Introduce myself

Hi I'm Angie 53 and from northeast uk I'm the Carer for my mam who had bowel cancer 9 years ago had a op and was clear for 5 years, 3 years ago on the 21st December we were told by a consultant that it had returned and the outlook was grim the cancer had come back not only in her bowel but also liver and lungs we were looking at 3-6 months our whole world was turned upside down. Anyway mam was offered chemo which she grabbed with both hands Hickman line put in chemo ever other week home with a pump back to hospital to have it taken off she was I'll most of the time in and out of hospital. Then it was watch n wait after 3 months it had started to grow again but this time mam was offered a tablet capecitabine and wow my mam was great then fingers and feet got really sore she had this for 1 week off a week and had had 9 cycles with great results all tumours have shrank but now consultant decided my mam because of hands n feet needs a break watch n wait they say mam has had 2 real bad days rolling the bed being sick ect I'm so scared it's growing after just 4 weeks break she has a scan in 2 weeks the following week sees consultant for results anyway sorry I've went on bait like I said given 3-6 months and still here 3 years on

  • Huddy,

    Capecitabine is very effective but the side effects can be horrible (been there) and your body needs some time off to recover. I hope your Mam is OK and that the scan results brings good news.

    Good luck
    Dave

  • Thanks for your reply Davek its nice to know people are around and ready to listen as they too jave been touchef by cancer living the nightmare thank you so much for your kind words and hope you continue to stay what i call the safe zone dave hugs to you n yours 

  • Hi Angie. My husband has a similar story to your mam. Op for bowel cancer in 2011 then it came back in lungs and liver in 2013. He has had various cycles of chemo - IV for 3 days every 3 weeks (which initially stopped the growth), then we had 3 months "off" but of course the b******* started to grow again. Since this summer he has had Capecetabine orally - one week on and two off. Fortunately he tolerates it well, but his main problems are from infections which appear from nowhere sending his temperature to 40 degrees. It is a 999 situation and until the correct antibiotics are found it is very scary. Our oncologist thinks they are caused by bits of dead tumour getting into the bloodstream and becoming infected. As we speak he is taking antibiotics at home to hopefully ward off something that is causing fluctuations of temperature. So we press on from scan to scan hoping to keep things going as long as we can. We do have a strong Christian faith which does sustain us, knowing that we both are assured of where he is going when the time comes. Great to hear your story, keep positive, celebrate each day and live life as you can.     Plodon

     

  • Hi plodon

    Yes your husband is very much like my mum sorry the wait and watch worked out badly for him, im really hoping and praying mums watch n wait jasnt triggered hers off again as she has had some real bad painful days since they stopped it. Its so hard to watch a loved one suffer so much and feels like a time bomb at times just try to spend as much time as possible with them thats all we can do i believe we all meet again once we pass but until then its going to be so hard without them xx