End of one chemo and no new appointment

Hi Kcin 

Thanks for getting in touch with our online community. My name’s Louise and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists here.

It must be hard to see your brother struggling. It’s good that you have reached out.

I’ll discuss the pain first. It’s important to get this checked out and for your brother to be comfortable. As we don’t have access to medical records, we would always encourage anyone to report any changes or concerns to their healthcare team. There are different ways your brother can do this, depending on his situation.

You mention that his chemotherapy has stopped. If this pain is new and he has had chemotherapy in the last few weeks he should contact the 24-hour chemotherapy helpline straight away. Otherwise, he can contact his GP today. They are there to help manage pain and get the right medications.

When someone is in pain, not sleeping and tired it can lead to other problems and really impact wellbeing and quality of life.

It can be hard to see someone go from being positive and in quite a stable mood to losing their positive energy. If you have noticed he is putting on a bit of a front and using his phone for distraction, it might be that he is depressed and that he needs some help with his mood.

Cancer can cause a range of emotions which can affect people’s mood and how they seem to be coping. The GP is also there to support with how someone is feeling, provide ongoing support and refer to other services.

For example, medications and talking therapies can help. Your brother can also mention the difficulty sleeping and tiredness, and there is a lot of support for this too. For example, Sleepio is a free app to help overcome sleepless nights. Our information for carers explains the different health and social care professionals who can also help.

Sometimes chemotherapy can stop working. It would be usual for the healthcare team to discuss the next steps with someone. It’s important for people to know what the plan is so they can make the right decisions about their own care.

Treatment teams work as part of a multidisciplinary team (MDT). This is a team of specialists who meet every week or sometimes every other week to discuss each person’s individual case and plan of care going forwards. It’s difficult to say how long it should take for appointments to be given as each hospital’s situation is different.

Your brother can contact his Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) or consultant to find out what the next steps are. They can be reached via the medical secretaries who can be contacted through the main hospital switchboard.

It might help to understand the different types of treatment available for secondary (advanced) bowel cancer and write down questions to ask his specialist team.

Your brother could also ask the GP if they have access to recent hospital notes or letters that may give more information.

It’s important to look after yourself, too. I hope you have found the online community helpful and supportive. I can see you haven’t joined any forums. It can help to share experiences with others in a similar situation. You can find this type of support from our family and friends group. You can also find support in your area.

You could also call us. One of our nurses would be happy to talk things through.

Kind regards  

Louise, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist  

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:  LR/GH