What Farrah Fawcett Can Teach Us About Anal Cancer

The 1 in 8 figure is for all women in their 80s, not all women in general.

anonymous of AL 11:40PM September 25, 2012

You put too much emphasis on anal sex. I was diagnosed earlier this yr with anal cancer. Though I had cervical dysplasia over twenty yrs ago, since testing for HPV became available I have been negative per my GYN. Also, I got anal cancer though I am heterosexual, have had no more than five sexual partners in my lifetime (I'm fifty), and never had anal sex. That's all I have to say. Until eleven months ago I had a leaky bladder from my childbearing yrs, which likely caused chronic irritation to the anal region. I had no further risk factors for anal cancer. JFE.

JFE of FL 3:34PM December 02, 2010

Muchas veces por querer complacer a la pareja acccedemos A tener sexo anal claro qtodas las personas no van a Desarrollar el cáncer pero esto de las vacunas preventivas quisiera q fuera mas difundido q lo sepan todo el mundo yo vivo en Perú y no se si en las postas de salud Aplican esta vacuna.gracias por su información.

rossana 9:58AM March 30, 2010

It was directly because of Farrah's death that I found my own anal cancer. My medical people that I trusted to take care of me had fallen down on the job, and my cancer was not discovered until I read about the symptoms after Farrah's demise by that time I was at stage 3 N1.

After 2 rounds of chemo and 23 Radiation treatments(I was scheduled for 33, but quit after 23 as my bikini area was so severely burned) my tumor is now gone.

However: know that anal cancer is often silent, and now that the tumor is gone for 3 and a half months I am in accute discomfort with almost constant pelvic pain and horrible headaches which compromise my quality of life. Not to speak of some of the other side effects of pelvic radiation that are so distructive to women. Radiation had a distructive effect on my right hip replacement, and that may need replacing as well.

Cost? OMG: medicare pays 80% I am responsible for the other 20%. Where the money is going to come from is a mystery to me! I was widowed 2 years ago, live in subsidized elderly housing, have NO assetts, limited income, yada, yada. I can estimate that my medical cost for this past month alone is well over $6000, and we are only half way thru the month.

I have 5 children. All are on the East Coast and I am in N. Minnesota. In order not to compromise their futures: all are fighting their own health care and family income battles, I have made arrangements to donate my body to the University as a gift to science. Thus not incurring funeral expences for the kids, and maybe contributing to the education of our future health care workers.

Get the points here: my docs missed my cancer at an earlier stage when it wouldn't have been so distructive to my health to deal with. AND the financial side of this whole business which will go on for years, with constant vigilance, should my cancer reoccur, which I am assured by my oncologist is a good possibility.

I won't even go into the toll on my mental health, the stress, the pain the constant worry about both my ability to care for myself financially and physically.

Oh, and BTW: I was NEVER diagnosed with HPV and never even heard about anal cancer until Farrah's death.

Keep up your good work,

Ruth

Ruth Kivela of MN 3:01PM March 13, 2010