My mum has been diagnosed with cancer of rectum and is refusing scans and treatments

Hi all my mum has been diagnosed with cancer of rectum and a previous scan showed that it has spread to vagina. She had the scans when seriously ill just before major surgery to remove her colon so has no recollection of it. At the moment she is saying she is refusing scans and treatment. I’m struggling with this as obviously want her better . She seems fine at the moment although weaker as recovering from the major  surgery to remove large intestine. Any advice? She is extremely stubborn and so believed this may happen. Very hard to know what to do as also know I need to respect her wishes. I want to know prognosis and how aggressive the cancer is etc so i can prepare myself 

  • Hello SJPD and welcome to the Cancer Chat community.

    I'm sorry to hear about your mum's diagnosis and that she's currently refusing any treatment or scans. This must be incredibly difficult but our members are here for you and hopefully those who have found themselves in a similar situation with their loved ones will stop by soon to offer their support and advice.

    You can find out more about rectal cancer on our website but if it would help to talk things through with one of our cancer nurses, you can give them a call on 0808 800 4040. They are very insightful and will do all they can to answer your questions and support you at this very challenging time.

    I hope this helps SJPD and we're wishing your mum all the best with her recovery.

    Kind regards,

    Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator