New diagnosis

Good morning

I was diagnosed 4 years ago (you can read my profile if you want for my story) and as the rectal cancer had already spread to my lungs and liver surgery was not an option and my treatment was palliative.

I have been on Folfiri with bevacizumab (avastin) since the start of this year. Because I have had many different treatments before this one I don't know if my experience will be helpful or not but here goes . .

They will infused the drugs over longer to start with to make sure your husband doesn't have any adverse reactions so expect a long day ! He will need a PICC line or port fitting beforehand which will take some getting used to but he will be fine and it makes infusions much easier. Coming home with a pump for 48 hours is another novelty to get used to but again you'll be surprised how soon things become routine.

As far as side effects mine are sleeplessness for a couple of nights due to steroids, constipation easily sorted with laxatives, extreme fatigue about 5/6 days after treatment and sometimes mouth ulcers.

It will take a few treatments to establish your husband's own response to treatment but things will settle down. Always ask for help if needed and don't be worried about asking any questions at all. The nurses have a wealth of experience and will be a support.

Finally if you've made with to the end of my rambling look at Court's profile, her mother's story was inspirational to me.

Hoping all goes well for you both over the next few weeks.

Caroline 

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. It’s good to read about people’s experiences because at the moment it’s all very frightening. Thank you