Just diagnosed…Possibly stage 4

Hi KJC. I had to have an MRI as the CT scan showed something in the liver but it turned out to be a hemangioma. These are benign tumours which are commonly found in the liver and most people go through life non the wiser unless they have this type of scan so try and wait until you have all the results before worrying about your staging.

Bowel cancer is notoriously slow growing but very treatable even if there does turn out to be any mets. If you click on my name then you can see my history - I was diagnosed stage 3 in 2016 and I’m still Ned (no evidence of disease).

Please keep posting and we can send you some links to handy booklets and help and support you through this

Take care

Karen x

Welcome to the forum KJC- Although it is somewhere you may not particularly don't want to be. Hope you find a lot of inspiration from others who can relate to your issues everyone will get what you are going through. Come on here and vent, shout, scream and just generally let off steam and be angry at your cancer diagnosis because everyone will get what you're going through.  My husband is living with advanced bowel cancer after it returned last year in May- just about this time last year such a bombshell for us as they had got all the tumour out back in January 2022. Good luck with everything. 

Vicky x

Hi Karen. Your story is indeed inspiring.  Thanks. Can I ask you what were your symptoms before diagnosis? I know one should wait for tests results (I have a colonoscopy coming Friday) but the mind plays some really bad games and I find myself struggling to dismiss my symptoms for symptoms of an advanced cancer... 

Hi KJC, I also had the same experience as Karen062, something seen on the CT liver scan but was also a hemangioma but the medics needed to check it out, very scary considering I was still reeling from my tumour diagnosis in my sigmoid. I had no concrete symptoms before diagnosis just lucky to be picked up by the Bowel screening programme. My final staging after surgery was T3N1M0. From diagnosis to surgery, 3 weeks on our fantastic NHS.  4 rounds of CAPOX chemo from September to Xmas, all douable with little disruption to my normal routine, carried on with my normal routine up to my surgery date, including working full time as I needed to cling onto normality. Please stay aware from Google as the information is poorly written and the info is  way out of date. Please believe that once all the tests have been completed and your medical team have a plan, you will feel better. I know that it is human nature to imagine the worse case scenerio but as I have read on here many times, thoughts are not facts. Be kind to yourself and using this forum and the Bowel Cancer UK online forums, you will read many positive stories where stage 4 cancer but please don't let your imagination convince you that that is what your outcome will be. You are obviously a fighter as you have already overcome Hodgkins Lymphoma and we are all with you on your new journey. You also have youth on yourside, enjkoy your beautiful children , I am sure that this is just another blip in your life journey, Wishing you all the best and please feel free to ask any questions you may have as we have all been in your shoes , sending hugs and positive thoughts kindest regards Mel

Hi mpb1963. I’d started having loose stools and having to rush to the toilet first thing in a morning - I’d recently been made redundant (my choice) so put it down to having a cup of tea in bed in a morning rather than with breakfast. This went on for well over a year possibly longer but I stuck my head in the sand and carried on with life. I then noticed blood in the toilet and my stools were getting narrower so decided it was probably piles and got some cream! We then booked a holiday and I thought I’d better get things sorted out as I always had looser stools on holiday so this was looking potentially messy. The doctor referred me under the 2 week rule and the rest is history. I had no weight loss and no pain.

Reading this back and knowing what I know now I can see how stupid I was so I consider myself very lucky that I was deemed as being ‘treated with a view to cure’. 

Although I don’t post a lot I do still keep an eye on the bowel cancer uk board (which tends to be a lot busier) and there’s people on there with stage 4 diagnosis who are on active treatment and getting on with their lives - they describe it as living with not dying from cancer. 

I know it’s hard not to fear the worst but worrying will cause you to feel anxious which will cause you to feel sick with an upset tummy and you’ll be creating symptoms for yourself -  cross each bridge if/as and when you get to it and we’re here to help you along the way

Take care

Karen x

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Hi KJC 

Welcome from me too . I was a lone female in a house of boys and it was wonderful . I came here back in 2009/2010 when my mum was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer with a spread to her liver . Bowel cancer is a bit more fortunate than some other primaries as it still has a lot of treatment for the liver . My mum has had chemo twice for her liver and that allowed her then to get to surgery . They removed 73% and it regenerates. Her liver has been clear since 2010 . She is very much a chronic condition as it went to her lungs and here she is heading to 81 and just had some good scan results . However life is never straightforward and when I have tried to nip away for her few days she has ended up in hospital with an infection . Hopefully home soon . 
It has been an eye opener to see what they can achieve . Have a look Star74  profile . She is very similar age and dealing with young children and treatment . She really is a star .

My own children were early primary school when my mum started this journey 14 years ago and one has completed university and the other half way through .

Obviously not everyone gets these results but it’s also important to note that many new treatments have been brought into being since my mum started treatment .

We are still waiting on the cure for the next generation .

It is most definitely not a situation without hope . However we are all hoping it’s these pesky cysts that bring such alarm and nothing more .

Hope you get news soon and start on a good pathway.

Court