When you come to MSK for anal cancer care, your quality of life will be a top priority from the first stages of treatment. Our experts take every step necessary to ensure that what matters to you is taken into account. Even after you’ve finished treatments, we know that you may still need our help. We’re committed to supporting you in every way we can for as long as you need us.
We’ve built a program for cancer survivors and their families. Our Adult Survivorship Program has many services for you and your loved ones, including support groups, follow-up programs, educational resources, and more.
Fertility
We understand that fertility is an important and very personal concern. Our experts can help explain how different treatment options for anal cancer can affect your ability to have and bear children. We will go over the many choices we can offer to give you the best chance of preserving your fertility both before treatment and during it. When necessary, we work with our expert team of gynecologic surgeons when fertility preservation is desired.
Sexual Health
Treatment for anal cancer can affect sexual health in both men and women.
For women, our Female Sexual Medicine and Women’s Health Program will connect you to a specially trained counselor who can help you find solutions to issues affecting your sexual health.
For men, the doctors and nurses of our Male Sexual and Reproductive Medicine Program can help you manage the potential sexual side effects of anal cancer treatment. We can also explain your options for storing sperm before treatment.
Rehabilitation and Exercise
Cancer treatment can sap your strength, flexibility, mobility, and energy. Our rehabilitation specialists can teach you therapeutic exercises and training programs that can help you heal. Our state-of-the-art facilities are specially tailored to the needs of people who’ve undergone treatment for cancer. Many of MSK’s regional care network facilities also offer rehabilitation services, helping you get the care you need closer to home.
Supportive Care and Pain Management
At Memorial Sloan Kettering, we focus on all aspects of comprehensive cancer care, not just treating the disease. Our specialists in supportive care can help you cope with the side effects of therapy. These include pain, nausea, and fatigue. We can also help with the emotional and spiritual needs that often come up during and after cancer treatment.
Learn more about how our Supportive Care Service can help you throughout the cancer experience.
If you are in pain during your treatments or even after they’re over, we have pain specialists who can help. We will build a plan that makes sense for you and your needs. Our experts can work with your doctor and pharmacists to give you solutions for both acute physical pain, which comes on suddenly, as well as chronic pain, which can linger. Our goal is to keep you as comfortable as possible.
Counseling Support
Sometimes, you and your loved ones just need someone to talk to, someone who’s trained to help you make sense of your experience before, during, and after treatment for cancer.
Our Counseling Center offers both individual and group counseling sessions to help you and your family cope with your disease. These sessions can be a healthy, productive way to work through the stress and anxiety that are sometimes a part of treatment and recovery.
Learn more about how we can support your emotional well-being.
Older Patients
Cancer and its treatment are a challenge for anyone, regardless of age. But if you’re over 65, you may face unique issues that only affect people in your age group. We’re committed to providing patients of all ages with the treatment, facilities, and support they need.
Your treatment team will include healthcare professionals who have the specialized training and experience to effectively treat older patients. Every aspect of your care — diagnosis, treatment, recovery, support — will be tailored to meet your particular needs.
Integrative Medicine
Medical treatments — things like chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery — are often the best way to treat cancer. Their whole purpose is to get you healthy again. But at MSK, we know that complementary services can help soothe and heal not only your body but also your mind and spirit.
Our Integrative Medicine Service can be a valuable part of your formal treatment plan. Programs we offer include massage, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, meditation, visualization, music therapy, and nutritional counseling. Formal classes include yoga, tai chi, and chair aerobics.
Learn more about the variety of complementary services we offer.
Nutrition
Many people with cancer have questions about diet and nutrition. Our food and nutrition team is trained in helping you understand and cope with a variety of conditions relating to cancer treatment.
Our expert dietitians provide medical nutrition therapy that can help you manage digestion problems, changes in taste and weight, and other issues. We’ll work closely with your treatment team to customize a dietary plan that fits your own specific needs.
Learn more about our nutrition services for patients and survivors.
Tobacco Treatment
Beyond the many other health issues it causes, smoking is a serious risk factor for many types of cancer, and it can make cancer treatments less effective. The nicotine found in cigarettes makes it more difficult for the body to heal wounds, which can compromise your ability to recover after treatment. If you smoke, we want to help you stop — now — to reduce your risk of developing a second cancer or impairing your treatment.
The Tobacco Treatment Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering is ready to help if you’re ready to quit. Giving up tobacco is hard. And quitting while in treatment presents a unique challenge. But it’s a challenge you can overcome, and we can help you do it. We’ll also help family members who want to quit with you.
Learn more about how we can help you quit using tobacco, for good.
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