So I’ve had my results and it’s not good , the tumour I’ve have in my colon is large and aggressive , it has invaded my uterus and cervix . I have been referred to the Christie for treatment which will involve chemo , radiation to shrink the tumour enough for a big op to remove my rectum , and have a hysterectomy , it’s going to be a long road to recovery, I’m still in shock and don’t know how to feel really , the family have been great as usual ,I’m so scared !
Hi lyncd66 and thanks court for the tag.
I’ll start by saying I didn’t have the same type of cancer as you, but I keep in touch on the bowel forum as I have had a total pelvic exenteration due to recurrent cervical cancer. So that involved losing my rectum, and bladder and my whole reproductive system.
I understand how scary the thought of this surgery is, and there is no doubt that recovery is long and very tough. But it does give a very good chance of removing the cancer.
it sounds from your post as if you might be having a posterior pelvic exenteration-so losing your rectum but not your bladder? Still tough surgery, and a lot to process. I had my surgery nearly 2.5 years ago and have needed no further treatment, so it was considered a resounding success by my team.
I find my stomas straightforward to manage and I have only minor issues after the surgery with little wound infections which cleared quickly. One thing I will warn you about is the incredible fatigue after surgery. Your body has a lot of healing to do, so you will need a lot of rest, and a lot of help with everything in the initial weeks when you come out of hospital as you feel so weak.
It will be a while for you before surgery since you’re having chemo and radiation first, but I’ll be happy to help with any questions or advice based on my experiences and offer any support I can. It’s almost an incomprehensible thought when you are first faced with the idea of this surgery, but I tried to think of it as a means to an end-I was in a huge amount of pain, and figured anything would be better than that.
It turns out it was, and I have never once regretted going through with it. Keep in touch with us, and I’ll look out for your posts.I hope the chemo and radio work well for you and you are able to cope well with that part of treatment.
Sarah xx
