Hello and thanks for posting

After bowel cancer surgery, additional (adjuvant) chemotherapy is routinely offered to patients whose cancer has travelled to the lymph nodes (stage 3 disease).

In stage 2 disease, adjuvant chemotherapy isn't routinely offered to everyone. A number of features have been identified which if present in stage 2 bowel cancer suggest a slightly higher risk of the cancer coming back. One of these features is when cancerous cells are seen in the blood vessels. So this is why chemotherapy is on the table. It is thought  that only 4 people in 100 would benefit and no one can say if you will be one of them. Nor is there a way to forecast who will have troublesome side effects from chemotherapy. This is why treatment decisions like this are so difficult and a lot of people struggle with them.

Some people worry a lot about their cancer coming back and going forward, they find the idea of having had more treatment reassuring. Others are able to focus on the odds being in their favour and don't feel the additional benefit is offset by the inconvenience and possible side effects of more treatment. So it may be worth thinking about your mental and emotional approach to your diagnosis and risk in general. And do get in touch with your hospital team if it will help to talk things over with them again. 

I'm not sure if anyone else will come along and post. If not, you could try posting on Bowel Cancer UK's community forum

We have information about bowel cancer chemotherapy on our website.

If you want to talk anything over, please do give us a call. Our number is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Kind regards,

Celene