AJMC

Welcome AJMC

Glad you found us and joined in the forum . I am sorry to hear about your husband. I am wondering if it might be a GIST tumour he has . If so I can get you some information on that .

My mum had her tumour reduced in size by having chemotherapy first . It’s a good plan as it gives the surgeons much better margins when they do eventually operate. However it does make it a long treatment plan to get there . One step forward at a time .

Does he have a date to start treatment ?

I need to pop out just now but let me know and I will link in further information for you both .

Take care ,

Court 

Thank you so much for your reply, yes it's a Gist tumour my husband has, he started a chemotherapy drug a few weeks ago and was told it could take up to 18 months for the tumour to shrink enough to be operated on but if the tumour stops shrinking itself while he's on the treatment they will then operate, I hope this makes sense. 

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/soft-tissue-sarcoma/gastrointestinal-stromal-tumour

This is a Macmillan leaflet on it . I think they use a targeted therapy to reduce the size . Some other bowel tumours have treatment to shrink it before surgery too . Your explanation makes perfect sense and whilst it takes a slightly longer route to get to surgery they do a fantastic job .

How has he found his treatment so far? Hope he is tolerating it well . We are also here to support you too! If you have any questions you would like to speak to anyone about we also have a helpline. 0808 808 0000. They cover just about anything from financial implications to the emotional impact .

Take care ,

Court 

Thank you for the link il go on and read it now, He's doing good so far, just a bit of fatigue and he's feeling the cold more than he ever did, not sure if that's connected to the drug, it's good to be on this forum and chat with someone else who knows  about it, We have great family and friends but there's only so much chatting you can do with them, I like to know the ins and outs so that I know what we are exactly dealing with. 

Me too ! I liked to get to grips with the facts . It strengthened me to know what to roughly expect .

Sounds as though he is tolerating his treatment well ! That’s exactly what you would be hoping for .

It is great just to connect with people who do understand.

Take care ,

Court