Hi.

It’s certainly not a good time on the journey. I felt exactly the same way. I cried a lot, joined MacMillan, put one foot in front of the other and lived every day as it came. I am now further along the journey with surgery over with and 2 months recovery, albeit it the worst day was the 2nd day after surgery. From then on there has been gradual improvement. Last week I felt normal and my old self. Today is my first appointment with the Oncology team. At each point on my journey I have had support from this community on MacMillan. So much positivity.

Best wishes for your journey.

Irene

Hi Only me

I found the stage you’re at the worst. The very worst 

Not knowing what’s ahead made my head spin all over the place. I think it’s that flight or fight stage and I did not know what I had to fight or if I could run fast enough 

Do you have a telephone number of your colorectal nurses. I found mine Anneka so supportive. She calmed me down. 
Are you working? That can help if you’ve got supportive work mates. 
I was retired so I just got through I used apps on my phone for meditation to give my head some space. I watched junk happy TV and tried to keep the negative thoughts out of my head. 
Once the tests are over and your MDT decide your treatment plan. Then you can concentrate on getting that Cancer  out of you 

Hi  and a warm welcome to the board. The next couple of weeks will be a flurry of scans, tests and meetings but once you have a treatment plan in place then things will honestly feel a bit better. Bowel cancer is notoriously slow growing but very treatable and there’s lots of support and advice on here.

Please stay away from google - it is out of date and can be downright scary in places. You can ask anything you like on here and if you click on people’s names then their profile page may show their treatment to date. 

Please let us know how you get on and if you want to chat to someone in the meantime then the support team on here are available 7 days a week from 8-8 on 0808 808 00 00

Take care

Karen x

Hello Only Me. A warm welcome to the board from me too, but so sorry you find yourself here.

I think everyone will agree this is by far the worst time – the waiting. I well remember being told I had cancer when I had my colonoscopy and that thought became all consuming. All you can do is take one day at a time and try and distract yourself which I know is easier said than done. Bowel cancer is notoriously slow growing.

I had my CT & MRI scans quite quickly and I’m sure you will too. There will then be an MDT (Multidisciplinary Team) meeting where they decide the best treatment plan for you. These meetings usually take place weekly. I got to hear my treatment plan 16 days after my colonoscopy and after that everything moved very quickly.

You will feel much better when you have a treatment plan in place – honestly.

Please keep posting and keep us up to date. There’s so much support on here and everyone understands what you’re going through as they’ve been there.

Take Care,
Net xx