Welcome to the forum Supertrooper although I'm really sorry to hear you've just been diagnosed with anal cancer.

This must be a lot to take in but I'm glad you've reached out to us as so many of our members will know what you are going through, so you are not alone Supertrooper, and hopefully some of them will stop by soon to offer their support and advice.

If it would help to talk things through with someone we have a team of cancer nurses available on 0808 800 4040, Monday - Friday between 9a.m - 5p.m, and with their insight and knowledge they will do all they can to address the worries and concerns you have about your treatment.

We are here for you Supertrooper and will do all we can to support you on this journey.

Kind regards,

Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi Supertrooper

I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis. I was diagnosed with stage 2 anal cancer in Sept 2024 that had spread to my lymph nodes & went through the standard 5.5 weeks of chemo & radiotherapy. To be honest the first 4 weeks were fine. A bit of sickness but I had tablets to help with that which worked well. I did get quite sore from the radiotherapy in the last week but again it all healed. All my scans have been clear so far since and I’m feeling positive about the future. I’ve made lots of friends in this anal cancer forum who are also doing really well. It took almost 8 weeks for my treatment to get underway as there are lots of things to get put into place first. It’s all very scary at first but once I started my treatment and got to know my medical team I started to feel more in control about everything was happening. I didn’t tell my children until the week before my treatment started as I didn’t want to worry them & I needed to know what the plan was and get my head around it. I was told my stage T2 N2 M0 is very treatable and that has proved to be the case. So far anyway. Good luck with your treatment & if you want to chat on here or ask me anything that’s absolutely fine. Good luck & take care x

Hi Joy

im glad I was able to put you at ease a bit. Yes the travelling is a pain. It would sometimes take us 2 hours each way. I seemed to keep getting appointment times for radiotherapy during rush hour! It was tiring more than anything having to go every day. I hope you get everything lined up for after Xmas and have a lovely time with them all. Keep in touch xx