New Rectal Cancer Diagnosis

Hi ,  sorry to hear of your diagnosis,  I'm older than you but I was diagnosed 2years ago with Rectal and in lymph nodes They started me off with radiotherapy and chemo tablets and 25 sessions over 5 weeks .  Which they said I was disease free. A year later it returned  so they removed it all  . I'm still recovering from the operation now and they said I'm disease free again.  So I crossing everything I can so that it does not come back again . Sorry for the waffling but I'm telling there is hope so try and be positive as much as possible because it does help . Stress is no good.  Hope you get on well.  X

Thanks for sharing. It's really encouraging to hear that you were able to beat it twice! I really hope it doesn't come back for you and you remain free of it.

I'm still getting used to the news and my my new reality.

Hi SteveF and a warm welcome to the board. Yes it’s a shock and there’s a lot to take in at the first meeting but there’s a treatment plan in place for you and that is good. Bowel cancer is very treatable and the liver can be successfully resected. I’ve attached links to a couple of success stories which may help?

 Colorectal cancer . positive post 

 Post treatment update

Update on bowel cancer journey

Im glad you’ve found us here - we’re all at different stages of treatment and recovery and happy to help and support you through yours. Stay away from google -it can be scary and out of date - we’ll try and answer any questions that you have and the support desk is available everyday from 8-8 if you want to chat to someone? 

Take care

Karen x

Thanks. It's good to see these positive stories. Once I have all the information for the chemo I'll try posting the treatment group.

Hi SteveF 

Welcome to the forum but I do understand even joining the forum can be daunting . It brings a reality with it but also hopefully lots of hope for the future and successful treatment .

My mum’s was one of the first bowel screens to be completed in our area 15 years ago so you can image the shock to find out she not only had bowel cancer but a spread to her liver .

She went straight to chemo which not only stabilised the disease but shrank it . It went back and forth for a few years but she made it to surgery and had 73% of her liver removed back in 2010 .( I think ) . 
Since then her liver has remained clear but she has some lung involvement but her team has managed that over the years .

She is now an older lady of 82 . Not what we imagined back when she was first diagnosed.

You have come through the very hardest part of hearing it’s spread and it does change things for sure . But step by step you will start to find more stable ground .

Treatment itself did actually feel as though something was being done .

It definitely is not without hope . And mum has had 15 years old Brilliant living in between treatments which had their hard days .

You are a stat of one , no one else’s outcomes predict your own and may you be a top responder to treatment.

Best advice we got was to keep your head where your body is and keep dragging it back from worst case scenarios .

Bowel cancer that has spread still has lots of treatment options and you will see people on the boards in their seventh year of chemo . Not all people get this outcome but we keep pushing those stats further down the road .

They say a stage four diagnosis is a marathon not a sprint and I think that probably sums up Mum’s story . A bit of an endurance runner !

take care and always here to prop up and encourage as we know hearing this news is very tough .

Court 

Thank you. When I heard stage 4 in the room my heart sank and I thought that was it because of the stuff I'd read online. I'm so glad I joined this forum and seeing these stories really helps put what I'm going through into perspective. I'm definitely feeling a lot more positive than I was at 3 in the morning.

Hey Steve 

I’m 44 and same as you. TNM 321 right colon cancer with two lymph nodes affected and a couple of tiny spots on liver (1-3mm). Diagnosed in January, chemo Folfox, from Feb to April every two weeks, and then had surgery to remove right side of bowel in June. I’ve recovered really well, chemo was hard but manageable and successful in reducing cancer, surgery was actually fine, and I was home in 3 days. I’m 5 weeks post surgery and feel normal! Next steps is to focus on liver and meeting with consultant next Weds to see scan results and decide what they will do. I am hoping surgery to remove any dodgy bits but need to see scan results to see if they are actually cancerous. 

I have a little girl who is 1 and a son who is 21. They keep me going but it’s also really hard. Dark thoughts can be hard to control but one thing is to always remember your story is your story and no one else’s. Don’t compare. And focus only on the facts they give you. Try not to enter the “what if” world as it doesn’t exist…and stay away from google. X

Thank you for sharing. These stories really give me hope. I made the mistake of googling some things yesterday and have  decided against doing that anymore. It's good to have some knowledge but I think I only need a little bit. I'm trusting my doctors and nurses to do the best for me and they've been really good so far.

I'm trying to keep myself busy so I don't dwell on things as I can easily do that when left to my own devices.

Thank you again, this really helps knowing someone who had the same diagnosis as me is having success with their treatment. Good luck and hope it stays all good too.

Hey Steve. 
Like you, we got the devastating news my Dad had rectal cancer with spread to liver. 
He has had 4 rounds of IV chemo and the chemo has shrunk all tumours and now talking of potentially operating. 
You hear stage 4 and automatically fear the worst and it is a journey that has its ups and downs but chemo can work wonders . 
Hope you get a positive outcome and best of luck on your journey x

Everyone on here has been so supportive. I'm glad I posted. Last night I felt so lost. I'm definitely feeling a lot more hopeful. Thank you for sharing. It's really made a difference to my outlook on all this. I hope everything continues to go well for your Dad