Colon tumour

Morning - I was diagnosed in April when I had a colonoscopy after being investigated for appendicitis for the last 2 years. I’ve got no symptoms whatsoever so you can imagine it came as quite a shock. It was the not knowing following a ct and mri scan that was the hardest and the fact that the specialist nurse rang to tell me the results weren’t as expected but she couldn’t tell me what they were - I had 10 days of my mind continuously whirring. I’m not only under the oncologist but also a urologist as I had to have a kidney stent inserted to stop the tumour pressing on my kidney. I’m now on my 2nd round of chemo (out of 4) with a view to removing the 2 tumours I have in September/October.  I was 70 a few days ago - but a very active person normally so finding it hard to slow down a bit.

The best advice I can give is be kind to yourself and take each step as it comes. Forget google - it just makes things scarier and we are all different. 

Hope this is of some help

Hi Jye1970 and a warm welcome to the board. The waiting for scan results etc. is very stressful and hopefully the results will be through quickly. I was told straight after my colonoscopy that they were 99% sure that it was cancer and things moved pretty quickly after that.

Please stay away from google - it can be out of date and downright scary in places. If it does turn out to be bowel cancer then it is very treatable nowadays and we’ll be happy to help and support you through things.

I was diagnosed in 2016 and went through my treatment with 2 other ladies who I became friends with online - we’re all still ‘no evidence of disease’.

Please let us know how things are going and the support desk on the number below is available if you want to chat to someone?

Take care

Karen x

Hi! The waiting bit is definitely the worst, once you have some answers you can move on. I was diagnosed in 2019, when I was 42 and it was also a shock as I felt fit and healthy, just ran a half marathon etc. Had surgery, 12 rounds of chemo and was clear in 2020. It came back last year as metastases in the lungs so just did another 12 cycles of chemo and now preparing for radiotherapy, which should get rid of them but will never be sure that it won't come back again... I kept working, running, and looking after the kids throughout, not saying it has been easy but life goes on. Cancer is not a death sentence but more like a disability you learn to live with.

Blood CEA is not a diagnostic tool as it varies greatly across patients, it is rather used for follow-up and monitoring, which is why doctor will want to have your baseline CEA in case you need some treatment and follow-up. The stats found on Google are not that helpful as they often don't account for other factors such as co-morbidities, age, etc. Every case is different and you will find many people in this forum have been living with cancer for years.

I hope you get some answers soon, and keep in mind that blood in the stools does not necessarily means cancer.

Take care

Cecile

Thanks hope all goes well

Thank you Karen head all over place.One minute positive next all over place.Internet definitely doesn't help......

Thanks Cecile for advice,hope all is well

Don't trust `Dr Google` some of the information is well out of date. 

xx