Hi Claire' Very sorry to hear of your mum's illness, it must be a worrying time for you all. I hope my information may bring you some hope. I had rectal cancer , not exactly the same as your mum but still ... I had my rectum removed. I believe the operation was perhaps a number of hours. Then I had 6 months chemo. That was over 5 years ago and I am still going strong. Bowel cancer is dealt with fairly successfully if caught in time before spreading. I sincerely hope your mum can also overcome this. Good luck, I found a determined attitude worked wonders for me.

Hi Claire, I had an op on the 20th April to remove a tumour in my sigmoid colon which is the last part of the large bowel. I was fortunate that due to the position of the tumour they were able to remove it using keyhole surgery and I was also on an enhanced recovery programme. The op took just over 3 hours. A section of my bowel was removed along with local lymph nodes which will now be checked to see if the cancer has spread to them as well. I was on the high dependency unit for 1 night and then transferred to a surgical ward. I had drips attached, a wound drain and a catheter bag in situ I was lucky to make an excellent recovery. I was encouraged to start to sit out of bed and move around asap. I was given pain relief to assist with this. I went home after 6 days just on paracetamol and with some injections to thin the blood which I have been doing myself. They are really easy once you get used to the idea of stabbing your self with a small needle! I was on a soft diet for a week post op but can now eat normally. I am now feeling great and am walking a few kilometres every day. I will start driving again this week. I have an appointment on the 24th to tell me what the next phase of treatment will be , chemo for 6 months is the most likely. I hope your mum gets on OK. Everyone responds differently post operatively and it will depend on the type of op and how fit and healthy she was before hand. Please ask if you want to know anything else. Jo x

Thank you for replying jo, it's good to know we're not alone! First appointment. We only found out he had the cancer by doing the screening programme and after diagnosis our feet didn't touch the ground, it has been brilliant. Just seems to have slowed down a bit now though. He had his op on 7th April.