30mm Stricturing Tumour in Distal Sigmoid Colon

Hi Elsann and a warm welcome to the board. Yes it’s a shock isn’t it and a lot of information to take in when your minds already whirling.

It sounds like they’re pretty sure it’s a cancerous tumour but the biopsies that they’ve taken and sent off will confirm this. The CT and MRIs will check to see if there is any spread to other organs and once all the results are back then a team of specialists (the Multi Disciplinary Team) will meet and decide on a treatment plan for him. They will then discuss this with you both so pen and paper recommended. There’s a lot to take in and I was allocated a colorectal support nurse who chatted to me after my initial meeting to make sure I understood everything - I’ve attached a link to the booklet that she gave me which may help you with terminology, questions to ask etc.

bcuk.adidocdn.dev/.../Bowel_Cancer_UK_Your_Pathway_V10.1.pdf

Rectal tumours or those low down in the colon are often treated with chemoradiotherapy first as this can be very effective at shrinking the tumour before surgery. Your hubby may then have chemo or go straight to surgery, 

I was diagnosed back in 2016 (if you click on my name then my profile page will show my timeline ) and didn’t know anyone else who’d had bowel cancer although it is a bit more well publicised now. It is a slow growing cancer but very treatable and I was told at my meeting that they were ‘treating me with a view to cure’ which was something reassuring to tell my family and friends.

Im still ‘no evidence of disease’ as are the 2 ladies that I became good friends with during my treatment and many others who have passed through the board and are now getting on with their lives.

This limbo time waiting for scans and results is very stressful but once there is a treatment plan in place then things will honestly feel a bit better.

Please keep posting and feel free to ask any questions and we’ll be happy to help and support you through this

Take care

Karen x

ps. There’s also an Ask the Nurse page if you need any help with any of the medical terminology

community.macmillan.org.uk/.../ask_a_nurse

Thanks so much Karen - these are all things I need to hear right now...Treatable, All-Clear 10 years later, cure.  I will take a look at your timeline, as I literally am a person that has to control everything and I think this is why I am struggling so much as I can't control this.  Your response has really helped :-)

Hi Karen062

My head has calmed down now and I am functioning, which is great and what both my husband and son need.  I have read so many good news stories which are all keeping me positive.  He had the last scan yesterday and now we are waiting for the consultants to call us in and let us know what we are dealing with.  I re-read my original post which was done in haste and desperation and realised that I had said they had removed the tumour, they had only taken biopsies, which from your response I think you knew.  I know that he will need surgery and a stoma, and that we have a journey ahead of us and I am prepared for that, and I have everything crossed for that outcome and not something worse.

We have now had the results. It was great news so there is no spread and the tumour is contained within the bowel. The histology was inconclusive but they are proceeding as if it were malignant. We are waiting for a meeting with the surgeon to discuss surgery and what that will look like and are expecting it will involve removal of a section with a temporary stoma. This is the best outcome we could have wished for.  This forum has really helped keep me positive and especially thanks to Kareno62 x

You’re very welcome Elsann 

Sounds like there’s a plan in place now and he’ll soon be rid of the tumour. Lots of support on the stoma board if you need it but I’m sure he’ll quickly get to grips with it

 Ileostomy, colostomy, urostomy and any other stoma support 

Take care

Karen x

Just wanted to say I know exactly how you feel. My husbands screening was less routine but we still weren’t expecting the cancer diagnosis. We had exactly the same - colonoscopy diagnosis was probable malignant tumour (same location & description as your husbands), thankfully no sign of spread in the follow up scans so straight into surgery. About 3 to 4 weeks post surgery we had the final tumour diagnosis (high risk stage 2) and are about to proceed with adjuvant chemotherapy. Good news was no stoma required and he tolerated the surgery well. Fingers crossed for the same for your husband. Happy to share any details if you want them. 

Hi Redsquirrel,

Thank you for your reply.  So far the histology was inconclusive, did your husband have the same?  There has not been any mention of Chemotherapy, why is your husband having that treatment?  Sorry but I am completely new to cancer treatments and am trying to understand in layman’s terms. More information would be really appreciated

Hi Elsann, not a problem, we were exactly the same a few months ago. 

With my husband, he was given the initial diagnosis as likely malignant tumour at the colonoscopy itself. He had biopsies taken and tested but we were told that those results  wouldnt be definitive because in order to do proper histology on a tumour in that location, it had to be removed first. (My understanding is that they just can’t get a good enough biopsy during a colonoscopy, so it’s always tentative at this point). We only got the full histology 2-3 weeks post surgery. I’m guessing it’s similar for your husband. 

In terms of chemo, it was recommended basically to mop up any microscopic cancer cells left behind in his blood vessels. He is cancer free following surgery, but it was a high risk type (EVI positive) so the chemo is to decrease the chance of recurrence. 

Timeline was something like:

• Colonoscopy, then CT scan later that week. 
• 10 days later biopsy results provided by surgeon (the biopsies came back as precancerous, CT scan results provided here too - all clear)
• 2 weeks of pre-op appointments 
• Surgery (4 days + 4 days in hospital), but no stoma needed thankfully despite preparing him for the possibility. 
• 3 weeks post op surgeon gave us the final histology confirming stage 2B bowel cancer with some high risk features, recommend chemo
• 3 weeks later appointment with oncologist to discuss chemo
• Then chemo to start next week (6.5 weeks post surgery) for 6 months

Worth knowing that the surgeon was great, but the oncologist was much better at explaining the final tumour histology and what this meant.

You will both get through this, it’s hard, but you will come out the other side. 

Thank you so much Redsquirrel.  We have the call with the surgeon on Tuesday. The information you have given us is so helpful, thank you  

Hi Redsquirrel

My husband's surgery is planned for 10th August.  Like your husband the procedure is going ahead with the hope of no Stoma, but it may change.  At the moment he is really anxious and has had a really upset tummy since he had to take the Plenvu for the initial colonoscopy.  He was ok before he had that done.  He has discussed this with the colorectal nurses who simply stated 'of course you will have a bad tummy you have bowel cancer', which didn't help if I am honest.  I just wondered if your husband experienced ongoing diarrhoea before his surgery?