Bowel (Rectal) Cancer

Peter's cancer in a nutshell. Nagged him senseless to go to the Doc's for a checkup last year, due to altered bowel habits,especially at night and falling asleep more often in the day than he was allowed! So after lots of sulking and arguments he finally went [October 08]. What stopped him was that he was scared of needles and knew he would have to have some blood tests! Doc found the tumour during her initial 'gloved' examination. He had his bloods taken, without passing out, which is normal for him. Following week received an appointment from the Surgical Specialist and also appointments for an MRI and CAT Scan that week. Went to hospital following Monday [November 08]. Specialist examined him again and took a biopsy. The Monday after that we were being told the devastating outcome. Went home and finished off our Christmas sherry! Started on capecetabine tablets, which thankfully were taken at home, 2 weeks on 1 week off [December 08], then before starting on second cycle went down with a chest infection which was dealt with immediately. So on Christmas Day he started back again, it went well with the sprouts and cranberry sauce. Side effects were splitting of the skin around the fingers and a very sore mouth and splits in the tongue and of course, the tiredness. This was hard to accept for him as he is never ill so it is hard to get around the fact that you are taking tablets to make you poorly when you weren't ill in the first place........the tumour was forgotten!! I dosed him up with lots of Manuka honey and hot Ribena drinks. In order for him to eat his meals he would rinse his mouth out with the Deflam mouthwash given by the Oncology Doc. Five days after finishing his second cycle he started on his chemo/radiotherapy. The capecetabine tablets were a lower dose than previously taken but there was no break, he took them for 35 days. The radiotherapy at Velindre hospital was five days a week for five weeks. The first three weeks he was driving down. He was getting weaker and weaker and finally we were sitting at some traffic lights and he fell asleep almost. This is when the nagging started up again! Every week he went for his review.....they would ask the same thing......'how are you?.... he would reply 'Oh! I'm okay!' So at the next meeting I told them that he wasn't OK and he was getting very down and was muttering more often 'What's the point?' He even refused to speak to anyone who phoned and didn't want the kids and grandchildren there because he was getting very emotional and didn't want anyone to see him like this. The following morning they called him in to speak to the Macmillan Radiographer, a very nice lady who got him to talk about his feelings and every negative he was coming up with she calmly answered 'We are doing this to you!' She explained that it was fatigue and that it affected the whole body and mind and made him feel so tired he couldn't be bothered to think straight. It was not that he was not coping well, which is what he kept telling me! He did feel a little better after speaking to her and getting it off his chest. She told him that he MUST accept the help offered to him by his family and friends. I phoned around them all and they arranged all the transporting between them. How naughty was I feeling now for not learning to drive all these years now!?! Since this time I realise that by asking for our daughters help finally, it made them feel less worthless by doine something for us for a change!! The last weekend of the treatment he was getting worse, he was very burnt down below where the radiotherapy was based and was feeling wretched. I phoned the Oncology Department and the Doctor called back a few minutes later. He told Peter to stop the last couple of days worth of capecetabine but come down on the Monday for the last radiotherapy. His painkillers were doing nothing for him so I managed to get him an appointment later on that morning with the TEAMS doctor at our hospital. He was a very nice person who didn't really do anything but he sat listening to Peter and patting his hand occasionally. This was the best medicine Peter could have had at that particular moment.......silly but true. Before all the treatments started I brought a single bed downstairs which was a great help because Peter was not so isolated from the family. The grandchildren would sit beside the bed with their little games machines or a book while their Bamper slept through the day. Children are very understanding.......we do not give them the credit they deserve in dealing with 'situations'. The Radiographers told him that he would still be feeling rough for up to a fortnight after the finish of the treatment. After 10 days he was still no better and was of the opinion that he would be feeling like this for the rest of his life. On the 12th day he woke up and came down for breakfast, the sun was out and we sat on the patio, it was quite warm, considering it was beginning of March. We had lunch out there too. We were sat in the lounge in the evening and he suddenly announced that he was feeling better..........really better! Since then he has not had one bad day! He stopped his pain killers three days later! He has been gardening, cleaning the car and generally pottering around the place. He doesn't even have a sleep during the day, except when he has had a pint when we have gone out to lunch!! So, we are sitting here this morning waiting for the hospital to ring. He was given todays date, 14th April 09 to be admitted for his op tomorrow. I phoned to ask if a bed was available, as was requested on his admittance letter, to be told there was no bed. They will contact us this afternoon if one becomes available! The same old story really......it is a very difficult thing to arrange......beds! Anyway, when he does go in he will be having an AP Resection (abdominoperineal) which means he will not longer be classed as an a**h*l* when he upsets anyone and will be having a 'bag for life' which I have already told him cannot be replaced by Tesco. He has had a meeting with the stoma nurse who explained more than Peter really wanted to know and was given a colostomy pack to try out, with a pretend stoma to stick where it was most comfortable. I don't think the top of the head is a great place for it and am hoping they will talk him out of this when they admit him! He will have two large incisions one from belly button down and another from scrotum up so will not be farting in tenor anymore. Phone has just rung! He is going in at 2.00. Will keep you all informed. Cherryl and Peter