3 years ago exactly I was diagnosed with anal cancer. Following my long and painful treatment of chemotherapy and radiotherapy I was left with radiation burns all around my back passage and what I thought my vagina. The ones on my vagina have grown bigger and much more painful.
On the 1st August, following an “unusual smear”in late July, I was seen at Southend hospital by a specialist gynaecologist assistant nurse. She was not happy with what she saw externally following an external examination and asked for the gynaecologist to come and see me. He inspected me, asked numerous questions, and as a result I was asked to come back the following day to see the cancer specialist gynaecologist due to my previous cancer history.
I did so, and as soon as he looked at me he diagnosed with vulva cancer. I had never heard of it before! He performed a colposcopy on me and did 3 different biopsies on me under local anaesthetic (boy that was more painful than childbirth!). He also told me there and then that I would have to have both sets of my my labia removed, the whole of my clitoris and nodes…I think he said lymph nodes but can’t be 100% sure. Last week I had a pelvic scan with dye put inside me and on the 30th I have MRI scan.
He also said that the vulvar cancer is not related in anyway to my anal cancer. Has anyone else been treated for both types of cancer??
I am due to see the cancer specialist again next week sometime….still awaiting my appointment. The not knowing is killing me. Until I see him again he said he can’t specify if I will need even more surgery than he has already said I must have, as they obviously don’t know if it has spread further or not, or if I will need radiotherapy and chemotherapy too. I feel like I have a million and one unanswered questions in my head, but don’t know what the questions are, I’m not mentally prepared for all this, and this time I am so scared and angry (which I wasn’t last time around). I can’t stop thinking about it day and night and the pain is horrendous. I am on liquid morphine but that doesn’t seem to be helping either.
I know the only people that can give me the answers are the cancer specialist gynaecologist and the cancer support team once they receive all my results, but I would love to hear from any other ladies who have experienced vulvar cancer, their treatment and prognostic……good and bad.
Thank you for taking the time to read and maybe reply to me. It is so appreciated
Jo x
