Upcoming surgery

Hi Jacste

Great news you have a date for surgery. I had Surgery for stage 2 bowel/colon cancer on 30th July so just a few months ago I too was due to have keyhole surgery but unfortunately my pelvis was a little to big so that went out the window. Don't let that worry you at all it was just one of those things my keyhole was due to b around 3 hrs so I was probably down a little longer due to a little extra. As for time of stay they say around 5 days but this is obviously depending on anything else you need done. Mine was surgery tumour removed so no extras like possible stoma n so forth.

You will be fine regards Mark

Hi , it’s difficult to say how long your op will take, your surgeon should explain everything before surgery. I had a 4 hour surgery to remove cancer in my sigmoid colon, it was keyhole & I was in hospital for 6 nights. I had a temporary Ileostomy & had to get used to emptying & changing the bag otherwise I probably would have been home sooner. Good luck, keep us posted! x

Hi Mark. 

Thanks for your reply. I think it is the initial shock and as people say once you have a plan in place it does ease the anxiety. The surgeon has said that I shouldn’t need a bag but as he said things can change once they go in.  I know things will be fine. Thanks again.

Hi Jersey Lily.

Thanks for the post. Hope you are feeling ok now. I’m down for keyhole but with the warning that could change. Have been told no bag but again that could change. Thanks for your good wishes and will certainly post once it’s all over. 

Morning Jacste

Firstly sorry I completely forgot to welcome you to the groups/forums on here so a warm welcome and I'm sure any queries or concerns you have will be gladly answered on here. Have a read of my profile if you get chance it will tell you a little bit more about my cancer journey so far. As I said yesterday now you have a date and diagnosis you can start to prepare and plan for the future. But firstly fingers crossed there are no worries during surgery and after a day in hospital they will be getting you out of bed and walking the wards as the sooner your up n about the sooner they will let you home.

Regards Mark

Hi Jacste,

As suggested by others, the precise time an operation takes, and the recovery period, varies from person to person. In my case, the operation took around eight hours. I had it on the 21st of the month. I was sent home on the 26th. I might have been sent home earlier, but since it was Christmas, they kept me in an extra day. My actual convalescent time at home was about two months. After that, I was pretty much on my feet and moving around as normal, and I was much better off with the pain from the tumour gone.

To be honest, the hardest part of my recovery in hospital wasn't the struggle to get walking properly, though walking was very hard for a day or two. A side effect from the way the keyhole surgery was performed was that for a couple of days I had constantly reoccuring hiccups, which were very painful as my abdomen was obviously sporting several sets of stitches. This may sound comical and trivial, but it really hurt! I strongly advise looking into something to stop hiccups before going for the surgery. There might be something you can buy over the counter... it isn't a thing I've ever explored, but a pharmacist might be able to help. As I understand it, they inflate your abdomen during surgery to make it easier to operate, and it was that gas leaving my system that caused the hiccups.

The rest of the recovery in hospital... well, being on morphine really did keep the pain levels at a perfectly managable level. I was only eating ice cream for a few days, but by christmas day, I was able to consume a couple of potatoes and some turkey. To be honest, by the time I went home five days after surgery, I was glad to be going as I felt pretty good, relatively speaking, and was bored to tears. Hopefully you will recover just as swiftly!

Good luck!

Robin

Hi Jacste

I had surgery for rectal cancer last Thursday. Op took around 6 hours and I knew I was getting a temporary stoma. I was discharged Monday night! I considered myself as reasonably fit before I went into hospital, so who knows whether I would’ve been in longer. I was making cups of tea for me and my husband on the Tuesday, in spite being told that might be the only thing I’d do all done without being exhausted. Pace yourself, listen to your body, but stay positive! I overdid it on my first day due to the novelty of being home. The very best of luck.

Hi Jools63.

Good to hear your getting on and on the road to a full recovery. Had my surgery on the 20th November and the op took 5.5 hours and they had to attach a bag as they couldn't put the 2 ends together without risk of leakage.

All ok now but was initially told that everything was clear and I wouldn't need any further appointments with oncology etc only to get a call from oncology last week to be told that there were rogue cells whizzing round my body and so I now have to have a course of chemo to hopefully destroy them.