Bowel liver and lung diagnosis

Hi Keekaboo 

If you click on my user name you can read how my mum was treated for a spread to her liver and lungs although they came separately. Her liver was classed as a significant spread and inoperable . However chemo turned that round not once but twice . It’s easy to underestimate how powerful chemo can be for some people but it was a game changer for my mum and I attribute it to her longevity as much as surgery which she eventually got to . 
It took a full two years to gain stability . Then the lung disease showed up although for her it presents very differently to her liver mets . They were faster growing in the liver but apparently if you are chemo responsive , larger fast growing tumours can be dealt with effectively due to the rate for cell division, which I am not going to pretend to understand.

Her lung nodes have been completely different . So slow growing . Can take literally years to double in size . I have not updated this part as I am still a little cross it turned up again in 2022  in her lungs and mediastinal lymph nodes and due to her age she just used Cetuximab for five months . Again incredibly effective and the lymph nodes disappeared and the lung module halfed it’s size .

She has to date never had any symptoms of the actually cancer and will be 15 years into this come the summer . However side effects of treatment and surgery is a whole other matter but she has tremendous bounce back .

I should also say clinical practice is much more aggressive than when mum started out . To say I had my elbows out was an understatement but in the nicest possible way .

Wishing you every success . Is chemo being kind to you ?

Take care ,

Court 

It's my wife who has the cancer  she has been fine on the chemo   not really any bad parts do far  about to start her 3rd treatment 

Thanks for telling me of your mums experience   gives me great hope  my wife is a strong person  

Hi , 

I didn’t have any cancer reach the lungs but did have stage 4 bowel cancer that had spread to the liver . 5 sessions of radiotherapy plus 3 months of chemotherapy (OXYPLATIN ) was enough to shrink the tumours (one of the liver actually disappeared). I then had bowel resection just before Christmas just gone and liver resection in Feb. The chemo did such a good job ,I’m now clear of cancer with  no sign of further spread , all lymph nodes removed were clear and goood margins for error . Might seem scary at the minute but trust the process and trust the oncologist. 

here for any other questions 

Jim 

Hi Keekaboo ,

                     I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon cancer with metastesies to the Lungs and Liver. The tumour has closed the colon near the hepatic bend by 75 % .

                     The diagnosis was in January 2022.. The oncologists were dubious ,put me on palliative  chemotherapy ,.

                     Their skill worked ,and by  November 2022 ,scans showed no signs of cancer in my bowel ,lungs or liver , , So the surgeons were able to operate and cut and join thev colon ,.No signs of cancer in any of the biopsies . And scans later showed no signs either ..

                     So ,thanks to the grace of God and the skill of the doctors ,nurses and staff  at Canterbury and Ashford hospitals ,,and t the Macmillan teams there ,, and the support of my wife ,son and daughter ,family and friends ,I have had two years I would not have had.. 

                    Am awaiting scan and bloodtest results to see how I am. 

                So ,Keekaboo ,no matter how dire the diagnosis  ,the skill of the medical teams can win through...

                 About the only downside of thev chemotherapy was and is neuropathy in hands and feet still ,despite it being a year and a a half since last chemo. 

               When I turned 70 last year ,I did not renew my licence due tf the neuropathy.But a small price to pay.

               A heart felt thanks to all the Medical ,nursing and technical staff ...

            All  the best ,KEEKABOO...and I hope YOU post somethingt like this in 2 years time. ( smile emoji )

Hope things go well for you its good to see the good news stories  gives us hope 

Thanks for the reply   hope everything goes well    I'll let you all know how we get on  

Another thing... Get proper dietary advice..Ask the nurses, and get food  supplements  prescribed if needs be .The low fibre diet is a bit difficult at first..One needs 2000kcals daily ,and dietary protein of x grams protein to y kgs of body weight..After crashing from 97 kg s to 75 kgs ,I found it essential to write everything dowm that I ate or drank ,j. So was able to monitor intake. 200mls blue cap milk has 130 kcals and 7g of protein.So a pint of full milk (568 mls ) 369 Kcals and  19.8 protein . . A 100g of rump steak has 125 kcals and 22g protein per 100g meat....Pate is out ,as  are all unpasteurised products ..But I was allowed the small glass jars of fish paste ,,ham and chicken paste etc sold in the supermarkets,,Princes Brand ,Morrisons brand etc. Just ate out the jar .. 

To boost protein cheaply  use ,skim milk powder from the supermarket . 3 and a half teaspoons of skin milk powder make 7 g protein and  35 kcals..I used to put 3 x this amount on the rice crispies ,add sugar and hot water ,and had a 21 g protein cereal. To boost the kcals I added a dollop of butter. (my teaspoons.Yours may be larger or smaller ,so work it out from the quantities given on the packet )

Hope this is not Over the Top ,but something  Ihope will help others..Also , ,remember to keep your fluid intake at 2000mls (2 litres daily. Whether soups ,soft drinks ,water ,tea or coffee. )

Record your intake. 

And record your bowel movements.type size and frequency. It helps if one has to detail it to the staff. The Bristol Stool Chart is online  

All the best with everything.

Thank you  my partner has just been referred to the dietitian  at a gps surgery for help gain weight