Cancer in blood vessel

Hi ,

A big welcome to the forum but very sorry to hear about your daughter . That is very difficult for you all . 

Did the surgeon mention circulating tumour cells ? Or was it The appears of the blood vessels around the polyp? Once the surgery is done you will get much more accurate information . If you use our search function you will find a really good explanation on circulating tumour cells from one of our members stoatlord and he points out they have a short life span . Worth a read .

In terms of her prognosis these are just isolated factors and should not be Taken alone Lymph nodes and tumour depth also factor in as well as tumour type and so many other factors so please try not to worry about one aspect when the most important is it’s operable and has not spread . That is fantastic news and very good for her future prognosis. 

The other aspect to consider is most recurrences show up in the first two years with Bowel cancer , after that the numbers significantly drop . 

My own mum was a stage 4 patient at diagnosis with a significant spread and is still doing well ten years later . Bowel cancer has lots of treatment options with more in the pipe line .

Can I also say I totally understand your fears . As a mum I totally get it and your family has been very proactive in getting her diagnosis. All the very best with her surgery and please feel free to ask anything about the surgery or possible chemo . There are fantastic people here who are very supportive and happy to help .

We are also here for you too .

take care ,

Court 

Thankyou court , the doctor just said that some cancer cells had been found in the blood vessels , I’m  very grateful to our gp who pushed for sigmoidoscopy , I really think they were expecting to find internal piles were causing her symptoms ( bleeding pain etc ) that’s what I thought it was , even when they found the polyp they said it didn’t look sinister . I believe my daughter is exceptionally young to get this diagnosis ? Hopefully the surgery will be soon , the waiting is the worst as I’m sure everyone will agree . It’s such  a terrible thing to go through at her age and a nightmare as a mother 

What a shock for you all . She is very , very young . But you have an incredible GP there as early detection is everything with Bowel cancer and it is often hard for a young person to get the necessary tests . 

The waiting is very difficult but I can imagine her surgeon will be scheduling her in as soon as possible . Do you know where abouts  in the colon it was found ? My mum was right side ascending and honestly has never had any real issues with her Bowel . She sometimes has to watch if she over eats but that is about it . The pain relief after surgery was very good . She had an epidural for a couple of days and then switched to oral meds . They take very good care of them . The nursing staff was also very skilled .

Once you get a surgery date it does feel better in the knowledge that it will be safely removed and start her back onto wellness and put this firmly in her past . 

Take care ,

Court 

It was in the sigmoid colon , her aunt on her dad’s side had bowel cancer in her early 40s so the doctor has talked about genetic testing , another thing to worry about ( I have 3 other children as well as my husband to worry about ) .i just want her over the surgery and if she needs chemo then so be it . What ever it takes to make sure she can put this behind her 

That’s the main thing to get her through this and back on with her life . She has a good team around her .

We also understand just how stressful it is trying to hold it all together so please off load here anytime .

take care ,

Court 

I’ve had terrible experiences with cancer already , both my parents and brother who was only 42 ,died of lung and throat cancers , my thinking is probably clouded by those experiences but I’m feeling very hopeful now that this has been caught early and she’ll be fine .. I have to keep telling myself that so ill go mad 

Oh that’s awful . Bowel cancer as a primary caught early has very good results and everything is pointing in that direction . Even in a secondary spread with Bowel cancer it is still very treatable . My mum has had it in her liver and lungs and has scanned well for the last three years . So please be encouraged that there is every reason to be optimistic in her situation . Thanks to her GP she is picked up early and processed quickly . Long may that continue.

take care ,

Court 

Hi ,

So sorry to hear about your daughter's diagnosis. But at least they found it. As Court said, the younger we are the more difficult it is to get the doctors to take notice. And early diagnosis really is crucially important. I had a nightmare in trying to work out what was wrong with me (the tumour caused a blockage, so after five weeks of no bowel movements I was full of &$%£, litterally! Not pleasant). But despite this, I was one of the lucky ones that was diagnosed early. I had a 4cm tumour also in my sigmoid colon, which was removed last year June. I just had my first follow-up colonoscopy, and it is all clear. So I am positive that the cancer is gone.

All the best for your daughter. Let us know when the surgery is.

Yolande

Hi Yolande, I’m so glad to hear that things have worked out so well for you . Can I ask if you needed chemo ? 

Hi

Fortunately I did not need chemo. It made me slightly uneasy, as I think it is a natural reaction to want to throw everything possible at this illness. But a friend of mine is an oncologist in South Africa, and he agreed with the decision after reviewing my pathology report. So that brought some peace of mind.

Not sure if you managed to find Stoadlord's post regarding circulating tumour cells (cancer cells in the blood), but here it is: https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer_types/bowel-colon-rectum-cancer/f/bowel-colon-rectum-cancer-forum/181152/cancer-cells-in-blood-vessels. 

In cases like these, as well as where cancer was found in lymph nodes removed during surgery, chemotherapy might be recommended as a "belt and braces" approach. So basically the medical might be certain that all cancer has been removed, but the chemotherapy is given just in case.

Key thing now is the surgery, i.e. "evicting the alien", as one of the other forum members called it!

All the best,

Yolande