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Norton Cancer Institute, the leading provider of cancer care in Louisville and Southern Indiana, offers same-day appointments for newly diagnosed anal cancer patients. If you’ve been diagnosed with anal cancer, you want to start getting better right away.
Our board-certified and fellowship-trained oncologists are leaders in their field. They’re at the forefront of developing innovative approaches to getting patients back to living their lives.
You’ll have a one-on-one relationship with your oncologist, surgeon, radiation oncologist or other specialist at Norton Cancer Institute.
Anal cancer is relatively uncommon. The National Cancer Institute estimates that there will be about 8,590 new anal cancer diagnoses and about 1,350 deaths in 2020.
Anal cancer affects the short tube (anal canal) at the end of the intestines where stool leaves the body.
The specialists at Norton Cancer Institute use the latest equipment and procedures to make a precise diagnosis of your cancer. Our multidisciplinary approach with multiple specialists in one setting means we offer a full range of anal cancer treatments.
Our advanced testing options will help your specialist determine a care plan that’s tailored for you based on the stage of your cancer and your treatment goals. Your comprehensive care team of physicians and other health care providers meets regularly to review your case and plan the next steps.
At Norton Cancer Institute, you’ll have access to a multidisciplinary team of specialists. That includes oncologists, gastroenterologists and others to provide comprehensive care.
In addition to our current leading-edge treatments, we offer our patients the opportunity to participate in innovative National Cancer Institute- and industry-sponsored clinical research studies. These trials help to improve current cancer treatments in addition to finding new and promising solutions.
If radiation therapy part of the treatment plan, we map the exact shape and location of your tumor, then direct cancer-killing radiation at just the tumor, minimizing the impact on healthy tissue and reducing side effects. Chemotherapy and surgery are also possible treatments.
Depending on your cancer, just the tumor and some surrounding tissue may be removed surgically. Called a local resection, the sphincter muscles may be unaffected so you can still control bowel movements.
Anal cancer that comes back after radiation therapy or chemotherapy may be treated with an abdominoperineal resection that removes the anus, rectum and part of the colon through an abdominal incision. After this procedure, the patient’s body waste is collected in an external bag through an opening the surgeon creates in the surface of the abdomen.
Some signs and symptoms of anal cancer are similar to other diseases or conditions, such as hemorrhoids. If you have any of the following, check with your health care provider:
Many people assume itching in the anal area is caused by hemorrhoids (itchy, painful or bleeding masses of tissue in the anus). This can delay diagnosis and treatment of anal cancer.
Like other cancers, there are multiple factors that can put you at risk.
Risk factors include:
More patients in Louisville and Southern Indiana choose Norton Cancer Institute than any other provider in the area. We provide compassionate care for the whole person, not just the cancer.
Our Norton Cancer Institute oncologists are also researchers and principal investigators, offering patients sophisticated experience in the latest treatments and access to more than 200 clinical trials.
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