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APER or EBRT - am I delaying the inevitable by going with the latter? There's still a chance I'll need surgery for my rectal cancer in the future

lindsayc85
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Hi, I was diagnosed with rectal cancer in October 2025 and have been going through the motions of tests, MDTs and treatment options ever since.

After APER surgery being the only treatment option initially proposed by the MDT, the 3rd MDT meeting finally agreed that contact radiotherapy is the best organ preserving solution.

However, the polyp that was removed was 4cm from the bottom of my rectum which is classed as low, was removed piecemeal and wasn't tattooed on removal. This means there's a possibility they won't be able to find the target for successful contact radiotherapy.

This leaves APER surgery and EBRT (external beam radiotherapy) as the only 2 options left. They both carry their own long-term risks and side effects - I'm just wondering if I'm just delaying the inevitable by opting for EBRT at this stage? There's still the chance I'll need surgery in the future with recurrence or unsuccessful radiotherapy.

I'd appreciate any experience or opinion you have on this decision.

  • Hello and thanks for your enquiry,

    I can appreciate that it can be difficult reaching a decision about what treatment option to consider, after a MDT discussion about your case.

    Unfortunately, as nurses, we can't really give you a medical opinion on this, or suggest a treatment pathway. Every patient is different, and how and what side effects are experienced will vary between patients having similar treatments. Radiotherapy is much more targeted in its delivery, and often successful these days. It may be useful to ask your specialist, what the anticipated result from radiotherapy is, as well as the possible chances are of future recurrence for your particular situation. It does seem that the MDT team have aimed to minimise long term side effects from a treatment intervention, and have weighed up the benefits and effectiveness to be obtained from the radiotherapy treatment.

    I hope that it all goes well for you moving forward,

    Best wishes,

    Vanda

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