Hello,
My wife has been diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, this has all been very sudden, 4 months ago she was walking at least 6 miles a day at work, she is 57. She suffered with constipation for 6 weeks with various visits to GPS and A and E, this culminated in a 999 call and a traumatic 2 and a half hour wait for an ambulance. After an emergency operation for an obstructed bowel we were told that they had found cancer, and after the biopsy results were through were told that it was incurable, and any care would be palliative.
A very determined lady she has taken everything in her stride, our son got married on Thursday, and we are now enjoying our Christmas preparations. IV chemo meeting is on the 29th, and we assume the chemo programme will follow.
Any advice would be much appreciated, what is amazing me is how many people are suffering, sadly this is strangely comforting.
Enjoy your Christmas as much as you can, and I look forward to chatting online to you.
Hi Ady and an unfortunate welcome to the Online Community, I am so sorry to hear about your wife’s diagnosis.
A cancer diagnosis like this in the family can be such a challenging and stressful time but I do hope you will find the Community a safe place to get support from family members who are navigating the same journey.
The Community is divided into support groups (discussion rooms) so can I recommend you join and post in our general Carers only and Supporting someone with incurable cancer support groups where you will connect with others dealing with the same challenges while supporting family during a journey like this.
If you'd like to connect in with a group click on the (Bold) links I have created above. Once the group page opens click on the black banner that says [click to join] at the bottom, or the [Join] button under "Group tools."
You can then introduce yourself by putting up a ‘new post’ by clicking in the box near the top right with + New or + (Depending on the device you are using) and you are ready to go. You could copy and paste the text from this post into your new post.
The Macmillan Support Line is open from 8am-8pm (timings may differ across services) 7 days a week on 0808 808 00 00 where you can talk with someone about specific cancer and practical information, get emotional support, benefits/financial guidance or just connect with a listening ear.
We also have our Ask an Expert section but do allow a few working days for a reply.
Talking to people face to face can be very helpful so do check to see if you have any Local Macmillan Support in your area, do also check for a local Maggie's Centre as these folks are amazing and aim to give support to all the family.
Please do get back to me if you need further help.
Hi Ady
In addition to the good advice provided by Mike, can I also suggest that you join the bowel cancer group where there are a number of members with extensive experience of chemo regimes and of living with a stage 4 diagnosis? There are also partners of those suffering from bowel cancer in the group and it’s a very supportive environment.
If you click on this link it will take you there-
I hope you find being a member of the community encouraging and helpful, and that your wife can move forward with her treatment plan soon.
Sarah xx
