ravians hey there, I also have a large sentinel pile that can get soo big it will cover the entire anal opening and when is swollen it feels like a thrombosed hem, but when my fissure is better the pile just shrink back into nothing but stretched skin.
My CRS told me the same as your doctor told you, that they are just skin and he would not touch them if I decide to have LIS.
A sentinel pile is at the end of your fissure, that is why it will feel like reaping the fissure when you touch it as the other end of it could be the part of the fissure that is deep.
TearingPain anal and colon cancer are different from hems, one of the signs of cancer is a hard and not so painful lump in the anal canal, blood will be dark and sometimes coagulated if is colon cancer, while hems and fissures bleed fresh red blood that can be seen on the stools the toilet paper or the toilet water, fistulas and abcesses can be also painful and will bleed.
A check of the anal canal or colonoscopy will give a proper diagnostic.
I know how stressing it is to have anal pain from fissures or hems, bleeding and worry that it could be cancer, my doctor reassure me many times that it was just a fissure.