Fertility, menopause and anal cancer (2024)

MissBear23 hours ago

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Hi,

This is one for the ladies out there…However guys you may find some of this useful x

Im 39 and have stage 1 borderline stage 2 anal cancer. It hasn’t spread which I’m grateful for. This has been a 2 year journey for me to get answers. I did everything possible to find out what was wrong with me as I’ve had pelvic pain for 2 years and my gut was telling me something is wrong! From February I’ve had allot of pain when I pass a stool and by August I couldn’t even sit down or drive as the pain was off the scale. I went back and forth to the GP, A&E and private consultants, I would scream and cry when they’d examine me and they kept putting it down to a tear that I have. I finally found a private consultant who has literally saved my life and helped me. She suggested Botox under a general anaesthetic and that’s when she found a lump. 2 weeks later I have squamous cell carcinoma.

I’ve now had two rounds of Botox and this pretty much stops the pain in the bum area. Previously it was like shitting out glass and I’d scream the whole way through. When I think back to that, I have no idea how I still worked and carried on.

I would highly recommend BOTOX to anyone struggling when pain especially passing a stool. The nhs can provide this and it’s done under a general anaesthetic.

I have recently frozen my eggs as I’ve not got any children and this illness has already taken so much of my life. I’ve been told I have a high chance of going into the menopause and not be able to carry a child. tbh I find this harder to accept than the actual cancer. I’ve had an injection to put me into a temporary menopause to potentially prolong or stop me going into the menopause early. I’ve heard that you can get narrowing and dryness of the vagina too?

Has anyone been through this or going through this? As any tips or advice would be very appreciated.

What creams does everyone use around the bum area whilst having treatment? I start my treatment on Monday 2/12/24!

Hi Hayley

Welcome to the club. With regards to the narrowing of the vagina it is a potential side affect, but when you finish treatment they give you dilators to use. I finished my treatment on the 6th November and was dreading using them and kept putting it off due to things I'd read, I went for it on the 24th and it was fine.

Re creams I used E45 to start with as it was one of the creams recommended by my medical team. I used it everywhere downstairs not just my bum. Once treatment started I was given flamigel, flaminal hydro, flaminal forte and instillagel by the hospital.

If you are having the chemo part of your treatment via a picc line I would buy a limbo sleeve for showering etc. Other things I found helpful were water wipes for wiping after the toilet and men's baggy boxer shorts ( more comfy than ladies pants ).

One thing that I think is important with regards to creams or anything else that you may put in contact with your skin is to check with your medical team first as different hospitals seem to say yes/no to different things also things change with time. For example i used epsom salts which some hospitals are ok with but when I mentioned it at the hospital I was told to stop immediately.

I'm sure some of the lovely people on here will give you some more tips and advice that worked for them.

Good luck for Monday. Xx

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Irene7535920 hours ago

Hello Hayley

A warm welcome to the forum although I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis. I am so glad you pressed ahead with all the investigations, sometimes a gut feeling is so overwhelming and you were right to keep going although it issuch a pity that the cancer was found. But treatment is only a week away and hopefully you won't need any more botox after this.

I am sorry I can't advise about fertility, I was way past the menopause when I had treatment but I am hoping that someone with more experience that me in this area picks up on your post. I completely understand why you are feeling so upset about this, you are so young to be facing this at 39.

Bungle has given some good advice about dilators and creams and I would just stress that at all times you keep in touch with your treating team about anything you are experiencing and need help with. They have a wealth of creams, pain relief and dressings at their disposal and will do everything they can to minimise side effects.

Please remember we are here to help support you in the coming weeks should you need it.

Sending a big hug

Irene xx

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