Hello and thanks for your post,

I am sorry to hear that you are waiting to start treatment for anal cancer and I can understand that you probably want to get on with it as quickly as possible.

We have some information on our website about waiting times

In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland the current targets are:

• no more than 2 months (62 days) wait between the date the hospital receives an urgent suspected cancer referral and the start of treatment

I am not sure how long this has all been for you from when the hospital received the urgent suspected cancer referral. Unfortunately hospitals don't always make these targets due to often lack of staff and a large patient work load.

As you say your case was discussed at an MDT (Multi disciplinary Team ) meeting where all the doctors involved met to discuss your case. These meeting only happens once a week and if there are too any patients on the list or all the tests have not been completed then often a patient will be put on for the next week. As you have been transferred to another hospital this may have also caused some delays.

Hopefully when you see the consultant next week you will be able to find out when your actual treatment will start.

You may find it helpful to look through the different treatments that the doctors may discuss with you when you see them.

We also have some information about how you can prepare yourself for treatment.

I do hope all goes well and if you would like to talk things through with one of the nurses then you are welcome to give us a call.

The number to ring is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm.

All the best,

Catherine