Bowel cancer, hysterectomy and now gallstones is 3 ops in 1 possible?

Hi Tazza1975 

Welcome to the forum . Totally understandable. That’s a lot to process . Sometimes more than two surgeons become involved in the one op but I think it really depends on the surgical team and the clinical aspects they are factoring in . 
My mum had a bowel and liver resection combined .

But I am honestly not sure how they work out what can and can’t be done together . However we are completely here to support you and will help you through this step by step .

Macmillan also has a free counselling service of six sessions through Bupa . Our helpline staff are available to chat any aspect through at any time .

take special care ,

Court 

Hello Tazza1975

Goodness- that is a lot to take on board at the same time. I can understand you feeling anxious and for it to feel overwhelming. 

However it is good if the cancer has been found early where it can be removed laparoscopically.

With having the hysterectomy and gallbladder surgery at the same time must mean that there is a bigger team of surgeons working together and taking care of you. Also one anaesthetic instead of 3 different times.

If the surgeries were done one at a time I would presume that would mean you would need time in between each to recover. In this case also it would mean that there is the possibility that symptoms would continue in the meantime or potentially get worse? And one stay in hospital instead of 3. 

I totally understand though- it is a lot to happen at one time.

I will pop a couple of links here that may help a bit and if you scroll to the bottom of the page there is some info on other ways to contact Macmillan if needed. 

Surgery for colon cancer | Macmillan Cancer Support

What happens after surgery? | Macmillan Cancer Support

I hope that this may help a bit but if you feel talking it through would help- please give the support line a call

Jane

Hi Tazza1975 

Sorry to see how much you have going on-it’s enough to put anyone in a spin.

I appreciate that you know you are having the colon resection and hysterectomy at the same time, but do you know for sure the gallbladder removal will also be part of this surgery? 

I have had the hysterectomy and removal of colon done at the same time, but by different surgeons as part of a larger surgery. I also have multiple gallstones identified when I was first diagnosed with cancer. However my team left this and did not include the gallbladder removal in my surgery, so I don’t know if it would have been possible to do it at the same time. I already had 3 different specialists for my operation due to the different areas being dealt with at that time. 

I recently had an acute event where one very large gallstone blocked my bile duct, so the plan was to remove my gallbladder now that it is actually causing issues. 

I have had the blockage removed from my bile duct, but now waiting to see if gallbladder removal will be possible laparoscopically. So, just wanted to say I understand your anxiety, and I appreciate very well the pain of a gallstone attack. 

Sarah xx

Wishing you the very best Tazza1975

Hi Sarah thanks for your message.

Yes I knew I was having hysterectomy and colon resection done at same time and I have met my 2 surgeons who I have complete confidence in. My bowel surgeon does do gallbladder removal as he did my mums so didn't know if he would do that too, as what I'm worried about is if I get an attack after my op I'm sick alot and obviously with stitches from surgery it's not the ideal situation

Sarah can I ask how was the recovery of having the 2 ops together as I'm terrified. Was your hysterectomy keyhole or open surgery? 

Thanks

Taryn xx

Hi Tazza1975 

I actually had a total pelvic exenteration, so if you click on my name there are details in my bio of what I had removed-it’s a bigger surgery overall because I had my bladder and lots of other stuff taken out at the same time. 

I had open abdominal surgery as there was so much to be removed and I had staples rather than stitches, so the recovery was much longer than a laparoscopic surgery. If you have your gallbladder removed, the attacks should stop.

Remember that your surgery will not involve quite so much, and just focus if you can on the outcome rather than the op itself.  I know it’s a scary prospect, but I honestly just focused on getting the cancer out and having a good result. 

I had total trust in my 3 surgeons, so I’m glad you feel the same about yours. It’s important to have that confidence. 

I’m not sure if I will be able to have my gallbladder removed since my previous surgery was so extensive, and the gastro surgeon feels it might be very tricky to do laparoscopically due to whatever organs I have left sticking together now. I’m more than 3 years out from my exenteration surgery.

Sarah xx

Hi Sarah, hope you are well. I spoke with my surgeon and he said its too risky to remove gallbladder aswell so on a low fat diet and hopefully that keeps that at bay until I'm well enough to have that removed.

My op is Friday I am absolutely petrified I had my pre admission appointment yesterday hiw can I prepare for this mentally I feel sick with anxiety xx

Hi Tazza1975 

Yes, a low fat diet is best to keep things quiet on the gallbladder front. I actually haven’t had any flare ups for a while now thankfully. I’m guessing they will do nothing for me unless I have another acute problem with it.

I was a bit different in that I was desperate to have my surgery due to the level of pain from my cancer rapidly spreading, so I didn’t dwell on being anxious about it-I just wanted an end to the pain. I even slept well the night before surgery. 

As I said before, I focused on the outcome, not the actual event itself. Yes, I was scared when I went to theatre, and I had a lot of issues getting my epidural before my general anaesthetic, so that was very painful and stressful. But I just kept thinking I was trading permanent pain for temporary pain after surgery, which was the case. I used deep breathing, and mindfulness and calming apps on my phone in the run up, and tried to live in the moment.

I was on anxiety medication at the time, so that probably took the edge off for me. If I started to feel anxious I made a conscious effort to block those thoughts. I never thought about the mechanics of surgery, what I was going to have removed. I just focused on this being my only chance to live-sounds a bit dramatic, but for me that really was the case, and I considered myself lucky to be able to have it as so many others are not eligible.

Thinking positively helped get me through, and doctors have told me they see a better outcome and recovery for patients who are positive. Of course it’s scary, but if you are having it done laparoscopically it should be an easier recovery than open abdominal. For me, the thoughts were worse than the reality in some ways. 

Not long to wait and then it will all be over. 

Sarah xx

Glad you've had no more flare ups let's hope it stays that way.

I will take on board what you have said I'm trying to stay positive but have wobble days especially yesterday at the hospital when it all became so real! I've not been told I've got to have an epidural was this just in your case as obviously your procedure sounded alot more complex than mine? 

What were your breathing technics Sarah? 

So glad I've found you on here you are so positive xx thank you 

I’m not sure about the epidural-I was happy to have extra anaesthesia and I’d had one before which was no trouble when giving birth, but this one wasn’t so straightforward, and in the event failed and leaked out of my back!

Maybe it was due to the magnitude of the surgery I was having but I never actually asked! I actually asked as few questions as possible as I didn’t want to scare myself out of going ahead-I have seen that happen. 

You can find a lot of free apps on the phone to teach breathing techniques-I use one called Headspace. It makes you focus on breathing deeply in and out and making yourself stay in the moment because you need to concentrate. This then calms your anxiety down. Just look for “calming breathing” on your App Store  and you’ll find several.

I also liked to use calming sounds, like waves or rain…again there are apps for this and they helped relax me to sleep better. I think I felt I had to be doing what I could to help myself mentally, as everything else physically was out of my control.

I don’t think it’s possible to be positive all of the time-we aren’t in real life even without a cancer diagnosis, but it really does help to try not to stay in negative thoughts for long-visit those thoughts and accept they are natural, but don’t stay there was my feeling. I told myself every day I would be well, like a mantra when I woke up each day. That helped me through as I waited for my surgery.

Sarah xx