Hi im a 28yr old man that 3 weeks ago was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the anus it's stage is t2n2m0 how have others coped with chemoradiothepy I see an oncologist tomorrow to find out when everything starts
Not my area of experience but good luck with the oncologist for tomorrow. This may seem pretty obvious but try to write all your questions down beforehand and work through them noting down the responses received. Most patients forget about 60% of what they've been told when under stress. I've actually sat in the hospital car park going through my notes thinking "I didn't remember him saying that!" despite it being written down inmy own hand writing.
Hi. I don't no much about Wat u have ,but couldn't read &,pass on without saying hello. I'm 39 & just been through 4 wks of needles & scans, I have been told I have rectal cancer, & it is just above my anus , I don't get formaly diagnosis until Friday, but been told by a surgeon who has seen this all b4 that the tumor is so far down that I will have the rectum & anus removed & have a permanent bag, it's been a tough 3-4 wks , waiting & strength is the game, just to let u know ur not alone x
That's a heck of a thing to be told - I hope you are coping OK with the shock of the diagnosis. This may seem a bit off the wall, and I would hate to raise false hope, but when you speak to your oncologist you might ask whether Papillon contact radiotherapy is an option. I visited the Papillon Unit at Clatterbridge recently and they deliver the service there on the NHS. I was impressed by the number of patients they treat who manage to avoid needing a stoma bag. The technique can only be used on relatively small tumours, but it would definitely be worth checking out. There is more information at www.clatterbridgecc.nhs.uk/.../
Radiotheropy has been an option. But they say it's so lowdown in the rectum it probly won't work. My mum had bowel cancer 20 yrs ago & is thankfully 67 now with no problems, my dad died 2002 with lung cancer, they said passive smoking , he never smoked in his life but spent many a day in the pubs lol. My sister also had cervical cancer & 10 yrs ago & is 48 now :) all clear, they say it hits 1 in every 3 . There mum dad & 4 girls & it has hit 4 of us, . I can live with a bag ok . & I'm hopefully , pple can't believe how I'm coping;) . Be hopefull ur self , it helps xx
Dont know about your type of cancer but I found that keeping a diary of how I felt during and after the treatment helped me recognise that the symptoms went in cycles so that I knew which days I would be bad and was prepared for it.
I also wrote down questions for the oncologist as they occured to me (actually used my notepad on mobile phone) so that I would not forget anything.
No question is to silly no comment about effects of the treatment to small. Everyone is different and can be effected in different ways.
Papillon isn't standard radio therapy but a relatively new therapy specifically for types of rectal cancer which can't be reached with standard radio therapy.
Essentially, an anal probe is inserted and the radiation is delivered directly to the tumour, very low down in the rectum (within about 6 inches of the anus). The technique is so new and unique that Clatterbridge takes in patients from as far away as New Zealand.
Your surgeon may not be aware that this option is available, so it would be worth asking him or her to look into it. I'm only aware of it because I did a tour of the facility recently and was impressed that we had such a World-leading facility on the doorstep and I hadn't heard of it before. The Papillon Centre is named after the French Doctor who invented the technique, which is fine but it isn't self-evident so far as what they do is concerned.
I met with my sergeon today , the cancer is confined to my rectum , which is good news, I start a 6 wk course this wk of chemo radiotheropy to shrink the tumour , he said its actually really small & if they can get it even smaller they mite just be able to piece me back together. , but thanks & I will ask about What u said . My ops not going to be for another 2 months at least
Hi l just read through your post and noticed that you said you were seeing an oncologist the next day. I was wondering how things went, and if you were doing ok ?
