Bowel cancer - nearly finished radio therapy

You are most certainly not weak as you are going through an incredibly hard process . Particularly for a 29 year old . 

Big welcome Geeker . Any stage in this process can require additional support so I am pleased you reached out . I will leave others to address the radiotherapy aspects .

Most people only get told after surgery if chemotherapy is required . I suspect they know before that for most people but are inclined to stick to protocol. However given you are in hospital and a captive audience they maybe shared a bit more of what might be necessary. It certainly does not mean something has shifted in a negative direction. I will link in Kareno62 who has more experience. The most important thing is surgery is going ahead !

Our helpline staff 0808 808 0000 are there for you to chat to if you feel that would help . Macmillan has also partnered with Bupa for six weeks counselling sessions if you are interested in that . Then there is us . Knowing others have gone through this and back living there lives with this in their rear view mirror is very important .

Take care ,

Court 

Good morning Geeker  With this site you will never be alone .I understand what you mean by feeling weak .It's easy to say be strong  and positive. It's nothing to be ashamed  of .As for your dignity that was just a song by Deacon Blue.. I didn't have chemo so can't help .

 Ask your questions write them down and when you're Consultant comes to see you ask . Hope you don't have to long in hospital    Alaine

Hi Geeker and a warm welcome from me too. Cancer treatment is tough so please don’t feel weak. It’s also different for each person so some may have an easier time with the treatment than others. If you click on my name then you’ll see I had a few ‘downs’ along the way. I put on a good front (I don’t like people worrying about me) but there were days when I thought ‘why me’ and ‘will I ever feel normal again’. I adopted the mantra of a guy on the board which was This Too Shall Pass - it will and it does so don’t put too much pressure on yourself to brave it out - be angry, cry, rant on here - do whatever helps you.

Dignity? Yes that pretty much goes out of the window doesn’t it? My husband used to roll his eyes when I got on the couch for a quick examination with a ‘Yes I know - knees up, knickers down’! I think you’ve just got to accept that there’s nothing that the medical people haven’t encountered before and they can deal with it, 

Post-op chemo? I was told at my first appointment that there were a couple of lymph nodes affected so I would probably need chemo (which I did). My friend was told the same but when the histology (lab report) came back after surgery she was ok and didn’t need chemo. I think radiotherapy can cause swelling and scarring so they may suspect that you need post op chemo but can’t say for definite until after surgery. Perhaps you can ask them why they suspect this? Have you had a recent scan thats indicated this? At the end of the day, if you need chemo to put the belt and braces on your treatment, then so be it but please try not to worry about that now. Breaking your treatment down into stages is a good idea so focus on getting well again and fit and healthy for your op and we’ll cross the chemo bridge if you get to it.

Really glad you’ve joined the board. Everyone is at various stages of treatment/recovery and we’ll be happy to share advice and experience. Bowel cancer is very treatable nowadays and I’m approaching my 5 year anniversary as are the 2 ladies that I went through my treatment with. Please don’t give up - keep posting and we’ll get you through this

Take care

Karen x

Thanks every for your replies. I’m posting on mobile so apologies for my terrible grammar and spelling (who am I kidding - it’s no better on a laptop!) 

I already feel re-assured by your responses - thank you all. I think I just need a bit of re-assurance and to talk a bit more now. One thing I am quite pleased with is that I do try and seek help now rather than bottling things up. 

The oncologist said post surgery chemo wasn’t a given although probably likely. I shouldn’t worry about it they just wanted to let me know now, rather than spring it later. Not sure if it helps much but eventually I’ll process it , especially with the help of you guys on here. 

I’d also like to help share my experiences with others when I can. I guess for a lot of people (me included) a lot of this is all new - and people don’t necessary realise a lot of things are ‘normal’.