Dad diagnosed with bowel cancer

Hi Regina1 

My husband is post op bowel cancer surgery after getting his operation in January this year (2022). He also has type 2 diabetes so is fighting on all corners. His health issues all began back at the end of 2020 when he had to keep going to bathroom quite urgently. Colonoscopy tests CTs and MRIs later confirmed that it was indeed rectal (bowel) cancer and that it was localised (hadn't spread) and that in fact his surgeon was able to tell him  that the tumour had been sitting there dormant for around 3-4 years! and hadn't been anywhere or was going anywhere so this sounds encouraging that your dad's tumour hasn't spread. They were able to get all the cancer out with my husband and even removed some lymph nodes around it just to be on the safe side. I'm not a cancer specialist and eveyones diagnosis is different but your dad sounds to be in the same position as what my husband was. It just means that my husband has to permanently wear a stoma bag as part of his bowel was removed but he is learning to live with this now. Nothing is ever certain though and my husband was called back last week for another CT scan some kind of chemical in his system had risen slightly and they like to keep an eye on these things as there is a risk the cancer can resurface and he had been a little bit anxious about it all again but we try to stay positive and hopefully all will be well. He is still trying to get back on his feet and mentally and emotionally it still affects him slightly but he's getting there. Hope everything works out ok with your dad. Take Care x

Thank you. My dad also has diabetes and he also has IBS so he often has to go toilet a lot. My dad noticed blood when he was going to the toilet and he’s had tests and scans.

Thank you again. I hope that your husbands scan goes well and things work out. 

Hi Regina

Bowel cancer is extremely treatable and after he’s had his scans and whatever tests they need the team will have a meeting to decide the best treatment plan. 
It varies depending on where it is. If you click on our names you can read our bios. I didn’t have chemo first I was straight to theatre and I didn’t need it afterwards which I was told two weeks after surgery when the results were in  I was stage 2 

I know it’s really scary however your  Dads in the system and he will be in safe hands. 
If he needs an operation he will be asked to stop the vaping. Also I was encouraged to exercise and eat healthy foods  I had IBS episodes and had limited food intake because my cancer was rectal and blocking  I had continual pressure which caused me to spend lots of time in the toilet  Once I got the diagnosis I ate four small meals a day and had two meal supplements like Complan to build me up and give my body energy I found that it really helped me to gain more strength and I didn’t have to go to the toilet all of the time 

The cancer is very treatable  

I hope all goes well 

Take care 

Yes Artsie Ann you're so right it is treatable if caught in time. I think James was stage 1 or 2 not really sure.

Yes that's exactly the way my husband was at the beginning he noticed a lot of blood too and it was constant diahorrea he was having and sometimes not making it to the loo on time. While we were waiting for his diagnosis I was `googling` a lot which they tell you not to and was hoping his was IBS or Chron's Disease or something. We actually felt `relieved` when we were told it was cancer because then we knew what we were looking at and for the fact they said it was treatable because of the stage of it and where it was. Just trying to get back to some kind of normality now.