Hello all I am new here. 50 Y/O White Male Non smoker with hemmerhoids. Always had flare ups and some blood for years. No pain just an inconvienence. as 4/1/16 was having alot of pain and discomfort sitting and was finally accompanied by LLQ pains. Went to my general doctor and he sent me right away to the emergency room. Ran all kinds of tests and the only thing that showed was the CT scan.

It showed a mass in my lower rectum area. Scheduled a colonoscopy and doctor found what looked like a cancerous tumor and took a biopsy. He said he was pretty sure it was positive before even sending it off. To weeks late thy call me with resuts and a recommendation to Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. I could go anywhere I wanted but had known about Moffitt through other people so tht was my choice.

Moffit started out with allt the paper work , blood work, scans, tests. By sometime in may they determined it appeared to be an isolated tumor in the lower rectum with a couple lymph nodes involved.All my other organs imaged and tested came back clean.

So end result is a common rectal tumor stage 3 local. The bad part which I kind of already knew is that it was very low and that would be an issue because it involves the muscle which if not functioning correcly you are incontinent. for better results it should be at least 6 inches up. Mine was only about 3 give or take. I have had three digital exams between April and Sept. They suck but last one was not as painfull. In July I started 6 weeks of chemo and radiation and did well and that's great but still does not change the location. After my last CT and digital exam they confirmed my butt can't be saved. I will have a permanant bag after removal and taking out about a foot of colon.

There is another worse case scenario, if the bladder or prostate has invaded cancer cells they may have to be removed as well. It's called a Pelvic Exentoration. This results in being a two bagger, one for stool and ne for urine. Surgery is long and so is recovery.  Having an outpatient procedure to sample bladder cells the end of this month. Right now still dealing with some side effects of radiation to the pelvis. Kind of sore, bowel is erratic with lots of gas and being incontinent. I never leave home except to the hospital because it can be quite embarrasing. I wear depends briefs and they are very comfy. I also use alot of them because of the diarrhea and cramps. While I feel better somewhat since treatment Incontinence is hear to stay until my bottom is sutured up and no longer in service.

The upside to that is no more digital exams. I asked alot of questions about causes etc. From verbal notes and research it would seem the common theme is processed meats. May or may not be the contributing factor but I do love alot of meat and it didnt matter what kind. Have since stopped that and increased my intake of healthier food. Wish everyone well!