Evening all,
51 yrs old and I’ve two week ago been diagnosed with Colorectal Cancer after having a Contrast Scan and Endoscopy exam.
I felt fine (other than suffering bouts of fatigue at work- just put it all down to over doing things at work) but my work colleagues started commenting on my flat tummy so I made an appointment with my GP. This led to a blood test- nothing untoward, but I was Anaemic so my nurse put me on Folic acid supplement, but my GP also arranged a FIT test. This came back confirming a hint of blood in my stools, so got a two week referral for a Contrast CT scan and an Endoscopy exam. End result is I’ve been diagnosed with Colorectal Cancer.
Now, just a waiting game for what they’ll do next whilst they formulate my treatment plan but since my diagnosis I’m suddenly really starting to struggle with fatigue during the day. They did mention at my Endoscopy something about a blood transfusion but having opted for sedation I wasn’t really following what the nurse was telling me.
What’s a usual timeframe to wait for the hospital to get back to me on what’s happening next? I’ve been told I’ll need surgery to remove a mass in my intestine (the camera never got far) and Chemotherapy but in which order I’m not sure.
prior to the diagnosis I felt fine in myself, but the past couple of days since being told I’m really struggling with waves of exhaustion and fatigue. I’m currently off work so I’m getting plenty rest, reasonable amounts of sleep at night- though I do wake up often. But it takes ages to get my get up n go after having eaten breakfast and whilst my energy levels are good for a few hours, they soon dip despite eating regularly and drinking plenty mugs of tea.
Should I ring my GP again for another blood test or up my daily Iron tablet intake?
kind regards, C.
Hi Cragster2025 and a very warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but sorry to hear about your diagnosis.
Navigating a cancer journey can be such a stressful and challenging time but getting support from people who have walked or are walking the ‘exact same' journey can help a lot. (I have a completely different cancer).
This New to Community area is like our reception desk where we look to try and direct you to the best part of the Community for you to get support. The Community is actually divided into dedicated Support Groups (Discussion Rooms) so can I recommend that you look to join and put up your own post in our dedicated Bowel Cancer Support Group.
This group is a safe place to talk to others with a similar diagnosis, treatment experience, to ask questions and get support. To connect in with the group please click on the link below…….
Bowel (colon and rectum) cancer
……. and once the group page opens you will see a [Black - Click to Join - Banner] at the bottom of the page, click in this box and this will then confirm that you have joined the group.
You can then introduce yourself to the group by putting up your very own post by clicking [+ Create new post] or [+] in the top right of the group page.
You can copy and paste the text from this post into your new post.
The Macmillan Support Line is open between 8am-8pm (timings may differ across services) 7 days a week on 0808 808 00 00…… this service provides cancer information, practical information, emotional support, benefits/financial guidance or just a listening ear.
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.
Do get back to me if you need further help navigating the community.
