Our stories

Kate’s Story

I was diagnosed with stage 4 anal cancer in 2015 after experiencing rectal bleeding. Treatment started immediately with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation. For me, the diagnosis was overwhelming. I felt incredibly anxious, full of fear and extremely vulnerable.

When I look back on that time I felt incredibly lucky to have a medical team who were so kind, caring and supportive. I am also thankful for having a close family who helped me in so many ways. I was told that a positive attitude was very important so I was determined to be “that person”. Some days I was and some days I wasn’t but that’s OK. I made the decision not to share my diagnosis with those outside my immediate family- in part because it was anal cancer. My feeling was that it would make my friends uncomfortable talking about it. It seemed so much more personal than other cancers, in fact I don’t recall using the term anal cancer very much at all-with anyone.

Looking backI think talking to people who had experienced something similar would have been incredibly helpful. I would like to think I can now help others by listening to their stories.