The Brave Behinds
The no-shame support squad for women affected by #AnalCancer
ABOUT
Anal cancer can be lonely, frightening and incredibly hard to talk about. And not just because of the treatment, the side effects, the scans, the waiting, the pain, the fatigue, the bowel changes, the sexual health worries, the body confidence wobbles and the “what now?” of life after treatment.
But because the word itself can make people freeze. It can become and feel too awkward. Too intimate. Too much information.
So we know all too well, that women stay quiet. They make jokes (actually laughter can help). They minimise. They carry it privately. They try to get back to “normal” when their body, confidence, relationships and sense of self may have been completely shaken.
The Brave Behinds exists to change that.
We are creating a support space for women affected by #AnalCancer. A place where there is:
NO SHAME, NO AWKWARD SILENCES, and NO NEED TO HIDE
This is support built from lived experience, honesty and the belief that women deserve better EVERYTHING, before, during and beyond their journey with #AnalCancer.
SUPPORT
WHO
The Brave Behinds is for women who have been affected by anal cancer and ONLY anal cancer.
You may be:
Newly diagnosed
Going through treatment
Recovering from chemoradiation
Living with side effects
Adapting to living life with a STOMA
Trying to rebuild confidence after treatment
Navigating scans, follow-ups and fear of recurrence
Feeling isolated because no one around you quite understands
Supporting someone you love through anal cancer
Looking for a space where you can talk honestly without shame
You do not need to have the “right” words. You do not need to be brave all the time. You do not need to turn up polished, positive or sorted.
You just need to know that you are welcome.
HOW
Our first step is a monthly online support space for women affected by #AnalCancer, where each month we will have a focussed session, including guest speakers.
These sessions will be informal and lived-experience-led. They are not clinical appointments, therapy or medical advice, unless the guest speaker is qualified. They are a chance to connect with other women who understand why this cancer can feel so difficult to talk about and for us to hold space so that we can actually talk about it and feel supported.
Through The Brave Behinds, we hope to offer:
Monthly online support sessions
Honest conversations about diagnosis, life during and after treatment
A safe space to talk about the things people often avoid
Signposting to useful support and information
Lived-experience stories from women who understand
STOMA related support and advice
Awareness-raising around HPV, cancer recovery and the realities of anal cancer
A growing community where women feel less alone
This is JUST the beginning. We will LISTEN, and we will evolve THE BRAVE BEHINDS from what the community needs - filling in the VOIDs!
The Brave Behinds has been established by Ali and Shell, two women with lived experience of anal cancer.
We’re loud and proud anal cancer survivors because we felt the associated shame and stigma of others - that our cancer, wasn’t one that we should openly talk about, because it made other people feel uncomfortable. And we thought HELL-NO.
Anal Cancer shouldn’t have any SHAME, STIGMA or be something that women have to suffer in SILENCE!
This SQUAD is for all the women affected by ANAL CANCER - you don’t have to be loud and proud, because we’ve got each other! And this is your SAFE-SPACE.
The Brave Behinds
Ali
Co-Founder
When I went for my colonoscopy on 19 October 2024, I wasn’t expecting to be told immediately afterwards that it was cancer. My tumour was the size of a 10 pence piece and happily living up my butt. I was stage three, with lymph nodes involved, as the cancer had spread to lymph nodes in my pelvis and groin.
I realise now how fortunate I was. But at the time, I was in shock. And then came the official diagnosis, it’s anal cancer, caused by HPV.
I had walked away from my role the month before and suddenly felt very isolated. I was, and still am, very grateful for the love and support of my husband, family and friends, but this cancer comes with a strange kind of loneliness. People don’t really know what to say, and half the time you don’t know how to say it either.
I went through 28 days of chemoradiation and, like many women, discovered that finishing treatment is not the same as being finished with cancer.
There is the physical recovery, yes. But there is also the emotional recovery. The scanxiety. The body changes. The confidence knocks. The “what the hell just happened to me?” moments. The strange loneliness of having a cancer that people do not really know how to talk about.
I am now in remission and under close observation, and I feel strongly that women affected by anal cancer need more than leaflets and medical appointments.
We need spaces where we can speak openly, laugh when we need to, cry when we need to, and say the things that feel too awkward anywhere else.
So when Shell found me and said, let’s try and fill some of the many voids we experienced on our respective journeys, I was a hell yes.
That is why The Brave Behinds matters to me. Because shame thrives in silence, and we are not staying silent. I now know how precious life is and I want to live mine on full illumination mode and help other women to do the same!
Shell
Co-Founder
I never imagined that I would become part of a club that nobody asks to join. But after being diagnosed with anal cancer in September 2024, I quickly realised how lonely this particular cancer can feel.
Until around two weeks before the investigations that led to my diagnosis, I had experienced no symptoms. The news came as a huge shock, and I felt incredibly alone, largely because I had never even heard of anal cancer before.
Shortly after receiving my diagnosis, I was told that I would need a colostomy operation before beginning 28 sessions of chemoradiotherapy. This presented another challenge at an already difficult time, and once again I found myself facing something I knew very little about.
My biggest concern throughout was my young family. As a parent, your instinct is to protect your children, yet suddenly I was faced with uncertainty about my own health and the impact it would have on those closest to me. The diagnosis, surgery, and treatment journey were overwhelming, but they also showed me the importance of resilience, support, and taking each day as it comes.
Through my own experience, I realised just how important it is to have people around you who understand what you are going through. That is why I now feel so passionate about creating a community through The Brave Behinds.
Whether you are a patient, a family member, or a loved one supporting someone through anal cancer, I want The Brave Behinds to be a place where nobody feels alone. A place free from shame and stigma, where people can talk openly, share their experiences, ask questions, and support one another.
The support I was searching for simply wasn't there when I needed it most. My hope is that The Brave Behinds can become the safe, understanding, and compassionate community that I wish I had found when I first began my journey.
HELP
The Brave Behinds is currently an early-stage, lived-experience-led support project, and we would appreciate any and all support to help us get up and running.
On our immediate wish list is a logo, an independent website, official email addresses and the basic tools we need to make this feel safe, credible and properly held. Nothing fancy. Nothing wildly expensive. Just the basics. But, as we all know, even the basics cost.
For now, we are testing the need and committing to hosting three free online support sessions for women affected by #AnalCancer over the coming months.
We also want to start creating the blogs, fact sheets and FAQs we wish we had been able to find when we were first diagnosed, going through treatment, recovering, googling at 2am, crying in the car, laughing at inappropriate things, and wondering why nobody seemed to be talking openly about this cancer.
We want to keep the support space free to access, because women affected by anal cancer already have enough to deal with.
Funds raised will help cover practical start-up costs of The Brave Behinds such as:
Website, design and branding costs
Online hosting and administration tools
Official email addresses
Safeguarding and policy support
Promotion and awareness-raising
Accessibility needs
Session planning and facilitation time
Building a sustainable structure for the project, including becoming a CIC during 2026.
There is absolutely no pressure to donate. But if you can chip in, even a small amount, your support helps us build a space where women affected by anal cancer feel less alone, less ashamed and better supported.
And if you have other ideas on how you might want to collaborate, support us, share skills, offer advice, or help us get this off the ground, we would love to hear from you. You can reach Ali at The Brave Behinds at aliestripling@gmail.com