Bowel cancer and Atrial fibrillation

FormerMember over 5 years ago

3 replies
118 subscribers
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My husband had a colonoscopy in late October of this year which revealed Stage 3 bowel cancer following screening.A CT scan showed it has not spread as yet. We see a surgeon on Tuesday, having already had a pre op assessment that we got on a cancellation. The main worry is that he has arterial fibrillation (heart disease) which a pre op surgeon and an anesthetist say makes the surgery more risky.

Is there anyone out there who knows someone who has both conditions or similar and has been operated on? My husband takes each day as it comes,but I have a need for as much information as possible. How risky is risky? I assume he is more prone to stroke as he will stop his blood thinners 48 hours before the op. No one has actually said the word stroke. And all surgery has the potential to end in death.I will raise it with the surgeon on Tuesday. We've been told the op will probably be post holidays.

My husband looks and feels fine. He has ceased all drink and red meat and is trying to lose some weight in preparation for surgery.

I am very scared and worried,but I don't want to burden our adult daughter or our friends. Hence I am here.

Any help appreciated. It would even be useful to know the essential questions to ask the surgeon. It's tricky as I want to know everything,while my husband probably doesn't want to know. He did suggest we went to our local Maggis which we have done and found useful.

Thanks to anyone who can help. Big Max

court over 5 years ago

Hi ,

Good on you for wanting answers . It settles our anxiety . Sounds as though you need another chat with the anaesthetist. From my mum’s chats it’s seems there are manageable risks then there are risks they are not prepared to take . I would think they operate on people with this issue in other conditions but need to let you know it’s a risk but one they are willing to proceed with . My mum had a very large liver resection removing 73% of her liver with a risk of death at one in five given her situation . On initial hearing of the risk I was taken aback but asked them if it was a reasonable risk to proceed with . They then went on to say in depth how they would manage her if they started to encounter the possible complications .

Knowing the back up plan helped me be more prepared .

Other people here have reported that the due to other help contraindications the anaesthetist was unwilling to proceed . This seems different from what you have been told .

I know just how scary it is to place your trust in a team to do their best for your loved one . The thing that propelled me was the thought of surgery being a cure and the very real risks if that were not happening . Then at my mum’s insistence it was a case of best foot forward .

If you would like to chat any of this through we have helpline staff 0808 808 0000 . They would be more than willing to chat and possibly get you more information .

Take care ,

Court

Helpline Number 0808 808 0000

FormerMember over 5 years ago in reply to court

Hi Court

Thanks for your response which I found helpful. I shared it with my husband and he agreed that despite your roller coaster, your mum kept persevering positively with your support.

Tomorrow will be a big day for us with the surgeon, but we shall ask about the treatment plan now and ask what happens if the heart situation looks dodgy during surgery.I still want to know how risky is risky. In fact we have come up with quite a list of questions.

Many thanks for your support.

Big Max

court over 5 years ago in reply to FormerMember

Sounds like a great plan . The other thing to remember. Anaesthetists in big teaching hospitals have many colleagues they can call on for back up .

Take care ,

Court

Helpline Number 0808 808 0000