8 put of 12 lymph nodes

Hi boobonnie. Welcome to the forum. I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's diagnosis - it must be a difficult and worrying time for both of you. I expect your husband will shortly have an appointment with an oncologist who will give him a treatment plan. Once that's in place things will settle down and soon you'll find that it's almost routine to be going along to chemo. 

I don't know much about bowel cancer as I had breast cancer. I did, however, have spread to the lymph nodes and had 30 lymph nodes in my armpit removed, 14 of which were cancerous. I too had chemo but I think they use different drugs for bowel cancer. It's not pleasant but I got through it and now, almost 3 years from diagnosis, I am well and loving life. 

This group isn't very busy so you might like to join our bowel cancer group where you'll find some lovely and knowledgeable people who have had similar experiences. 

Wishing you both all the very best.

Hi Lynn 

It' is great to hear your positive story 3 years down the line and loving life we were so worried when they said how many lymph nodes were positive hearing your story as helped .thanks I'll have a look at the bowel cancer page .we are  worried about reading about chemotherapy on line you read so many bad things we decided to wait tell we see  the doctor I don' know if that' a good thing or not we're going into it blind 

Thank you erica xx

Dr Google is certainly worth avoiding. Much of the information on the internet is misleading, out of date or just plain wrong. You can get good information though from reliable sites like Macmillan or Cancer Research UK. 

As for hearing the horror stories about chemo, I think it's correct that people who have bad side effects would be over-represented in our forums because if everything is going well a person might not feel the need to check out information or seek support. The other side of the coin, however, is that you can get great support from others going through similar experiences. This can be tips for getting through chemo, or a safe place to talk about your worries without burdening your friends and family. I never felt I was burdening people by talking about my cancer but a lot of people do. 

Best of luck to you both.

Hi thanks I have had a better look around this site and you are right a lot of great info .I'll have a look at cancer research aswell thank you .it' good to read other people' story's and what they did to get through chemo and how well people are doing .it' encouraging that there is a lot of hope out there and good endings thanks 

Hi boobonnie,

I hope you are well and your husband is doing well. My mother was recently diagnosed with bowel cancer and she underwent surgery. In the follow up appointment with the consultant this week she was advised that some lymph nodes proved positive for cancer cells. I was hoping to hear more about your experience since February.

Many thanks

Abs

Hi Abs

Hope you are well and your mum is recovering well from surgery

.my husband had 6 months of chemo.He had a pic line fitted ,he was worried about getting it fitted but he said he couldn't even feel it being fitted .so then every two weeks he would go to the hospital and have three hours of chemo then come home with a chemo bottle fitted to his pic line .he would keep this on for two days.The hardest thing was having a shower with the bottle on took a couple of goes but if we wrapped a plastic bag round then taped it to his arm it worked and he got a wax treatment every time we removed it .

First five months of chemo he was good .As llong as he took his anti sickness and ate  lots of ice lolly's .the last month he was exhausted just walking up a set if stairs .The chemo he had was in two parts one part of the drug affected the feeling in is hands and feet and made his feet feel like he has pins and needles in even now 12 months on .he was told he could stop that part at any time and he has said he would have stopped it earlier if he had to do it all over again .so if that's the one your mum has keep an eye on her feet

January this year he had a scan and camera everything was clear and cancer free . unfortunately his blood marker has gone up again this month so back for scans .

Let me know how your mum gets on with her chemo and look after yourself as well it is easy to for get yourself.

Talk soon bonniedog x

Hi bonniedog,

I hope your the scans came back clear and the increased blood marker was nothing more than a scare. I hope you are also doing well and taking care of yourself. 

We met the oncologist and he advised the cells have penetrated 3 out of the 4 layers of the bowel. The oncologist recommended a 3 month cycle with IV on day 1 and then tablets (5FU - what's the medical name??) for 2 weeks and then a week break. Mum is due to start her treatment next week and is very nervous and very stressed. She has underlying medical issues and feels this will be too aggressive for her. 

Thanks,

A

Hi sorry it's taken a few days to get back to you x

It's good to get your mum's treatment started.its only natural for her and you to be worrying.we always say one day.at a time ,my husband used to sleep a lot the  weekend after treatment give his body chance to recover.if the anti sickness tablet's don't work talk to your chemo nurse their are lots of different types.get lots of juice in as well chemo can make you drink more.

Unfortunately the scan was bad.news the cancer has spread to the liver with six in the liver and some outside .he has started.on chemo again yesterday .he will now be on for the rest of his life they have give him about 18 months so one day at a time.hes fealing sick this morning but hopefully the anti sickness will kick in and he'll feel better later

Xx