My wife had a colonoscopy today and they sat us down together, which immediately rang alarm bells for me.
The said they couldn't get very far into the bowel because there is a mass/blockage (can't remember what word they used) which they say looked cancerous, it sounds like it's nearer the rectum than deep in the bowel.
I think at this point the shock kicked in, the doctor said they're going to get an MRI and CT done, they've taken a biopsy.
She seemed pretty confident it's cancer, I'm working on the basis that they have seen it plenty of times.
As you can imagine we are reeling, I am very information driven so the waiting for tests and then treatment is already painful, I guess we don't know what to expect and it's hard to keep the panic in check, I'm hoping we can learn from you all in here...
Hi Governor,
Well done to your wife on completing cycle 2 & hope the side effects are manageable 
My side effects from radiotherapy have increased but the radiologist has reassured me this is typical and ‘it will get worse before it gets better’… probably peaking next week then should ease a bit… I hope!!
AlbaH
Hi, I've just been reading through this thread and thought I would say a bit about my journey so far. I had a diagnosis of T3N1M0 in May . The treatment plan was 5 weeks of daily radiotherapy with chemo in tablet form then 6 cycles of CAPOX.
I found the travel the worst part of the radiotherapy, 90 mins each way then lots of delays as the machines were not reliable. That and worrying about bowel incontinence. Many times I felt like giving up but persevered. Finally it was finished then I started the chemo infusions. I chose to have a PICC line which although it had some drawbacks was a good decision and I soon got used to it.
I got neuropathy after the second cycle which worsened so the oncologist said to stop after the 4th cycle. I then had a repeat CT scan MRI and sigmoidoscopy in November.
amazingly I was then told that the tumour was gone and there was no sign of cancer, the lymph node having shrunk as well.
So the expected op to have a stoma has not happened and I'm on the watch and wait path although I haven't got any appointments yet.
The original diagnosis was such a shock and it seemed I was feeling unwell and had no control over my life for so long but eventually a really good outcome !
hopefully the same will Be the case for you wife 
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It did and still does if I'm honest. It's like you are thrown into this world of cancer tossed around then by pure chance you come out the end with a good result! I'm still not believing it and thinthat it will return at some point but I'm told that's common to feel that way. The consultant did say at the first meeting that a small percentage of people respond to treatment in this way so I'm e of the lucky small percentage. Almost like a fraud! alongside the cancer I've been going through a divorce and selling my home as a result so all in all 2023 was not a good year and I hope for betr times in 2024
