Hi I was diagnosed with rectal cancer in May. I had radiotherapy and chemo in June. In few weeks I lost a lot of weight. Unfortunately after another MRI I was told I needed to have liver surgery. I had it in September. It went well and they removed everything. However 2 weeks after I was really poorly and I was admitted to hospital. I had a fistula so I had another surgery . They explained that the best solution was for me to have a stoma. Again the surgery went well and I got used to my stoma very quickly. All the pain I had for weeks went and I started to feel so much better and put some weight back on. Tomorrow I am having APR surgery, I have been feeling ok until now. I am getting more and more anxious and I am worried about the pain afterwards. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Ange1971, I hope I'm not too late. It's only natural to be anxious before the surgery, but you'll find that your anaesthetist will look after you. I had an epidural before surgery, and on the first night was in a bit of pain, probably 2 out of 10, so he came to visit and asked me to move from one side to the other to let the epidural flow down to where I had a bit of pain. I know, odd or what?! The epidural kept the pain well at bay. Youl'll get a visit from a nurse who specialises in pain relief, so please don't be afraid to let the nurses know if you're in any pain. As time goes on you'll reduce the level of pain medication until the day that you no longer need it - but please don't feel there's a magic time-scale - everyone is different. Just be sure not to be in pain - no-one should be in any pain. After the surgery you could be very tired, so just listen to your body. If there's anything else you want to ask, just ask - I'm around most days. Good luck for tomorrow.. you'll be just fine.
