ON THIS PAGE: You will read about how to with challenges in everyday life after a cancer diagnosis. Use the menu to see other pages.

What is survivorship?

The word “survivorship” is complicated because it means different things to different people. Common definitions include:

• Having no signs of cancer after finishing treatment.

• Living with, through, and beyond cancer. According to this definition, cancer survivorship begins at diagnosis and continues during treatment and through the rest of a person's life.

ON THIS PAGE: You will find some helpful links to other areas of Cancer.Net that provide information about cancer care and treatment. This is the final page of Cancer.Net’s Guide to Anal Cancer. Use the menu to go back and review other pages.

Cancer.Net includes many other sections about the medical and emotional aspects of cancer, for the person diagnosed and their family members and friends. This website is meant to be a resource for you and your loved ones from the time of diagnosis, through treatment, and beyond.

ON THIS PAGE: You will find out more about steps to take to help cope with physical, social, and emotional side effects. Use the menu to see other pages.

Every cancer treatment can cause side effects or changes to your body and how you feel. For many reasons, people do not experience the same side effects even when they are given the same treatment for the same type of cancer. This can make it hard to predict how you will feel during treatment.

ON THIS PAGE: You will learn more about clinical trials, which are the main way that new medical approaches are studied to see how well they work. Use the menu to see other pages.

ON THIS PAGE: You will learn about how doctors describe a cancer’s growth or spread. This is called the stage. In addition, you can read about how doctors evaluate and compare cancer cells to healthy cells, called grading. Use the menu to see other pages.

What is cancer staging?

Staging is a way of describing where the cancer is located, if or where it has spread, and whether it is affecting other parts of the body.

ON THIS PAGE: You will find out more about body changes and other things that can signal a problem that may need medical care. Use the menu to see other pages.

ON THIS PAGE: You will find some questions to ask your doctor or other members of the health care team, to help you better understand your diagnosis, treatment plan, and overall care. Use the menu to see other pages.

ON THIS PAGE: You will read about your medical care after cancer treatment is completed, and why this follow-up care is important. Use the menu to see other pages.

Care for people diagnosed with cancer does not end when active treatment has finished. Your health care team will continue to check that the cancer has not come back, manage any side effects, and monitor your overall health. This is called follow-up care.

ON THIS PAGE: You will read about the scientific research being done to learn more about anal cancer and how to treat it. Use the menu to see other pages.

Doctors are working to learn more about anal cancer, ways to prevent it, how to best treat it, and how to provide the best care to people diagnosed with this disease. The following areas of research may include new options for people through clinical trials. Always talk with your doctor about the best diagnostic and treatment options for you.