Thanks for your post to my post Leanne! I love that we have looked at fear in the face and decided to stand up and say NO MORE. This cancer thing can lead us to a place or such honesty that the right people are going to be so drawn to us. It happens…its amazing. I’m so glad that you are on the road to recovery….so happy. You will continue to thrive and yes, gain weight. (just dont eat that junk food. Cancer cells like sugar and high glucose levels). Eat healthy nuts, almond butter with sprouted grain bread, avocados, pesto, put olive oil in your healthy grains and sprinkle it with nuts… you will gain weight. And a little animal protein while you heal but small amounts as these are inflammatory. Sorry to harp on this but I’ve read so much about anti-cancer diets etc. and they all conquer. Anyway, thank you for being you…and for speaking out for all of us. so much love, Nova

Posted on January 21, 2010 at 8:18:01 AM by novasprick

Hi Leanna,
Thanks for leaving me a comment and welcoming me to the community. Please let us know in a new post how your treatment went for you (if you don’t mind)and what you experienced. I don’t know what the DPD is that you mentioned in your bio so I’ll google it to find out. It’s these bits of info that are so helpful.

All the best,
Theresa

Posted on January 8, 2010 at 7:36:22 AM by theresam

Hi Leanna,

Thank you for the wonderful comment. I will keep you in my prayers – I truly hope you beat your battle with Anal Cancer.

It’s funny because I went to a cervical cancer conference in October and they told us that HPV can turn into anal cancer. Everyone thinks it always turns into genital warts or cervical cancer, but because there are over 100 types of HPV, it can turn into so many forms of cancer. I wish more people knew about this kind of stuff. I mean, I’m not saying that breast cancer isn’t important or we shouldn’t be concerned about it, but I don’t understand why we are making it FEEL like it’s more important. Cancer is cancer – every kind of cancer should have their “spotlight” so to say.

Thank you for the support – it means the world to me. Please keep me posted on your health. My best goes out to you and your family.

Posted on November 24, 2009 at 6:09:36 AM by katharine

Hi Leanna,
Not having answers to all the questions you have and will have is scary, but I know there is someone on this site that will have an answer for you or can get it for you. Please be strong and stand tall against cancer. Having the support of your family and friends is wonderful. I’ll keep you in my prayers.

Eli

Posted on October 28, 2009 at 2:41:59 PM by eli

Leanna—
Thanks for the comment to me. I hope I can be of help to you in navigating your way through this blog and this journey you are on. As for the abbreviations, I apologize if I have used those and have left you in the dark as to what they stand for. But you’ll have to forgive me, as for many years, I worked as a medical transcriptionist where abbreviations are frequently used. Some of the more common ones you will read on this site are:

tx—treatment
dre—digital rectal exam
rad—radiation

There will be others from time to time, so if you don’t know what they mean, don’t be afraid to ask.

As for what lies ahead for you, I will not lie to you, it will not be easy. I went through tx without being on this forum and knew next to nothing about what it would be like. If you are like me, you’d rather know so that you can be prepared. Please talk to your oncology nurse about all the anticipated or possible side effects and what you can do to help relieve them. They can give you prescriptions for anti-nausea drugs, anti-diarrhea drugs, pain medications and sedatives. If you are getting a chemo port put in, be sure to ask for Lidocaine cream to apply over the port before they access it (stick it with a needle). This cream will numb the area and you will not feel pain when they stick. As for the burning, there are different creams and lotions that can be used, some over the counter, and others by prescription. You need to ask your radiation oncologist about these and get them BEFORE you begin tx. Keep your skin moisturized, but ALWAYS be sure to have any traces of cream or ointment removed at least 2 hours prior to your rad tx, as any left on the skin may actually increase the burning.

I lost my appetite during tx and lost about 13 pounds. It is imperative that you try to eat whenever you can and always include some type of protein in every meal or snack. I relied heavily on soups, English muffins with peanut butter, and yogurt (which helps your intestinal tract). Protein drinks are helpful—I drank Boost, but did not like it at all! If you experience mouth sores or thrush, like I did, ask your oncologist for “Magic Mouthwash.” They will know what this is and it really does work.

There are so many other things that can help you get through this, but I will not list them all here. Rather, I hope that as you get into your tx phase, you will come here and update us on what you are experiencing and ask for advice. Each person’s journey is a little different, so you may not face all the problems I had, but you could also have some I did not experience. But whatever you are dealing with, put it on here and someone will have a suggestion.

I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers and look forward to more chats with you. Take care.

Martha

Posted on October 28, 2009 at 7:06:58 AM by mp327