Newly diagnosed

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Hi All

I was told 2 weeks ago that I have bowel cancer and that the team believe it has spread, so another MRI and PET CT done but nothing further has happened.

I know things take time, and discussions are needed at MDT etc but this journey has felt like a lifetime, to be told yes you have cancer but we aren't sure of staging and treatment plan yet is agonising. I thought waiting for the results of the biopsy was bad enough but this feels cruel.

Any advice on how not to go out of your mind with worry and worst case scenarios?

Thank you!

KeenRunner 2 days ago

So sorry for your news, I found the time waiting between being told I had cancer and getting a plan by far the hardest part of my journey - including all the actual treatment itself that I've gone through.

Honest answer is I think it's impossible to not constantly worry until you have that plan. I tried to distract myself with tasks, but found anything remotely complex I just couldn't get myself to focus. Instead I found cooking and baking was a bit of a sweet spot where it let me focus on a task - but it wasn't too complex!

JayH1 2 hours ago

It is a tough time waiting and I'm sorry you're going through this. I was told I had bowel cancer before I had emergency surgery for a blockage. They said I'd know the histology results in a fortnight. It turned out to be 3 weeks probably due to bank hols. In the meantime I tried to remain positive and think that I need to continue to enjoy life and that for that time I was safe by not knowing the worst, which it might not be anyway ... if that makes sense. I'll admit though that one still can't help having days of anxiety when they think the worst, but of course it does our bodies no good to be worrying. All I can say is be positive, get yourself in a good mindset, keep yourself distracted with a hobby (or learn a new one), find TV/YouTube programmes that keep you really engaged, and stay off google (which I know we are guilty of but it doesn't always help).

Best of luck and I hope your worry is unfounded.