A bit of good news

Bearwidower, that sounds like a good plan, but we all know nothing stops us worrying! Take care

Hi Bearwidower

Oh that’s such great news ! It’s such a relief to know it’s working well . You are well on your treatment pathway now but can relax for a wee bit now and draw strength .

Take care ,

Court 

Just heard that the hospital wants me in for a MRI scan of my liver (with contrast). They must have spotted something from the CT. Worried that it has spread. Scan is on Wednesday.

Hi Bearwidower. Great news to hear about the chemoradiotherapy result. The liver may be something and nothing but it sounds like your team is on the ball. The liver often has harmless cysts in it which can be there from birth and you’re none the wiser unless you have this sort of scan - they are called haemangiomas. 
Hopefully you will get the results quickly and remember whatever the outcome it is still treatable

Take care

Karen x

Hi Bearwidower

You have a good team and they are being thorough ! Many people have to endure this as Karen has said , more a case of ruling out than ruling in .

There was no need for an MRI scan for my mum , even I could seem on the CT scan so keep In mind they are being very careful with some small area ! 
I can’t tell you how many wee benign things have popped up after my mum has started treatment and she has to get them all reported on . It is such an anxiety spike but on the other hand cancer patients always get the gold standard of investigations and in some ways that’s a very good thing ! 

Take care ,

Court 

Hi Bearwidower. I had a colostomy in July 2019. Last year I was called in for an MRI after my 1 year CT scan. It showed a cyst on my liver which needed no treatment. I'm now awaiting the result of my 2 year CT scan. The good thing is that people like you and I can rest assured that we are being so well looked after with scans etc, that any issues will be picked up and sorted out  sooner than if we had to wait until we were to show symptoms. I hope your scan results are good. 

Take care,

Kim x

Hospital phoned on Saturday, they want me in for a MRI of my liver with contrast, how to be worried. Oncologist deputy phoned Monday and put my Thursday appointment back for 4 weeks. On me pushing she said the MRI and CT had been excellent and I was ready for surgery. It was discussed with the MDT and they saw some significant blood vessels on my liver and spleen. They wanted another MRI to verify this and so they could avoid them during surgery. The appointment had been pushed back as a backstop because they expect I should hear from the surgical team fairly soon. Phew and relax.

Phew for sure ! Glad you were able to have a chat and remove that worry . Avoiding the blood vessels seems like a great plan and much more manageable than worrying about a recurrence. You are heading in a great direction and I am so pleased .

Court 

Next stage

Positive meeting today. Saw the consultant surgeon today, they moved the appointment 30mins later and then we had to wait there for an hour but we saw him eventually. Current plan is to operate to remove the tumor in the next 10 weeks (date to be announced). I see the anaesthetist first and then self isolate for 7 days before the op. Best outcome is a simple removal of the tumor. Most likely is they also staple up the rectum and make the stoma permanent. It is possible that there is some contact with the bladder, they won't know this until they are operating. So I might lose part or all of the bladder in the worst case. Lymph nodes look good as does the rest of the body so no spread and probably no chemo. Hospital stay 1 to 2 weeks and recuperation 3 to 6 months. Now waiting again to hear when.