Hi, there's more than one type of anal cancer. The pathology report should
tell you that.
The rest of your questions may be answered here
http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Cancertype/Anal/Analcancer
(which could give you some ideas about what other questions to ask)
The types of scans done may vary, depending on the type of anal cancer.

and the timeline regarding tests and chemo/radiation will be answered by
his doctor(s).

There's a support resource for you and/or him here
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/anal-cancer/
Best wishes,
J

************
Each case will be different, and I would guess the decision about the
chemo/radiation would be arrived at after the surgical findings,
Example:
My son-in-law's father has a colostomy, so the son thought it wise to have a
colonoscopy with his routine physical.  They imaged a quite large (several
inches) growth in his sigmoind colon.
Quite a scare with the family history. The biopsy was CA.
The surgery then to remove the growth.  A large section of intestine was
removed, but the good news is that the growth was not as depicted by the
x-ray image - a bit smaller and had not grown through the intestinal wall.
The result was - no colostomy, no radiation, no chemotherapy.

I am sure a doctor will respond with a more technical answer.
Sure hope the end result for your friend will also be a positive one.
best wishes,
eveline

It's a clinical staging system.
The surgeon already knows the stage.

A CT is prudent, and if negative, the radiation or chemoradiation can start
within a week or two