Looking after my hubby with colon cancer after surgery

1 minute read time.

Hi,I'm Ticcy and this April ,the day before me,hubby and our two young children ( 8 & 10)  were headed for Dubai to celebrate my 40th birthday,my husband found out he had something bad in his colon.This came as a huge shock to us.

The holiday we had to cancel and the worse news was yet to come. He had colon cancer stage 4.He is only 41 and lives a healthy lifestyle,has never smoked,does'nt drink,exercises and takes no risks.Ideal man! does'nt even like football!

Since then hubby has had surgery to remove the tumour,which was large and had part of his colon removed.He recovered from the op remarkably well and stayed positive throughout. The operation was a success and all the tumour was removed but it had broken through the bowel wall and had spread to lymph nodes.Also it was classed as poorly differentiated,which means its a bizzare and the aggressive type. This is worrying as it means it is likely to return and may not respond to chemo.

J had started his chemo at last after numerous downs,first an infection ,then a blood clot when the picc line was put in.Now I have to administer a daily injection to prevent blood clots.He was disappointed as he wanted the picc line in.He has to go on tablet form chemo and a 2 hr drip. Xeloda and Oxaliplatin.So far he has only done just over a week and he is so poorly.Lost half a stone,only 11 stone to start with. Stomach ache and diahorrea and general unwell feeling.His positiveness seems to have disappeared .I'm scared he wont cope with the chemo ,as there are still 6 months to go.This is only the beginning.I'm not sure what to do,sometimes I'm treating him like a baby ,over fussing and the next I feel angry.

I'd like to hear from anyone on the same chemo and how it affects them or people who are beating bowel cancer and any tips x

 

Anonymous
  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    I have colon cancer and had radical surgery last October after first having 25 shots of radiotherapy along with seven lices of xeloda. The problem with all the treatments is they are cumulative so the first one might be OK but then side effects double up with the second and so on. After number six I was ready to give up but I forced myself and had number seven. I was vomiting, incontinent, had radiation burns up my arse which made going to the toilet unbelievably painful. My hair stayed but my face peeled and my toenails disintegrated. Imagine the relief when they told me I didn't need number eight! I still hve bad days and am prone to a lot of infections but am making progress. I was 56 when diagnosed - I think your husband has got age on his side. In my darkest days my granddaughter aged six pulled me through it. She made me a get well soon card which I had on my locker. When I wasn't eating and  was really down my son went and saw the sister as he was concerned about me with my granddaughter. SHe overheard that I wasn't eating and she told every nurse that came to me that they had to get "Her grandpa to eat." It's bloody hard but he will get there. My story is blogged on this site in detail - the first part is the demise of Roland Ratso and the second part is Roland's Revenge. It has helped some people get through it.

    Keep smiling

    love

    Drew

    X

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Thanks for the reply.Yes I think my hubby has age on his side,so I'm sure he will conquer it.Just got to keep him positive and eating well.

    You have done brilliant,very brave. Best wishes for the future x