Return of symptoms after surgery.

Kakadu 1 month ago

3 replies
129 subscribers
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Hello,

I had a left hemicolectomy back in October. 36 lymph nodes were all clear and there was.no metastasis. But the tumour was T4. I decided against chemo as was told it would only slightly reduce the chances of recurrence. Now I have symptoms similar to those that led to diagnosis, so looks like it's come back already. Haven't told anyone yet. What I want to know is what's likely to happen now? Will I be offered further surgery, which I should think would probably involve a stoma, or chemo.? The tumour was on my caecum and Iknew the prognosis for these is not great, also I'm in my 80s and have a number of comorbidities, so it's not like I was expecting to live for very much longer. Would be most grateful to hear from anyone who knows what options I'll be offered.

Kakadu 1 month ago

Oops, it was a right hemi I had, not left. Brain addled by anxiety!

Groverthewoodsman 23 days ago

Kakado: I had a right side Hemi, a mucinous adenocarcinoma removed with 11 inches of colon and17 lymph nodes taken, about 20 months ago. One lymph showed cancer, so I did do 12 cycles chemo... So far, no return. My only suggestion is to immediately seek a medical opinion. Your symptoms may not even be cancer, and/or may be, but don't let fear hold you back: once the situation is clarified, only you will have the right to approve or decline treatments, etc. Please DO find out, as your worst fears may be unfounded! Good luck, and all the best to you!

Kakadu 20 days ago in reply to Groverthewoodsman

Thanks so much for your kind message. I had my 6-month appointment at the nurses' clinic on Tuesday and my blood test results were all ok, including the cea gone down from what it was in January. So probably not the cancer come back. But they've booked me for a colonoscopy at the end of this month to find out what is going on. If my BMs had been like this straight after the op I'd have thought it was a natural result of having much less bowel, but everything was surprisingly normal for the first 3+ months. Nurse agreed it might be bile acid malabsorption, so hoping for something like that.

Hope you continue to be well.

All good wishes,

Karen.