Newly Diagnosed

Hi Fredrico 

So sorry your going through this awful journey and being diagnosed with AC...

I found this group so helpful to prepare me for what the 28 days of treatment would be like.. and also give advice on any concerns..

My advice to you would be read as many of the posts as you can.. we all experience slightly diffrent symptom..

My preparation was

Purchase a sitz bath

Use water wipes instead of toilet tissue

Keep moisturizing down below  .. the hospital give you flamigel RT but I also used the non scented aveeno 

Purchase baggy trousers and shorts for tge later side effect so you are comfortable..

During the treatment 

The first few weeks other than the chemo tablets making me feel nausea I coped well.. stay on top of your anti sickness tablets.

I stocked up on easy eats such as Porridge..soups.. pancakes and white toast..I'm still eating only those now ( I finished my treatment on 13th Feb)

 From week 5 to date.. use the oramorph if you need to to keep your pain and comfort levels under control..

Read lots of books.. watch Netflix, Amazon etc..and sleep

But above all please be kind to yourself.. rest when you need to.. and reach out on this forum for anything that's worrying you.. everyone on here has helped me get through the last few months.. and I'm sure they will help you..

Best wishes 

Squeak 

Hi Fredrico

Welcome to the club no one wants to join. So sorry this is your second brush with cancer. The people on here are a good bunch and will be here for you whatever you need. Tips, advice or just getting stuff of your chest as such even if it isn't cancer related. I would say keep yourself well moisturised but once you start treatment any creams etc you use not given to you by your treatment team run past them first as different hospitals seem to ok different ones. My essentials as such were water wipes and men's baggy boxers also allow as much air as possible to the area when at home. A lot of people get a sitz bath (I didn't). Another bit of advice I was given but didn't do but probably should have was to get some meal prep done before treatment started incase you don't feel upto it during treatment. You maybe fine as we all react differently and have different tolerance levels. Sending hugs. Xx

Hi Fredrico,

So sorry that you’ve just had this diagnosis.

Sounds like you have had and are having a particularly rough time. Having already gone through cancer treatment I can only imagine what a blow this must be.

Welcome to the forum however and I have no doubt that you will find support, helpful information on any aspect of the treatment journey and general kindness from everyone in the group. I know that I have found it  so helpful and regret not using it more in the early days.

You can honestly check out anything here - nothing is off limits and as Bungle said it’s a place where you can vent your feelings on this emotional rollercoaster of a diagnosis.

A welcome hug to you x

Hi Fredrick, sorry you have had to join us but we are all here to support you. I also had a biopsy just before treatment and the stitches tore and I ended up in hospital as I was losing too much blood. Squeak has given some good tips on things like sitz baths. My top tip starting treatment was doing pelvic floor stretching basically stretching hips to keep everything strong and supple as the radiotherapy isn’t to kind and the pelvic area is prone to sciatica/hip/back pain if not kept supple. You will get gels to help but I personally privately purchased a gel called StrataXRT and used this throughout treatment and only started to get skin reactions around the fifth week which was mainly internal. You can get information on this online and my oncologist approved it after I gave her the information. Hope your scans go smoothly and soon get a start date.

Julie

Thank you for the reply and the advice.

Thank you for the reply, much appreciated x

Hello Fredrico

I am really sorry to hear of your diagnosis and I can't even begin to imagine how you felt being told a second time that you had cancer.  You have already had enough on your  plate without this as well.

But you have come to the right place.  You have already had a warm welcome from some of our members (and some excellent information too) and everyone knows all about this treatment so if there is anything you need to know, just shout out.

I hope that all the scans go well and treatment starts soon - chemo/radiotherapy is tough but doable and strange as it may sound you will feel better once treatment starts.

Sending a big hug

Irene xx

Hi

I was diagnosed last thursday. Scans booked for this thursday then MDT meeting week on Tuesday. This is my first cancer and hopefully my last. 

Kazaboo x

Hi Fredrico ,

Another warm welcome to the forum although I’m really sorry to hear of your recent diagnosis. 

The beginning of your journey sounds very similar to my own. I had my diagnosis following a biopsy on what was first thought to be an external polyp & internal ulcer, I was seen by my colorectal surgeon & he removed my tumour in its entirety, that was done on the Monday & my stitches burst on the Saturday evening which landed me in A&E as it bled a lot! Surprisingly it healed pretty quickly after that. I had clear margins on my tumour but a small area was only cleared by 1mm which is cut off point for further treatment so I was referred on to oncology & entered into a clinical trial for chemoradiotherapy. 

We’re here to share our journeys & help support you however we can. I hope your upcoming appointments go well. 

Nicola

Hi Fredrico

Sorry to know you are going through such a difficult time, you have clearly been through a lot already. Thoughts are with you as you go on this awful journey.

Best Wishes

Viv x