Bowel cancer CARERS, FAMILY & FRIENDS chat

Hi SCARLET10 believe it or not he is at a conference in Ireland this week why didn't i shout up surly by husband is more important than a stupid conference just felt like a number. The colorectal nurse was even comparing the sun tan on his arm.He is suppose to be the top man we will see just hope to God we get him to the 17th first hugs to you xx

Bless you Maggie I know we are all suffering in different ways but in my own life I do not know of anyone apart from my sister in law who I do not get on with that have lost a partner through Cancer so I am grateful for you all on here going through this dark hole Hope Les is doing well love to you and your family will be thinking of you xx

Jkee I would be fuming.  At a conference in Ireland.  I know they do attend conferences and have to have annual leave but surly he has a stand in that could help. I hope he is not in too much pain and not suffering. You will get him there for the 17.  I lost a dear friend to cancer about 15 years ago.  She was so young.  I was with her nearly every day and worked in the same hospital she was in and her family did not have the decency to tell me and when I went at lunch time to see her, it said do not enter, stupid me thought she was being washed or something but because I went every day and night the nurses told me that they were waiting for her son to come and see her as he was bloody Christmas shopping. I was so upset and completely shocked as I was there the night before. It was absolutely awful.  I still have images of that now and it is still quite raw.  Jkee gosh I do feel for you and think of you al, time.

hugs to all xx

I always found waiting is the worst. Its like my dads consultant, only does consultanting twice a week  so sometimes waiting weeks to see him. Then we went to the Oncologist and he said yeah youll start chemo in a few weeks there never seemed to be any urgency at all. However the scans funnily enough we have always had back within a week.

Im really sorry you are having to wait Jkee especially with what they have said to your husband about maybe only having months. Hope you get them back soon. 

distraught - hope les is doing well after his op

My dad is 4 days into round 2 of Capox. Hes doing well on it, only suffering with tingly fingers/ numbness when exposed to cold so far. 

Sending love to everyone who is suffering and loved ones. xx

Les has neuropathy with it. He can’t stand the cold, his face, feet and hands are numb. He has no fingerprints with the chemo now.  Slight thinning of hair otherwise tolerated it.  He also got very tired. I kept a temp so I could keep an eye on his temperature etc. Les had one day infusion then 4 tablets morning and night for two weeks and then a week off then it started again. Two different types of chemo as well. Considering he had 16 sessions he has don really good.  I just tell him how well he is doing xx

Thats what chemo regime my dad is on. Infusion, two weeks of Capecitabine tablets then a week off. 
Your husband has done really well! Hope everything continues to go in the right direction xx

Thank you cxo but only time will tell. It is 2 weeks tomorrow since the operation and I think he is doing really well considering. I have just given him his injection and I hurt him. I can never get it right. He has that much hanging skin it is really hard. Maggie xx

Hi Scientist44

Nice to see you here. We are all a great support on here for each other. My husband was diagnosed with bowel/rectal/colon cancer in 2021. To cut a long story short he went in on January 2022 and has his tumour cut out which had apparently been there for about 3 years previous according to his surgeon and symptoms never surfaced until the end of 2020. They got it all and I asked about post chemo treatment just incase anything got missed. Was told it was not necessary and if not necessary they tend to leave alone. Five months later at his follow up with the surgeon she took bloods from him and a few weeks later he got a letter to say his CEA markers had risen and a CT requested which confirmed his cancer had come back. From then on it was a downward spiral for him. He was put on more chemotherapy which then made him very ill and had to eventually be withdrawn completely due to kidney damage. Four bouts of sepsis followed and it was the fourth one along with his advancing cancer which finally took him on the 23rd June 2023 so I am weeks away now from the first anniversary of his passing. He passed in hospital he wanted to come home but he was just too weak to be moved. He passed with me sitting at his bedside and I did not even know he had gone. I only realised when he stopped breathing and thought he had just fallen asleep as he was lapsing in and out of consciousness. 

To rub salt in the wounds two months after his passing my older sister got the same diagnosis of bowel cancer. Her's though was caught very early and she went in on October last year and got the tumour cut out which was small and she is making a good recovery. Ironically she had breast cancer 5 years ago and beat that also. My son just lost his future mother-in-law also just a couple of weeks ago to cancer also. So it's been quite a year for me. 

I have bonded well with the ladies here over the last few years and as I said we are a great support for each other going through our horrible journeys. I visit the Bereaved Spouses and Partners forum also but still like to come on here and offer support to the ladies here as they saw me though my journey with my husband. Take Care. 

Vicky x

Oh I’m so sorry Vicky to hear your story. This disease is just so awful. But it is nice to be here and have so many people who have been through or are going through the same thing to lean on. Did a reasonable job at staying in the present today and just getting on with the normal school day/work routine since there is not much else we can do until we have all the test results back and a treatment plan. Mostly just feeling exhausted and emotionally drained but I expect that might be a common theme over the next few months!

Hi scientist it is very common.  It is a rollercoaster of a journey even when you find out the results the rollercoaster never stops. When we got the results I was terrible,  could not go out or speak to anyone as I did not want to believe what was going on,  eventually I went to see the GP and a counsellor which I found very helpful.  Try and keep positive regardless. We are all here for you.  Love and hugs xxx