Just diagnosed but not had scans yet

Hi Lou.loouand a warm welcome to the board from me although I’m sorry that you’ve found yourself here. These first few days/weeks are the worst while you wait for scans, results, meetings etc. Please do not google. It is out of date and downright scary in places. Stay on here and/or the Bowel Cancer UK Board - You can ask anything you want on here - there is no question too daft or embarrassing. 

Bowel Cancer is very treatable nowadays and the fact that it’s a fair sized tumour does not mean it is more serious than a small tumour. My tumour was 4cm on diagnosis and shrank to 1cm after radiotherapy. The scans will determine the size and position of the tumour and also check to see if there has been any spread to other organs (although this is still treatable.) Once you have a treatment plan in place then things will feel a little better. You may have radiotherapy first to shrink the tumour or go straight to surgery - this will all be discussed at the MDT (multi disciplinary team) by specialists from every field then they will meet with you to update you on your treatment plan. You should be allocated a Colorectal Support Nurse too who will support you and answer any questions you may have.

If you click on my name then you can see my profile page and see what treatment I had. I continued to work during my radiotherapy and rearranged appointments to fit round my work. Unfortunately everyone responds differently to treatment but I was lucky to have no real side effects with that stage of treatment. 

Ive attached a link to a booklet from another forum board Bowel Cancer UK which will give you an idea of what to expect. Like you I didn’t know anyone else who’d had Bowel cancer so it was good to have a bit of a heads up and also gave me an idea of what questions to ask at the meeting.

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

We’re a friendly gang on here and everyone is at different stages of treatment/recovery so please keep posting and ask anything you want to know.

Sending you a big hug - it’s gonna be tough but we’ll help you get through this

Take care

Karen x

Thankyou so much for ur reply that information about tumour size has definitely helped, i read ur treatment process I’m glad u have clear scan now

Hi Lou.loou, I second Kareno62, I too managed to work round my chemo, after the 6 weeks off from the op. Click my name for more info. Best wishes, and remember this time at the beginning is the worst. Every day seems like a week, but it will pass. People here will help and listen.(((hugs)))

Thankyou 

Hi Lou.loou. I had rectal  cancer last year. I had radiotherapy and chemotherapy for 5 weeks. I could have worked during my treatment but I had to travel for my treatment as we don't have a radiotherapy department at my local hospital. I didn't have many side effects. I had surgery which gave me a permanent stoma. I don't have many problems with it. I had 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy afterwards to make sure it doesn't come back. (Hopefully) Good luck with your treatment plan. Love Kim 

Well my tumour turned out to be 7cm and i have stage four as i have 3 secondary liver leisions I’ve had 4 months of xelox chemo and i will be starting 25 sessions of chemoradiotherapy soon   

Hi ya can i ask how was the radiotherapy for you ive just basically breezed through 4 months of chemo and now I’m starting chemoradiotherapy and I’m anxious as side effects they say are bad but I didn’t have really any side effects from just the chemo so I’m hoping i might be ok with radiotherapy as well, I’m more anxious of how they do it as in are you exposed led on ur back or front I’m not a small size and have an apron stomach from c-sections I’m going for my planning next week and am worried about being naked on there, thanks 

Hi Lou.loou. I had my chemo radiotherapy before my surgery and I sailed through it. After my surgery I had 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy. I had really sore hands and feet with the skin peeling and cracking. My chemo dose was reduced but it didn't seem to be any better. I think you just have to grit your teeth and hope for the best. You get there in the end. 

Good luck!

Love Kim xx 

I’ve done my chemo its the radiotherapy i and was asking about sorry if i wasnt clear 

I had both together initially. The radiotherapy takes a few minutes and is just you lying on the treatment table while a scanner revolves around you. I had no problems  other than my skin was a bit flaky. One of the radiographers recommended that I use Fairy washing products. She was right. I still use it.

Love Kim xx