Breast cancer, now colon cancer

Welcome Chillypom I am going to tag in seaspirit44 as I think she has too navigated these choppy waters .

There are actually a few women who have had both primaries so you are definitely not alone .

Bowel cancer is very treatable and has many different approaches. It can look pretty horrible on the colonoscopy so please do not be too concerned . It’s size does not always indicate a spread either so please don’t assume that . We have many people with sizeable tumours that are contained within the colon . 

My mum was a late stage diagnosis and is still here 13 years later so please don’t think too far ahead just now . Bowel cancer actually can still have surgical and radiotherapy options depending on size and location even when it’s spread . It’s a bit more fortunate in some regards than other primaries.

We are here to support you through this part as they collect all the information. 
Take special care ,

Court 

Thank you for replying, it was really helpful. You have calmed my panic a little bit which I really appreciate.

Thank you

It never fails to amaze me that two primaries can occur close together but there is quite a bit of it at times .

Kareno62 will be around in a day or two and has some good resources for reading on bowel cancer . She will link them in when she has an opportunity. 
Do you know which area of the colon was affected ?

Take care. ,

Court 

Im not to sure, but it was close to the end of my colonoscopy.

Hi Chillypom and a warm welcome from me too. Yes the tumours look horrible don’t they - I remember saying ‘ooh that doesnt look very good’ as it came up on screen but as Court says, size does not matter. Bowel cancer is notoriously slow growing bur very treatable especially if caught early.

The waiting for scan results is very stressful but once you have a treatment plan in place then things will honestly feel a bit better. You’re certainly going through a tough time and it seems so unfair that you’ve had this thrown at you now. 
I’ve attached a link to the booklet that I was given at my first meeting - it’s a good guide to possible treatment and terminology but feel free to ask if there’s anything you’re not sure about

https://bowelcancerorguk.s3.amazonaws.com/Publications/YourPathway_BowelCancerUK.pdf

Glad you’ve found us here and we’ll be happy to help and support you through this

Take care

Karen x

I really appreciate your support. Ive had a phone call to say my results wait won't be 4 weeks now. My oncologist has mentioned stopping or changing my current chemo so they are speeding up the process. Ive got my next ec chemo on tuesday so I'm hoping as i come out of that fog towards the end of week 2 i might be getting some answers.

Thank you so much for replying. Im still anxious but im holding things together and managing much better with your support.

So pleased to hear that and your teams will start pulling this together and Co ordinate your care .

They will take good care of you .

We are very much here to support you and get you through each process one step at a time .

Take care ,

Court 

Hi Chillypom

so sorry you find yourself here 

you can read my profile as I have had 2 primaries 

at least hopefully you should be able  to be pretty sure they are not connected 

the waiting is diabolical. My bowel cancer looked huge and ugly on the colonoscopy screening. I was convinced it has gone too far. But a year on clear CT so don’t stress too much ( easy to say I know ) 

stay busy and roll on 4 weeks time. 
Parky x 

My oncologist filled me in on my ct scan results. The cancer looks like its spread into some nodes but that seems to be it. There are 2 small dots on my liver which are being double checked with an MRI but Im not sure when thats going to be.

Im not really sure how to feel. It all sounds quite scary still. My oncologist has cancelled all my chemo for my breast and moved me straight onto my hormone therapy. After talking to her and absorbing what she said Im thinking about what the impact will be of no more chemo preventing my breast cancer coming back (maybe my minds just skipping too far and I need to just focus on now! Its difficult) I realise shes done it so that im fit enough for whatever i am to face now. 

Thank you for reaching out to me Parky.

Im glad youve had a clear CT scan

Im hopeful about things but theres always that little niggle in the back of my mind. Trying to ignore it!