Need some positivity please

Hi Annabelle_ 

So sorry to hear about your mum .

The pancreas is so close by sometimes it does become involved but hopefully the chemo will target that too. My own mum had a few years of chemo which worked well and there are several people on the boards using chemo in a maintenance setting for six and seven years. Some people have breaks and rest periods too .

Everyone is very individual but the other positive thing about bowel cancer being one of the bigger cancer groups has various chemo options . 
I will link in a leaflet you might find helpful .

It is not without hope ! But it is harsh for you all . Here if you need to chat .

Court 

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

This is quite helpful !

Court 

There's always hope. court  has given some great information.  Read her mother's story in her profile. I found it inspiring when I was down. 

My own story is very different but you will see I survived a very large and unusually fast growing tumor. About 20ish years ago I also survived a tumor on my pancreas. It was a primary neuroendrocrine tumor and unrelated to my rectal cancer. But having survived cancer twice, i can assure you that everything is possible. 

Thank you so much for replying - the only question I probably have is why can’t they operate? And you hear such scary things when the pancreas is involved in anything? I can’t stop crying and thinking the worst

If there is a spread the Nice guidelines recommend they go straight to chemo in most cases .This is my understanding from our experience. The research backs this up as they get a better chance at stabilising the spread , the current tumours but also gives the opportunity to treat the micro disease too . Once they have achieved that if it’s doable they can reassess and see if surgery is possible and they always rescan and go back to MDT meetings . 

They are very proactive and if there is a way to get another treatment involved they do it .

Going straight to surgery allows micro disease to go untreated for longer and surgery can have post op complications that could potentially delay chemo . This can delay their opportunity to stabilise it . A lot of trials have gone into finding the best way forward .

But I am with you . I was absolutely devastated she missed surgery initially. However that does not mean with a good response other options won’t open up .

i think the thing to remember. She does not have pancreatic cancer which has an entirely different treatment , she has bowel cancer cells on her pancreas . 
 
It’s had to start with treating it like a chronic condition but she has already had some success doing that so there is hope .

Tale care. 

Court 

You are thinking pancreatic camcer which is it's own thing and super scary. The tumor on my pancreas sent me down that rabbit hole and I was so upset I needed anti anxiety medication. You DO NOT have that.

I did not either. They removed part of my pancreas and I was cured. No after effects whatsoever. I am here with an entirely unrelated cancer 20ish years later. 

Your treatment and prognosis depend on the primary cancer not the organ it spread to. You still have colon cancer and that's treatable at all stages. 

Thank you Susan13 - it’s just tough and why does everyone say ‘I’m so sorry’ when you tell them

Thank you Court - have you heard of the pancreas being involved before? All I can see is lungs and liver? 

They say "I'm sorry" because they have no idea what else to say. They wish to express sympathy and support. I've done it myself. 

And of course it is tough. Easy to sound like you've got it all together when writing in a virtual forum, but in real life I have struggled many times. I can totally relate to how you feel.