Bowel cancer spread to prostate... Surgery in January

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My dad (aged 73) was diagnosed with bowel cancer early this year and underwent chemo and radiotherapy to shrink the tumor. A recent scan showed it had shrunk the tumor, but that there is also now signs of cancer in his prostate.

My dad's consultant is putting him forward for surgery to remove (not sure if the the whole bowel and whole prostate), but certainly the affected areas. He's been told that he'll need to wear a bag for the rest of his life. Sorry can't remember the name of the bag but it's in place of bowel function.

My dad tells me that he'll be in hospital for 3 weeks after the surgery, which sounds a lot. Is this normal? Followed by 6 weeks of not being allowed to drive, which I guess is normal and to be expected after major surgery.

Whats the prognosis? Looking for hope that he might make a full recovery.

court 2 days ago

Hi Snowflakecookie3e4954

Welcome to the forum .
Sorry to hear about your dad . There are lots of different types of surgery for bowel cancer and some have different recovery periods than others . My mum was in for nearly two weeks without a stoma whilst others are home in a matter of days .

The thing to remember is surgery is normally done in the U.K. with curative intent .

There are some larger procedures where they do more extensive surgery and that gives wider margins to prevent recurrence.

But the staff take you through it step by step .

I take it your dad did not grasp the name of the procedure.

But his GP will have been notified if he wants to check it out .

Take care ,

Court

Helpline Number 0808 808 0000

Kareno62 2 days ago

Hi Snowflakecookie3e4954 and a warm welcome from me too. Yes the no driving for 6 weeks is correct and he shouldn’t be lifting anything heavier than a kettle with 1 cup of water in for that time either especially with a stoma as he will be at higher risk of a hernia. Is it a colostomy that he’ll be having? The nurses will make sure he’s happy with all aspects of his stoma before discharge and there’s lots of advice on this board too

https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer_experiences/ileostomy-and-colostomy-discussions-forum

I’ve attached a link to a booklet about the op as there’s some good advice on what to pack etc.

https://bcuk.adidocdn.dev/Publications/Your_Operation/Bowel_Cancer_UK_Your_Operation_Booklet.pdf

Take care

Karen x

Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm

Babotie 2 hours ago

Hi Snowflake

Sorry to hear about your dad.

Just to comment on the hospital time...I've had major surgery three times for colon cancer, each time there was more than one affected area. They have always said 3 weeks to me, I did however get out a bit earlier. The surgeon explained to me that one's bowel is remarkably sensitive...it gets grumpy when handled. So thats the bit that often drives how long you in hospital - they need to wait until your bowel starts working, and they happy with output. Everyone is different, some people take longer for bowels to get going. My team encouraged me to move around - as soon as I could I would go for small walks down the hospital passage. The physio also showed me small exercises while I was in hospital. I do think moving makes a big difference with helping the body 'reset'. Wishing your dad all the best.