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The "C" word

Anstead
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  1. I have suffered bowel cancer..2010 and latterly lung cancer 2024.

I now continuously live with the question "has it returned or will it return?". For the past 18 months I have suffered swallowing difficulty which started as once every 10 days or so. I now suffer from this 6 out of 7 days continuously. I am at present under tests of which some results have really concerned me resulting in my becoming extremely depressed and stressed. It is so easy to put 2 and 2 together and come up with 5!!

I now await the result of my last procedure yesterday,  a FL Barium swallow  which has been necessitated resulting from an Endoscopy I had 10 days ago. The help I receive when necessary is amazing from the different medical departments I am registered with at my local hospital and various other hospitals 

I would mention I am close to 89 years old, live on my own with very little contact with others. 

My late husband passed away 43 years ago this month and we were not blessed with children.

However, I do have contact with my lung department, upper GI and colorectal consultants periodically.

So, this is the situation I find myself in. 

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    Hi Anstead and a warm welcome to our forum, 

    Poor you having had to go through two cancers, first bowel cancer and more recently lung cancer in 2024 and it's normal to then have this question coming recurrently in your head if it will return - it's a fear so many people who have been diagnosed with cancer are having to live with every day. I am sorry that you are also going through investigations after having difficulty swallowing but as you say it's easy to draw conclusions but when we try to do it ourselves, these often turn out to be the wrong ones so all you can do really is wait for all these test results to come through.

    I am keeping everything crossed for you that you won't have to wait too long for your results. Living alone when waiting for such important news must be really hard - I am sorry you lost your husband prematurely and I hope that there is someone you can talk to, friends or neighbours who are there for you but I wanted you to know that this forum is also here for you night and day anytime you need to offload. 

    It sounds like the medical experts are taking really good care of you though and I am glad you are in contact with all these departments so that all your different conditions can be closely monitored. 

    The wait for results can feel really long sometimes and I thought I would share with you these helpful tips to help you cope while waiting for important news. 

    Keeping everything crossed for you - do come back here and update us if you don't mind when you find out more. 

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Offline in reply to Moderator Lucie

    Dear Lucie,

    Thank you for understanding what it is like wondering when the next bout of cancer could possibly hit one!!!

    I personally feel that once you've had cancer it is impossible ,to kill all the "spores "? Rightly or wrongly  that is basically what I live with!!!

    Thank you for understanding particularly being on my own 24 hours a day. This unfortunately gives one too much time to think!! However, as is very true,  one day at a time

    All of you out there, never loose faith....I certainly don't but am only human and, at times, horrid and wrong thoughts cross my mind about the "C" word. God bless.

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