What Is Anal Cancer?

Among the many different types of cancer that an individual can acquire, one question that many people often wonder about is ‘what is anal cancer’. Anal cancer is a specific form of this harmful disease that is considered to be quite rare. The area of the body that this form of cancer occurs is in the individual’s anal canal, which is a small tube that is located at the end of the body’s rectum. This is the area of the body that is responsible for performing the natural process of ridding the body of various types of harmful toxins, unwanted matter, and various food products that have already been digested in the digestive system, and then they exit the body through the stool.

According to the National Cancer Institute, there are as many as 5,000 individuals every single year that are diagnosed with this specific type of cancer. However, the occurrence of this specific type of cancer has shown to be on the rise, but the reason why there has been an increase in people that acquire anal cancer is still unclear.

Aside from the question ‘what is anal cancer’, another question that concerns many individuals is when does this type of disease generally occur, what symptoms are usually experienced when a person has anal cancer, and what are the most common treatment methods that are used for this specific type of cancer.

In most of the cases when a diagnosis ultimately leads to the occurrence of anal cancer, the disease is generally found when it is in its early stages. This is of course a huge benefit to the patient, as early treatment offers the highest chances of being able to adequately cure the disease.

There are a variety of different factors that can ultimately end up causing a person to suffer from anal cancer. Some of the most common factors that various studies and research projects have uncovered are those that are listed below.

• Smoking cigarettes containing nicotine puts individuals at a much higher risk for acquiring this form of cancer.
• Individuals that engage in sexual activities with several different sex partners in combination with anal sex can result in this disease.
• Individuals that have reached the age of 50 and above are at a higher risk for anal cancer.
• Due to the sexual activities of individuals that are homosexual, their chances of acquiring anal cancer are much higher than in individuals that are heterosexual.
• Individuals who have acquired HPV, which is more commonly known as genital human papillomavirus are at a much higher risk level for acquiring problems that are commonly associated with anal cancer.

Followed by the question of ‘what is anal cancer’, those who have acquired this type of disease are at a much higher concern of the specific treatment methods that are commonly used to treat this type of disease. Because most cases of anal cancer are caught early, there is a high success rate of successfully being able to treat and cure individuals that have acquired this form of cancer.