I have just been diagnosed with stage 4 rectal cancer spread to my liver i thought it might be bad but not this bad. I have lots of support from friends and family but i just feel lost not to sure whats to come
Hi Carebear83 and a warm welcome to board. I know it’s a scary time but bowel cancer is very treatable even with spread to other organs. I’ve attached a link to a booklet with sone more information and I’m sure court will be along shortly with sone words of wisdom - if you click on her name then you can see her mums treatment to date?
Welcome to the forum. I remember well the horrible feeling of shock and dismay hearing my mum had a spread to her liver . She had absolutely no symptoms.
But bowel cancer with a spread to the liver is a bit more favourable than other primary cancers . There are still a lot of treatments out there . All come with criteria and size and location matters . My mum was inoperable but chemo turned that around twice !
She had 73% of her liver removed at a centre of excellence and 14 1/2 years after her initial diagnosis is still here . Not everyone gets those results but it is a growing subgroup and the situation is not without hope as it’s only your own response to treatment that matters .
Hi am hoping for the best out come am trying yo stay positive i have a lot of support which is good. And i see my oncologist on the 11th march for a plan put looks like cemo followed by radiotherapy then 2 different surgeries so a long rd to go down
This is a good start . The other thing my mum found helpful was to plan small projects . Gave her the opportunity to escape from all things cancer and was very therapeutic.
It gave her back some control and slowly but surely she made progress .
They say a stage 4 diagnosis is a marathon not a sprint and planning for the long term with treatment part of that and creating the right balance really helps .
Hi there My diagnosis was similar to yours (read my profile) and it's true that it is scary when you hear stage 4 and spread to liver.
When you have your treatment plan in place and have discussed options it does get easier to focus - take it one day at a time then one week then a month . . . Always always keep putting dates on the calendar a coffee with a friend, a lunch with family, a shopping trip etc. If on the day you don't feel like going no problem !
As Court wisely says a small project on the go will help whatever you enjoy. I've just finished sorting three boxes of photos into albums and have taken up cross stich, next project is making table runners for my daughter's wedding in November!
Remember to look after yourself and do what you want to do, be a little bit selfish no one will mind in the least.
