Mum has cancer again

Hello 

 

I am heart broken.

My mum is 62 and she had breast cancer (estrogen fuelled) in 2013, she had a single mastectomy and completed her treatment in 2014. Everything was amazing and we never thought it would come back. 

My mum has ibs and since October, her ibs has changed. She kept getting constipated, being sick, belly ache, feeling sick, heartburn, losing weight because she couldn't eat (she was able to put weight back on when she could eat though)

She had a full blood count which showed her ca-125 levels were 37 so slightly high and that she is pre diabetic.

The Dr sent her for a scan on ovaries and all was fine.

They sent her for a colonscopy and they could only see the lower part of her colon as it was very inflamed and part of it was narrowed. They took biopsies from the lower part and they were all fine.

So then they sent her for a ct scan and that showed that she had a swollen collarbone lymph node, swollen abdominal lymph nodes and that it looked like something was pushing on her colon, where it was narrow.

They biopsied the collar bone lymph node.

All this time, my mums symptoms were getting worse and she went to A&E at one point because she couldn't eat and was constipated and all they gave her was omeprazole!!

So last Thursday, she had her appointment with consultant and he said that her collar bone lymph node came back as cancerous cells, the same cancer she had before.

He sent her for an urgent ct scan as she still couldn't eat and was constipated. This showed her bowel was completely blocked but they wasn't sure why. She had an op the next morning and they had to remove a lot of her colon and fit a stoma.

A dr came to talk to my brother, my mum and I after the op. He said they had found a tumour pressing down on her bowel which was causing the blockage and specks on her bowel. He said they think this is cancer and that it will be incurable if so, but they can give chemo to try and keep it under control. They said removing the tumour would cause too much damage. The Dr said they have a mdt meeting on Monday mornings but now they're saying it's Friday mornings. He didn't seem too sure of anything he was saying and kept saying he's not a cancer expert so didn't know everything. 

But now yesterday, another Dr has told my mum (who is still in hospital recovering) that they aren't sure if the stuff in her stomach is cancer, until the biopsies come back!

I'm so confused. We are all heart broken obviously and I don't want to get my hopes up because the drs are saying different things. I don't understand why they're doing this!!

Also to add, I don't understand how two ct scans picked up inflamed lymph nodes but missed a tumour??? 

Thank you for reading xxx

  • Hello GalaxyRipple and thanks for posting us a question, 

    I am very sorry to learn what has been happening with your mum and can understand this is a stressful time for you all.

    I can't explain what is going on very well,  I am really sorry, but I can understand why you are questioning these things and I hope your mum's medical team can give you some answers soon.  

    I expect a surgical team has been looking after your mum, but oncologists (cancer specialists) arrange non surgical cancer treatments. The doctor who said they weren't an expert was probably a surgical doctor so not really able to explain your mum's future medical treatment options very well. This is just because modern medicine is so specialised. 

    You said the first CT scan your mum had did detect something pushing on the colon, so possibly this was the tumour. Biopsies are often needed to find out if a tumour is a cancer (some tumours are non cancerous) and if it is, what type. Perhaps the second doctor was just being cautious about what they said until the biopsy results are back when they can be sure.

    I think the biopsy results will shed more light on your mum's situation. Until they are back and the MDT has reviewed her care, I don't think you will be able to find out very much more. I can appreciatte that the uncertainty is difficult, but hopefully you will have a better picture of what this all means very soon. 

    Feel free to give us a call if you want to talk anything over, our number is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and we are around weekdays 9-5.

    Best wishes, 

    Julia

  • Hello 

    Thank you for replying. 

    They never said a tumour was present until they did the op on Friday though, well my brother and I think he said tumour but now we are second guessing ourselves as we were in such shock. 

    So she had 2 ct scans and if she does have a tumour there, it didn't show up on either which doesn't make sense to me. 

    I really hate that different Dr's are saying different things, xxx

     

  • Hello GalaxyRipple and thanks for getting back to us,

    I am sorry to have got it wrong about the tumour. I agree it is confusing.

    Not knowing the full picture and what may be possible by way of treatment for your mum must be very challenging, I do hope you find out more in the next few days. 

    Take care, 

    Julia