Hi I'm jo ,
I was recently diagnosed with bowel cancer on the 4th February this yr 2022,
Although it's in the back of your mind I never imagined those words to be cancer,
I wasn't very aware of the symptoms of bowel cancer, I started feel feel unwell gradually last August/ September I had pains in my stomach which was gradually gettin more and more especially once I had eaten a full dinner , my bowel movement changed and I had more upset stomachs wkly ,
I started get less and less energy, became very breathless and aching all over it was so gradual its only know I can see how bad I really was ,
I went to the doctors in December last Yr 2021 and had blood tests and a stool sample which came back with traces of blood ,in January i had a ct scan of chest, abdomen and pelvis which was all clear ,my blood test results came back my haemoglobin level was dangerously low at 47 and had to go to A&E and tell them i need a blood transfusion which i did and had the transfusion, i had colonoscopy up and down a wk later and there they found a tumor in my bowel which I saw ,
I got my results on the 4th February and was diagnosed with bowel cancer ,
I was booked in for colorectal surgery on the 1st March to remove a section of my colon where the tumor was and they removed 30 odd lymph nodes in the area aswel ,
I have fully recovered from the surgery tleveeything went really well
Got my results back on the 23rd March and there was traces of cancer in 7 of the 30 odd lymph nodes which is a good result,
I have an appointment on the 22nd march to meet the oncology team to find out what chemo I'm goin to be having ,
It has all happened so quickly its only really know I have had time during recovery to think about what I've been through I still can't get my head round it but I am very lucky to have such a loving supportive family to help me through it all ,
I am very positive and I know I will be it I've just got get the chemo over with then I should be cancer free
Hi Jospongebob and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
That's great to read how well you're recovering from your recent surgery.
As the online community is divided up into different support groups I'm going to recommend that you join the bowel cancer group which is a great place to ask questions, share experiences and get support from others with the same type of cancer.
Clicking on the link I've created will take you to the group where you can join and post in the same way as you did here. You can also join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
It would be great if you could pop something about your diagnosis and treatment into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
If you have any difficulty navigating the community just drop me a reply and I'll be pleased to help
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
