Bowel Cancer

Hi  and welcome to the Online Community, although I am so sorry to see the circumstance that brought you here and so sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with Bowel Cancer. On my 20 years journey with cancer I found the best way to understand and plan to get through the rollercoaster was to find out as much information as possible. 

With clear information you then can navigate the various challenges and control the whirlwind between the ears that a cancer diagnosis brings. So talking with people who are on the same journey will help a lot.

My cancer journey was rather different but if you follow this link to our Bowel Cancer Forum you will be able to connect with people who understand. You can ask the folks questions about treatments, what to expect and how to help you during this time.

Follow the link and join the group. Hit the 'Start a Discussion' tab and introduce yourself to the group - you could just copy an paste what you put in this first post.

Remember to go to the right on the group home page and select how you want to receive email notifications when someone answers your posts.

You may also find our various Macmillan Support Line Services on 0808 808 00 00 to be very helpful even if all you want to do is talk with friendly person that can help in lots of ways.

We also have our ‘Ask an Expert’ section but please allow a few days to get an reply.

We also have our Online Information and Support Section where you will find some great pages covering the cancer diagnosis, treatment and information pages covering most types of cancers - just go to the bottom of the home page and have a look through the list.

When you have time it would be helpful if you could put some information about yourself and the journey that brought you to the Community into your profile as it really does help the Community members to help you and get to know you.

Click on your username and that will take you to your homepage. Look for ‘Edit my Profile’ click on it and start to tell us as much or as little about yourself as you want then click on save before closing the page. Hit @Thehighlander and see my profile but it is rather long as my journey has been very long.

Al the best.

Hi tub54

my partner was diagnosed with stage 4 incurable bowel cancer in Oct 2017, they also found lesions on his liver.  In July 2016 he had an heartattack and had to have a triple heart bypass.  In my partners case all of the consultants had a meeting to discuss the plan as they were unsure as to whether he would survive the operation on his bowel due to the triple heart pass 15 months earlier.  After a few consultations with various consultants the operation took place in November 2017.  Unfortunately the cancer in the bowel was bigger than expected therefore he had to have some bowel taken away and he now has a colostomy bag.  He started chemo jan 2018. 3 different types.  He had a scan 6 months ago and the scan showed the lesions on the liver had disappeared.  About 6 weeks ago he was told he was currently cancer free.  He is due for another scan next week.  Although he is cancer free he will have to carry on with chemo for an indefinite period.  We never thought we would hear the words ‘cancer free’. All I can say is write down questions before you see the consultant. Take someone with you to make notes as everything will be overwhelming and some of the information you will not take him.  There is hope and light at the tunnel.  I’m not sure if this has helped but I wish you all the best on your journey, remember ask questions even if you think they are silly