New diagnosis

Hello AlbaH,

Many of us have been in the situation that you are now enduring. It is easy to say, but try not to look on the downside of this news as a positive outcome can be achieved. Be wary of researching the internet as it is swamped with articles on cancer, much of it generalised. You might gain some reassurance by clicking on a few of our names to read our own journeys through the treatment process. You will always receive a considered, truthful response to any queries or concerns on these pages from others who have first-hand experience of the procedures.

Best Wishes for your next consultation.

Dulac

Hello Dulac,

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I have read your journey and appreciate your honesty.

I’ll update after the consultation next week.

AlbaH

Hi AlbaH and a warm welcome to the board. You’ve had some great advice from Dulac - google can be scary and out of date so avoid. Please don’t be alarmed by the speed of things - the Gold Standard Treatment aims to have you a colonoscopy within 2 weeks of your referral and then scans usually follow pretty quickly after that.

Bowel cancer is notoriously slow growing but very treatable and you sound to have reacted promptly to the symptoms. It sounds like your tumour is in the rectal area as that is the same treatment that I had 7 years ago. 

Once you have a treatment plan in place then things will honestly feel a bit better. I’ve attached a booklet that I was given at my first meeting which will give you a heads up about what to expect and some of the jargon etc. They may give you an idea of your staging at the meeting but your ‘official’’ staging will come from the histology report once your tumour’s been removed 

https://bowelcancerorguk.s3.amazonaws.com/Publications/YourPathway_BowelCancerUK.pdf

We’re all at different stages of treatment and recovery on here and happy to help and support you through yours. Please let us know how you get on?

Take care

Karen x

Hi Kareno62, thanks for your reply & taking the time to get in touch.

I’m going to read the booklet now and I’m sure it will help with this feeling of being overwhelmed. 

I’ll update on the treatment plan after the appointment tomorrow.

Thanks again,

AlbaH

Hi,  sorry to hear you're going through this, to be honest I have no advice as we are also right at the beginning of this horrible journey 

My wife had the colonoscopy last week and they also couldn't get very far with her, she had an MRI on Saturday and a CT later this week, with an appointment with a surgeon next week, I'm praying that it isn't as bad as my mind makes it, we've not told our kids yet,  we wanted to have some facts before we do so we can give them as complete a picture as possible. 

Like you, we're both in shock about it all, it's the diagnosis you think happens to other people. 

Good luck with your treatment plan, I'm sure I'll be having around here for some time, learning a lot about a subject I never wanted to know about!

Hi Governor, thanks for your reply… the unknown & waiting is so hard isn’t it? I totally get how you and your wife are feeling at the moment and I’m sure the others on this group can remember the early days too. I’ve stopped using Google as that frightened me more! 

I was also overwhelmed by the speed of things post-colonoscopy… I’d had to chase up appointments and test results with the GP and hospital beforehand but then it seemed to go from a slow and frustrating process to urgent and scary in just days. Now it feels like an emotional rollercoaster of accepting this is actually happening to ME. 

I really hope you get more answers at the appointment next week, good luck & will be thinking of you both. 

AlbaH

Fingers crossed for you to, it is very hard, how is your husband coping? My wife just told me off for brooding, in these situations I am a professional worrier!

Hi AlbaH,

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I went through the same thing during the start of the pandemic, so I know how bad you must be feeling. The fact that your treatment is going so quickly now, is a good thing. Please be reassured that now you have been diagnosed, you will get the best treatment available. When the medical teams are telling you aspects of your treatment plan, don't be scared of asking questions. I found it helpful to make my own notes at different stages, to go with the printed information that I was given. This was particularly useful when having phone conversations. I hope your treatment goes as well as mine did.

Best wishes.

It’s difficult not to worry though!! My husband is doing big sighs & exhaling a lot… 

Met the surgeon & I’m going into hospital for an ileostomy asap to ease things in the bowel before treatment & the op … was a bit of a shock as I wasn’t expecting it! 

AlbaH

Thanks for your reply and hope you have continued to do well!

AlbaH