Stomach pains

Hi Mrs Fight,

My cancel and condition probably a lot different from you. I have stage 3 colon cancer. A single large tumour (T3) in the ascending colon near the cecum. I was getting regular pain in the appendix due to semi obstruction of the colon. The pain was mainly in the background but every week or so for about 3 months before my diagnosis (late due to NHS capacity issues and getting a colonoscopy) and then just a few days after my diagnosis I had a complete obstruction and was rushed to A&E and taken into surgery 11 hours after admission. I don't now what your specific case is and I'm not a medical profession and don't want to cause any worry, but please be aware of and keep an eye on symptoms of bowel obstruction and contact your specialist if they're not aware of this symptom. My wife had read up on it (among lots of other symptoms and causes) and her quick action in recognising the issue and driving me to A&E most likely saved my life. Now I'm receiving adjuvant treatment (4 x 3-week cycles of CAPOX).

Kind regards,

Dartanyan

Sorry to read your story, and so glad you got help! My case is a bit complicated as they are not sure if there is one or two areas in the bowel, so want to open up and see what’s there. I will go to A&E if symptoms persist or worsen. Thank you for your help and advice. X

Hi Mrs fight 

A&E is the right place if your symptoms worsen

I had a 10cm tumour in my rectum. Processing my food caused discomfort and pain. I also had bleeding caused by passing a  fibrous diet.
So I found eating very small low fibre meals and drinking two complans I could manage and my energy levels raised. 
I hope that you have your operation soon. 
Sending you a hug 

I found this interview (see below) useful about diet to reduce pain and symptoms. Not all relevant to everyone and worth consulting Macmillan nurses, but I did try Keto diet and it helped reduce my symptoms after surgery and during chemo. Just avoiding fibre and carbohydrates helped me. I tried short periods of fasting before I knew what my issue was and it helped temporarily. I don’t want to be someone who sends on all sort of questionable info but I have listened to nearly all of it & I wondered if there were bits in it that would be helpful for you. The link is https://youtu.be/WJQn6WZGAQ0.

That’s interesting as I had a 10cm tumour in my rectum and found increasingly that it was so difficult to process my food so I ate little almost nothing. My energy level dropped to zero for me it was lots of fluid three tiny healthy low fibre meals and two protein drinks that gave me the energy I needed to be strong for my exercises for the operation. This gave me a fast turn around after the operation.  
I hadn’t heard about the diet you mentioned 

Hi Artsie Ann,

I tried various things and lots of fluids is definitely good. Keeping energy up is very important. I think cutting out refined sugars is very important and I'll be avoiding biscuits, cake, ice-cream and anything with refined sugars going forward. I think there are some interesting aspects to Keto Diet, but I couldn't sustain that for long and the chap on the video doesn't either. For a short period it seems like a good detox and good for reducing some symptoms of the disease and side-effects of drugs. It's whatever works for the individual. Fasting is a good detox but I think not wise when you are recovering from an operation or undergoing adjuvant treatments. I'm now on reduced carbs with higher protein and lots of fresh vegetables (any green veg being best for me). I'm avoiding refined sugars, pork or cured meat and any form of processed food. I found peppermint or ginger tea to be very good for easing an feeling of bloating and nausea, particularly after my operation.

Kind regards,

Dartanyan