My scan results are delayed another week because of the bank holiday, I haven't told anyone yet about the caner, as I wanted to know exactly what was going on and what treatment there was, im imaging all sorts, as the cancer is so big, didn't feel unwell at all but now stressed so much my whole body hurts, I cant eat or sleep. Any ideas on how to cope with the stress would be great. Thanks
Hi Pheob and a warm welcome to the board. My tumour was 4cm but I have heard of others having 12cm tumours. It’s not the size that matters but how far the tumour has spread into the bowel wall which will define the staging of it. I can totally appreciate you not telling people until you know what you’re dealing with. My consultant told me that they were treating me with a ‘view to cure’ which I was able to tell my family - that was back in 2016 and I’m still cancer free. I’ve attached a link to a macmillan post about dealing with stress and also a link to the booklet that I was given at my first meeting which explains terminology, staging, treatment etc.
Hello, I was diagnosed at New Year with an 8cm rectal tumour. Despite the size, it hadn't spread or gone very deep into the bowel wall, and it turnt out to be stage 2. They operated and removed it in February and Ive just been told no further treatment needed. I do have a temporary stoma which will be reversed in the next couple of months, but its been ok to manage. I know you must be so anxious, I was too - especially thinking as my tumour was quite large it must mean worst case scenario but this wasnt the case. Looking back, the hardest few weeks I had, were the ones between diagnosis and meeting my consultant, because your mind races imagining all sorts. Once you know the treatment plan, it helps a lot and then you can take each stage as it comes
Hi Phoeb - my husband was diagnosed with a 10 cm rectum tumour last September and I can say the hardest part was the waiting to see if it had spread anywhere else. I equated that length as it being likely to have spread - but it doesn’t work like that. He was diagnosed with Stage 3a but no spread to other organs so M0. He had 5 weeks of chemo and radiotherapy which shrunk the tumour and then had Apr and stoma operation in April. Two weeks later he was told there was no cancer in the removed tumour or in the lymph nodes. He doesn’t even need any more chemo. Just regular check ups going forward. I never thought that possible after his diagnosis of a 10 cm tumour. I hope this gives you some hope and remember ‘thoughts aren’t facts’ - that became my mantra for those 4 weeks when we were having all sorts of scan/CT/MRI appointments. Don’t let your head go to the worst case scenario.
