Another anxious newbie

Hi

i was diagnosed with bowel cancer stage 4 and a couple of spots on my liver.  I was diagnosed at the end ish of January - I have just had my second cycle of chemotherapy and am having 4 then another scan and they did think radiotherapy but following a scan very recently they think they won’t give me radiotherapy now but an operation a short while after chemotherapy.  It was a shock and I’m still coming to terms with this.  I have capox drug - the day of IV is rough for me and I’m unable to walk out afterwards and then have horrendous pins and needles.  After a few days ish I’m able to walk unaided but continue with pins and needles until I have my break from medication.  Here for a chat if needed x

Hi Josie68 and a warm welcome to the board from me - it’s very strange feeling healthy and then being told you’ve got cancer isn’t it? So, your treatment is pretty standard. When I had mine I had chemoradiotherapy then surgery then chemo but a recent trial has shown that having chemo before the op can give better results hence the new regime.

My first advice is to focus on each stage, tick it off and then move on to the next. You will probably have several weeks break after the chemoradiotherapy which allows it time to continue working and hopefully shrinking the tumour.

Do you know what chemo you’ll be having? There are a lot of side effects but it affects everybody differently and there are lots of pills and potions to try. It’s handy to keep a diary as it reminds you of any side effects that you may want to mention to the nurses and you may also find that a bit of a routine develops eg. You might feel a bit iffy for the first few days but pick up towards the end so you can plan something nice for your better days?

Ive attached a link to a thread that we started about chemo handy hints - sometimes it helps to know that something is ‘normal’ for chemo?

https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer_types/bowel-colon-rectum-cancer-forum/f/bowel-colon-rectum-cancer-forum/221768/chemo-care-top-tips--

Glad you’ve reached out to us and we’ll be happy to help and support you through this

Take care

Karen x

Thank you Lucy. That sounds pretty rough- I really hope it works for you and that the surgery is a success! It’s so blummin scary!!!

Ah thanks so much Karen. That’s really useful! I’ve been down a bit of a Google rabbit hole, so its such a relief to find this site and forum, with so many lovely people and advice from lived experiences. 
I’ll be given Capox I think- I got the information leaflet at my hospital appointment- very daunting reading! Still feel like I’m in a nightmare and I SO want to wake up…!! Xxx

All the best with your treatment.take it a day at a time.

I had capox as a mop up/belt and braces.not everyone gets every side effect and there are lots of potions etc to help

Do read peoples bios to see how they got on

Kath