How is anal cancer treated?

About treatment

There is treatment for every type and stage of anal cancer. The treatment you get depends on many things. The place, type, and stage of the tumor are very important. Your age, health, and personal wishes are also taken into account.

There are 3 main types of treatment for anal cancer are:

• Surgery
• Radiation therapy
• Chemotherapy (chemo)

Often the best approach uses 2 or more of these. In the past, surgery was the only treatment that could cure anal cancer, but now most anal cancers are treated instead with both radiation and chemo, This treatment approach, called chemoradiotherapy (or chemoradiation), often does away with the need for surgery.

The goal of treatment may be to cure the cancer. If that is not possible, the goal may be to keep the tumor from spreading or to keep it from coming back for as long as possible. Another goal may be to relieve symptoms such as pain or bleeding. Often, an important part of the plan is to try to treat the cancer without affecting your being able to control your bowel movements.

It is important to discuss all of your treatment options, their goals and likely side effects, with your doctors to help choose the plan that best fits your needs. It’s also very important to ask questions if there is anything you’re not sure about. You can find some good questions to ask in the section, “What are some questions I can ask my doctor about anal cancer?”