Back to Health A to Z. The symptoms of anal cancer are often similar to more common and less serious conditions affecting the anus, such as piles haemorrhoids and small tears or sores called anal fissures. See a GP if you develop any of these symptoms.
Anal Cancer: Symptoms and Signs
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Muscles anal sphincters that surround the anal canal relax to allow waste to leave your body. Anal cancer is an uncommon type of cancer that occurs in the anal canal. The anal canal is a short tube at the end of your rectum through which stool leaves your body. Most people with anal cancer are treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation. Though combining anal cancer treatments increases the chance of a cure, the combined treatments also increase the risk of side effects. Talk to your doctor about any signs and symptoms that bother you, especially if you have any factors that increase your risk of anal cancer. Anal cancer forms when a genetic mutation turns normal, healthy cells into abnormal cells. Healthy cells grow and multiply at a set rate, eventually dying at a set time.
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The anal canal is a short tube surrounded by muscle at the end of your rectum. The rectum is the bottom section of your colon large intestine. When you have a bowel movement, stool leaves your body from the rectum through the anal canal. As the cancer grows, it may stay in nearby tissues or spread to other parts of the body, a process called metastasis. Anal cancer starts in the cells around or just inside the anal opening. A person may be diagnosed with precancerous cells in the anal area.
ACS mourns the passing of Chadwick Boseman. Get the facts about colon cancer. Sometimes anal cancer causes no symptoms at all.