He had only been unwell with abdominal pain, bloating and feeling unable to open his bowels properly for about one week.
Had two trips to A&E, to be told it was probably gastritis, despite him telling them he had a 20 year history of Ulcerative Colitis (although had been symptom free for many years). Ultrasound scan showed nothing. Told to follow up with GP. Saw the GP six days after first visit to A&E, GP ordered a CT scan that day which revealed a mass with visible lymph nodes. Emergency surgery carried out in early hours of morning, he had to have a sub total colectomy resulting in an ileostomy. There were two tumours in the transverse colon, one a stage 3 ( 13 positive lymph nodes present) and the other a stage 2.
He is now on his first cycle of chemotherapy. He will be having 4 cycles.
This has been a massive shock to the whole family and we are all trying to support him as best we can. He has a positive attitude and approach which I’m sure will help him get through this. Has anyone else had this experience?
Hi Gert and a warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but so sorry to hear about your son.
A cancer diagnosis in the family like this can be such a challenging and stressful time but getting support from others who are dealing with the ‘exact same' support challenges can help you a lot.
The Community is actually divided into dedicated Support Groups (Discussion Rooms) so can I recommend you look to join and post in our dedicated…….
Bowel (colon and rectum) cancer
……. support group.
This group is a safe place to talk to others who may have a similar diagnosis, treatment experience, to ask questions and get support from family members who are navigating the same support journey.
As for the practical and emotional challenges of supporting your son and indeed yourself you may benefit from joining and posting in our……
Carers only (if you are his caregiver)
……. support groups where you will connect with a wide range of members navigating the exact same support challenges.
To connect with a group click on the “Bold Links” I have created above …… then once the group page opens click in the [Black - Click to Join - Banner] that appears at the bottom of the page and this will then confirm that you have joined the group.
When you are ready……. you can introduce yourself 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.
It is an emotional time supporting family so you might find this Macmillan information your feelings when someone has cancer helpful as well as this link getting help with your emotions.
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/work 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.
