My Surgery for T2 Tumour

Hi@Dino Dogs Mum and welcome to the board. It’s good news that you’ve been diagnosed early although I can imagine how shocked you were.

First piece of advice is do not google! The information is out of date and downright scary in places - stay on here and ask anything you like - there is no question too silly or embarrassing! Bowel Cancer is very treatable nowadays especially when caught early.

Ive attached a link below to a booklet about your operation which you may like to have a quick look at

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

It’s hard to say exactly what to expect as everyone’s op is a little different and the aftercare and pain relief may differ from town to town but generally

You’ll probably be in hospital 5-7 days ( if you have a stoma then you won’t be discharged until you can manage to change your own bag)

Youll wake up with various tubes and catheters hanging about but these are removed over the first few days and they will encourage you to get up and about quite quickly as this aids recovery.

The Bowel is a bit of diva and doesn’t like being handled so take things very easy on the eating front for a few days - stick to simple foods like soup, jelly, mash potato etc. 

Be careful getting out of bed - try not to put too much strain on your stitches - so roll onto your side and get up from there rather than doing a sit-up if you know what I mean. If you feel a cough or sneeze coming on then hold your hand or a cushion over your tummy.

Pain relief seems to vary from hospital to hospital - I had an epidural in but it came out during the night so had liquid morphine for a day, then codeine then paracetamol but I think I was off everything by the time I came home.

Home:- I found it handy to have a couple of cushions in the car for early days journeys  - 1 to sit on so I didn’t have so far to get up out of the seat and 1 over my tummy under the seatbelt. You will not be able to drive yourself for 4-6 weeks until you feel you could perform an emergency stop.

Around the house - no heavy lifting ie. nothing heavier than a kettle of water - take the cup to the kettle and fill it that way. Take it easy for a while and if you need a nap then have one. Try and get out for short walks but be careful not to overdo things. 

Stick to plain simple food for a few weeks until your Bowel has settled down - it can help to stick to a low residue diet which is a bit unhealthy but it’s not for long - see link below

https://bowelcancerorguk.s3.amazonaws.com/Publications/Eating%20well.pdf

Sorry for such a long post but, as you say, it’s hard for people who haven’t been through it to understand. I’d never been in hospital before this op (apart from being born there) but I was pleasantly surprised (if that the right word) by how it was on the pain front and even the epidural that I was dreading was ok. If I’m honest the worst bit is the noise in hospital and lack of sleep but you can make up for that when you get home.

Please let us know how you get on

Take care

Karen x

My situation was a little different, but I wanted to reassure you. My cancer was more progressed than yours and initially a T3b N2 - so if you are T2 and they are just removing nodes as a precaution, then I really believe you can relax. My nodes were actively suspected of being infected however after removal and biopsy all was clear. They then downgraded me to a T2 N0. My point is, they will always be more cautious. So you are in a good place.

I will let others reply that have had the same diagnosis as you, and exactly the same op - again, my op was more involved, but recovery is very quick, so you will "barely notice" :-) ...just thought I'd reply because I hadn't seen any replies.

Main thing is, which it sounds like you are already doing, is stay positive - I used to think that was a foolhardy approach, but staying positive was the one thing I got right and it made the world of difference. When I look back now I am so pleased I didn't worry.

And your surgeon wow.

I don't need to wish you luck because you've created your own, found it early. Just allow yourself to get over the 'surprise' of the diagnosis, stay positive and the rest will take care of itself.

Time for a dog walk :-)

Hi ,

Do you know which part of the bowel will be removed? And will it be laporotomy or keyhole surgery? I was T3 (confirmed N0M0 after surgery), adenocarcinoma on the sigmoid colon (that is the first bit just past the rectum). A bit younger than you, but like you I live on my own and had never had any health issues and also never had surgery or a hospital admission prior to this.

Admission

Take a dressing gown and some slippers on the day (for however long you need to wait around in the hospital gown). Maybe a book to read as well (unless you have a good friend to keep you company until it is your turn).

Some other useful things: Comfortable PJ's. A nightdress for as long as the catheter might stay in (2 days in my case), and pyjama bottoms that are VERY soft and stretchy around the waist. Hospital towels in my experience are small and slightly scratchy, so I took one from home. I found a hair-wrap quite useful after showering, rather than a heavier towel on the head.

Immediately after surgery

You will experience pain, but in my experience the hospital staff don't want patients to suffer in silence! Ask for painkillers if you need it. If they offer you a spinal before surgery... I certainly did not regret having one for my big operation last year, but I certainly regretted NOT having one for the colostomy reversal. 

Take it slowly the first few days (your body will force you to take it slowly anyway), but walk (or shuffle) as much as you can. Get to know every inch of the ward, and if they have some nearby outside space / roof terrace, make use of it. It does wonders for the soul after so many days indoors.

