TRYING TO FIGHT....

[justaman2]

Well here it goes...i think i have intra anal warts. i had what i thougth were hemeroids until i got a family member(who is a medical practicioner) to take a look. he said its : anal warts and that i should get checked further. NOW this is the issue even moreso...i dont know how long they been there or if they have progressed to cancer. i really hope not, this would devestate my mother as i am her only child. Im scared..and feel alone. I'm looking for a doctor as i type and would request any prayer or hope that yall can give me in my time of need. Im 34 and a non gay male that engages in regular excersize. i was going through the normal symptoms of dampness and some itching. Im too old for the vaccination but apparently not too old to get infected :(

Can anyone provide just a strong word of encouragement to help me through? i dont have friends that i can trust with this information and my mom is not healthy enough for me to even discuss this with.



thanks for reading

[sejmiig]

go get it checked now!!  if you get it checked now, you may just need minor in-office treatment, if you wait (like I did) you may have to go under general anesthesia, twice!  

in re anal cancer, I had all wart stuff when I was 19. I'm 48 now and I don't have anal cancer.  Altho, I do get checked for anal cancer and have had a few minor things burned off (it was nothing)  anal cancer is one of those things (from what I understand) like colon cancer; it takes a long time to form so I'd rather have a minor colonoscopy (which turned up nothing) or wait until I was 70 like my dad and have issues (no cancer, but had to remove a plum sized polyp and remove part of his colon, just because he couldn't stand the thought  of something being "up there."  sorry to be trite, but an ounce of prevention...

find a good colo-rectal guy (preferably referred by a gay medical practice so you don't get 'tude) and find a anal dysplasia clinic (which may be abel to take care of the warts) to start your treatment.

[29sillygirl]

I'll be thinking of you.  Relax and enjoy yourself until the Dec. appt.  ....

Easy to say and hard to do I know.  Here is the thing....you are probably in excellent health except for this one worrisome issue.  All will be cleared up after the appt.  Whatever the diagnosis...you will feel relief.

Best...

[justaman2]

thanks, i think what you do here is very admirable...really...its hard to get through but i have a doctors appt for dec and will just have to see whats going on....of course im scared and ofcourse i am going to have to accept whatever the prognosis is....wish me luck.....



thanks again

[29sillygirl]

Hi there..
Just popped in and saw your post.  I am an anal cancer survivor and want you to know you are absolutely not alone with your anxiety.

Can't add any more advice as you have been given an excellent breakdown of tests etc by jm.

The worst part of my journey was feeling very alone and frightened after all the radiation and chemo .....trying to find support online led me to this forum...where 4 years ago there was no one with this still relatively rare cancer.

Understand your wish to protect your mom....but feel free to post here anytime....

[justaman2]

I have to really thank you guys for coming to my aid...God(or whomever you praise) will bless you for your kind answers. I really appreciate that. this is good advice, really. I will do what you guys recommended and also try to help others that are going through what im going through. maybe we can all put an end to this unfortunate virus by cooperating with each other.



sincerely,

thanks

[jmhohnj]

My partner has anal cancer and what we've learned in this is

(a) anal cancer is detectable and treatable without requiring any sort of traumatic surgery.  The sooner you get checked, the better it will be!  

(b) Given your age, I would think there's a good possibility you could be cancer free.  Even if your anal warts are due to HPV, HPV does not guarantee you'll get cancer.  OTOH, you are going to want to *regularly* get exams so that you can catch any cancer in an early stage.   Ask your family member to help you find a good proctologist who is familiar with HPV/anal warts and detecting anal cancer.

(c) Our experience so far has been that tests and feedback from doctors can be confusing and inconclusive.   There are some tests that may generate false positives, others that may not always detect cancers.  For example, with my partner, a CT scan confirmed an anal mass but did not detect a metastisation to the liver.  The PET scan is what found the liver tumor.  OTOH, a subsequent PET scan did not indicate the presence of tumors that developed in his crotch, but they were visibly there (and localized radiation treatment seems to have done the trick there, btw).
What we have learned:  don't be shy about asking questions or getting clarification on answers you don't understand, don't get freaked out by any one test's results, get second opinions.

(d) Start keeping a journal of who you've seen/what tests you've had done/what you were told, etc.  We spent several months thinking a more severe return of cancer had occurred because our oncologist (medical cancer treatment) and radiooncologist (radiation treatment) didn't talk to each other, and the medical oncologist interpreted a blip on a PET scan as being cancerous when it was actually tissue healing from radiation treatment.   Because treatment for anal cancer usually involves both radiation and chemo, you might wind up seeing two doctors.  You can't assume that they talk to each other as well as they should.

(e) Get a confidant you trust, ideally someone to go to visits where you get test results and discuss next steps in terms of tests and/or treatment.  Another set of ears taking notes and asking questions on your behalf will be very helpful to you.  It is easy to miss important points when it is your own health being discussed!

Good luck!  Get tested and best wishes for a non-eventful outcome,

Jim

[Griever3000]

What? Low risk strains that cause warts do not cause cancer. They are not the same as the high risk at all that cause cancer.

What kind of medical practitioner is this family member? I highly recommend that you see a dermatologist who is experienced in his or her field.

like i said. Warts do NOT progress into cancer. Also, it is highly unlikely to get anal warts with out receiving anal sex.

Go get a proper diagnosis from a dermatologist.You can even get a test done , people who have anal warts or anal hpv can get some sort of test done to make sure that is what they have and to keep track of the virus.

The virus is transient and will be taken care by your immune system.

Please get a proper diagnosis asap