Lymph nodes

Hi PaddyBud

Thanks for getting in touch, and welcome to our online community. I see you have registered with our bowel and anal cancer forum, and I hope you find our online community helpful in gaining further information and support. 

My name is George, and I'm one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.

We know that waiting for test results can be a challenging time. It is promising to read that you have been told your blood tests show no abnormalities.

Unfortunately, we do not have access to the NHS and personal medical records and can only give general information and support. Therefore, we recommend discussing any question you have with your medical team or GP. 

Bowel cancer would be diagnosed by taking a biopsy of the bowel. The scans look in detail at the bowel and other body parts. Lymph nodes visible on the scan will be identified, and the radiographer will take measurements to determine if they are of normal size. 

If bowel cancer is detected, it's normal to have a further scan called a PET scan, which uses a drug injected through your arm to show any areas that the cancer may have spread to. Bowel cancer is often removed by surgery, and it's a routine procedure to remove a few lymph nodes in the direct vicinity of the tumour to look for any cancer in those nodes. This process is used to determine if Adjuvant chemotherapy (mop-up chemotherapy)  is required to treat the whole body, targeting any other cells that may have broken away from the tumour in the bowel and reducing the chance of reoccurrence.

I hope all goes well with your results, but please do not hesitate to contact us on the support line to discuss any further concerns or questions. 

I hope this answers your questions.

Best wishes,

George

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email. 

Our ref: AP/GHi