As Karen said, take it slow with eating: Liquids, bland mushy food and then slowly work your way up to your favourites.

Once you get home

If you have time, give the house a good clean before Friday. You will not be able to do much for the first few weeks after discharge. Stock up on food, arrange for home delivery or line up some friends to get your groceries for you. If there is anything that you might need in the next four weeks that is in a high cupboard, move it down within easy reach (stretching will be very difficult at the start).

Walk as much as you can. Start slowly, and increase the pace and distance as you feel able. How big is Dino Dog? If there is any chance that he might pull on the lead, get a friend to help in the early days.

Slowly but surely you should feel your energy coming back. And before you know it, the weeks would have passed and you should start feeling your old self.

All the best for Friday, and let us know how it goes.

All the best,

Yolande

Hi Dino dogs mum

i had bowel cancer 10 years ago. I had just over have my bowel removed on the Friday

the Saturday was uncomfortable but I did managed to stand outside the bed. Come the

Sunday I knew I must get up to stand a chance of getting out on the Munday. So do try

to get moving as soon as possible . It is a worrying time but sounds like they may

have court it in good time. They removed 23 nodes and only one had cancer so went

onto chemo but the oral kind, much easier. I hope they can do it with keyhole surgery 

as only leaves small scar. I'm sure you will be fine so keep in touch

Trev

It's very true what is said about taking it easy when you get home. I didn't and my stitches came out which got me 4 more days in hospital 

But I was lucky as they didn't need to go in and stitch it again as my body fixed it for its self by taking all the fat it could get from around my 

body and rapping it around my bowel but made me very ill.

 Thinking of you Friday

 Trev

Hi Dino Dogs Mum

I have my surgery the following Friday and have the same as you T2 and early stage I guess we are having the same operation just a week apart , I like you never been ill , 54 years old and feel lucky to catch it early , if you can post on here after your op or dm me then you will help me to get an idea of what to expect and we can get thorough this together 

Hi Dino Dogs Mum,

I'm sure that you will be busy preparing for your surgery on Friday, but I wanted to share some tips with you. I had my surgery almost 7 years ago, and it was so daunting, just the thought of a hospital stay never mind the operation itself and then the recovery! If you can, put some of your favourite and inspirational music on to a music player that you can take to hospital with you. If you feel down, you can put your music on, close your eyes and shut it all out for a few moments. Or if you have a tablet, you might want to take that and watch some of your favourite films or programmes. After your operation you might find that you're very tired, so listen to what your body tells you. Whatever happens, do not put up with pain. There will be pain relief readily available for you, although you might want to be aware of what type it is. Don't suffer in silence. The nurses will help you to get up and about pretty quickly after surgery, and that's the start of your recovery. 

When you get home, your recovery continues. The hospital staff will tell you what your limitations are, and listen to your body. If you're tired, have a rest. It's good that you've got the support of your friends, so let them help you - it will be as good for you as it will be for them too. Take things easy and slowly but surely build up your strength. 

I found it helpful for me to have goals - small measurable goals, leading to the biggest goal of getting back to work!

I'm sure your surgery will go well, and that in a few months' time you'll be amazed at how far you've come. There are lots of folks here, with all different kinds of surgery and stages of diagnosis, and there's never a daft question. 

Linda :-)

Good Evening Linda, Trev, Karen, Yolande and everyone who replied.  I can’t begin to tell you how much all of your messages have helped.  The advice, links and general support have been an enormous help.

Everything you have ALL said makes perfect sense and I will re-read all over and over in the next couple of days to make sure it all sinks in, especially the advice re asking for help with pain relief rather than suffering in silence.

I lead a very busy life with my work taking me all over the country so the thought of being confined to hospital for a few days is a little daunting, I have downloaded a load of stuff from Netflix to my iPad as well as some books to my kindle, in a way I’m kinda looking forward to having the time to read them, won’t tell my boss that though . Having said all that, don’t be surprised if I feel the need to chat with you guys again though, it’s very reassuring know you are all out there and get it !!

Dino Dog will be having a mini break with the old couple who look after him for me when I’m working away, so my first goal is to get home to him and go shuffling off down the lane together. He’s 16 and doesn’t require a lead and spends most of his time plodding and sniffing the hedgerows, a perfect partner lol

Will let you all know how it goes.

Thanks again 

W x

Hi

Many thanks for the message, and like you, relieved that it’s been caught early (thank goodness the screening age was brought down to 55!!)

I will most definitely keep you posted re my experience. Not sure if this site permits us to say what part of the country we live in and therefore which NHS Trust is taking care of us ??  What I will say is, the care I have received thus far has been excellent.

Regards

W x

Just wanted to wish you all the very best for tomorrow

Take care

Karen x