was acknowledgement that I had cancer and I was in a state of disbelief, I kept thinking someone is going to tell me that a terrible mistake has been made.  But there was no mistake, and over the next few months I found the help on here invaluable.

You can share as much or as little as you want to, the main message is that you aren't alone and no subject is taboo on here.  I am so pleased to hear that your hospital has an empathetic team, it makes all the difference at a very confusing time in your life.

There is a lot going on behind the scenes between your appointments and once all the information is gathered, a treatment plan is tailored just for you.  We have lots of tips and coping strategies, so please keep in touch and let us know when treatment starts; you will feel a lot better about everything and more in control when your visits to the hospital are going to clear you of this.

I hope the next few weeks pass quickly for you, and in the meantime we are always here to support.

Irene xx