Hi, This is my first post and I hope it will be of help to others. In November 2020 I went to my GP saying that I was worried that I had symptoms of prostate cancer. I had a PSA test which gave a very low result and was assured I was ok. The symptoms worsened so I returned and saw another GP who gave me a physical examination and discovered a polyp just inside my rectum. This was described as "soft and malleable, in early stages".I attended hospital in December of the same year and had colonoscopy which confirmed no other problems, followed by sigmoidoscopy and histology which confirmed cancer. I was then seen by a surgeon who recommended radical surgery and a permanent stoma as I would no longer have a rectum.
This horrified me especially as I could not understand why no chemo or radiotherapy was offered. I have since learned that this is "not policy" I was told that Trans Anal Endoscopic Micro Surgery might be an alternative, but my local trust did not perform this. I elected to take this option and travelled to another Trust where the operation was performed. I was greatly impressed by the surgeon and his team. This operation was followed by "papillion" brachytherapy, again by another Trust as mine does not have the equipment.
There was then a wait of several months before I returned to have the outcome of the TEMS operation assessed. Unfortunately, it had not succeeded and my polyp had become a tumour which was beyond further surgery.
It was well after this that I had the first consultation with a consultant oncologist who confirmed that my cancer was now Stage 4. I have since embarked on palliative radiotherapy and am currently in the middle of 6 week chemo course, again palliative with the objective of reducing bleeding.
It can easily be argued that I should have accepted the radical surgery and stoma. However, at the time I was a fit and active 74 year old farmer and the delivery of the news to me was not done with much empathy. There was no input from an oncologist and no indication of the practicalities as the disease progressed.
My over-riding feeling is that everything took much too long and as I had no complied with "policy" i.e. refusing radical surgery, the system lost interest in me.
It's now too late and I am concentrating on enjoying every week left to me. If I could change anything it would be that every cancer patient had a personal "champion" to make sure that everything happens in a proper and prompt manner.
