Hi Wendy

I’m sorry you have had this news  it’s scary and being anxious is normal  

I was diagnosed  with T2 N2 anal cancer last September. It had already spread to the lymph nodes in my groin on both sides. My tumour was 2.5 cm. 
My treatment was chemotherapy & radiotherapy. 28 days of each. 1st chemo was via IV (Mitomycin) and then 28 days of chemo tablets twice a day (Capecitebine) Monday-Friday.   I finished my treatment at the end of December  I had the chemo tablets & the radiotherapy each day  

The treatment wasn’t easy towards the end but I got through it & have made some lovely contacts on here. 
The first doctor I saw wasn’t an oncologist - he did the colonoscopy and he told me that if it was cancerous I would likely have to have a colostomy & have my rectum removed as the tumour was low down. When the biopsies came back positive he referred me to the cancer  hospital. They said to not worry about surgery as there are very good treatments with good success rates at my stage. So I went ahead with that. I’m having scans this week to see if it has been successful.  I have had to wait until 3 months after my treatment finished before I could get scanned. MRI & PET scans. I get my results in a few weeks. If my cancer is still there then I may need to have surgery but at least I know I tried the other treatments first. 
If I were you I would get a second opinion before agreeing to surgery. x

Hi Wendy

If you search for anal cancer on here you will see lots of people who have gone through the same or similar treatment as I have. 
I’ve got my last scan tomorrow and then my results in a couple of weeks. The waiting has been hard - waiting to find out if it’s gone or spread but I am keeping positive. Good luck & if I can answer any questions about my experience just let me know. Take care x

Hello, Wendy willows, and thank you for posting.

I am sorry to learn of your husband's situation, this must be a difficult time.

The type of surgery that is offered will depend on the situation. The doctors look at several things when planning treatment, such as the size of the tumour, how far it has spread and how well a person is generally, and whether or not they have other health conditions. Sometimes, it may involve the removal of the cancer along with a clear area (margin) to make sure all the cancer has been removed, or another type of surgery may be offered in some situations, with removal of the anus, rectum and part of the large bowel.

Not being involved in your husband's situation, we cannot say why your husband has been given both options. A lot may also depend on what the second examination finds. I wondered if your husband has a nurse specialist (CNS) who knows his situation, who he can discuss this with to help clarify his situation.

I hope you can get some answers soon. If you have any further questions please feel free to get back to us, or if you would like to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline, we available between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday and the freephone number to call is 0808 800 4040.

Take care,

Jemma