Rectal cancer surgery

Hi everyone,

Thought I'd post my latest update in this topic area as oppose to tagging it on to my thread in the 'Introduce Yourself' area.

I saw the Colorectal surgeon today for the results of my scans and the next step with regard to surgery.

He told me that the radiotherapy and chemotherapy hadn't shrunk the tumour as much as he'd have liked, but sufficiently to still operate.

An added complication was the fact that the scan also showed that I have a tennis ball sized fibroid in my uterus, which will hinder the surgery, so I will have to have a hysterectomy too ; gynaecologist in first, colorectal surgeon next - like a tag team! ( I may sound flippant, but I am struggling a bit with all this!)

Also have to have my cervix removed and top end of my other lady bits! (Sorry to the men reading this!) (Scan showed I also have gall stones and cysts on my liver! But these are not a problem!)

I listened to the list of 'parts' the surgeon said he was going to remove, wondering if there'd be much of me left!

I looked down at my body and said " It's amazing how much is going on in there!" Bear in mind I'm the size of Kylie Minogue! He did say I made his job easier by being so slender!

He'll take out a section of lower bowel and join it to the the section of rectum that will remain after he's taken the tumour out of there!

I'll have an ileostomy (as correctly predicted by Beaker) which may or may not be reversible in a few months time. And I may need more chemo after surgery; this depends on the pathology report on the section of bowel that will be removed.

So . . . We're now planning a 'pre-op' holiday (the hospital have kindly organised a pre-op assessment for tomorrow so that we can go anytime between now and the operation on September 17th.)

Another 'bright side' moment; when I was diagnosed and had my treatments, my lovely colleagues wanted to do something to support me other than the usual flowers and cards. so they have organised a sponsored walk to raise money for the local cancer hospital where I had my radio/chemo and it's due to take place on September 15th, and I'll be able to go along and add my support!

So many positives, but still can't help feeling a bit all over the place! All aboard the cancer roller coaster eh?

Hope everyone else is ok?

Love to all, Meerkat xx

  • Hi Brian,

    So good to hear from you! A Happy New Year to you and Mrs B!

    Sadly, Christmas was a bit of a non event, but we just celebrated it on the 29th when I felt better!

    I hope you had a great Boxing Day with your family (I keep reading your posts so I know how much pleasure you had from sharing the day with your grandchildren!) I read Jules' posts too, but don't always respond on her threads! Maybe that should be my New Years Resolution?

    To catch up with my old friends on here! 'Read and Respond' rather than 'Just Read' !!!!!

    I was glad to see that your wife opened up to you about her brother. It must a very worrying time for you all, but I'm sure having you by her side, will be the perfect support she needs.

    So, we're all heading into a new year, with new challenges, but with the help of this forum and all the wonderful people (like you!) on it, we can help support each other through what lies ahead! I find it such a lifeline!

    Take care, lovely 'Nutty' Brian, love to you and Mrs B,

    Jo xx

  • Hi Jo,

    So lovely to hear back from you.

    I had an inkling things wern't going so well for you, because you were a little quite, but didn't know whether that was just Christmas.

    Losing six lbs(happy to do old money) and 5 days could not have been good in any way. I am sorry you had to go through this. Will have to keep our fingers crossed for your scan on Friday and a date soon for the liver resection.

    I hope you have a lovey bit of retail therapy with your daughter, strangley enough it's my daughters Birthday next week too, haven't found out what she would like yet, but then she hasn't got back to me on that one.

    Get that table set girl and make a lovely pudding and then have a lovely relaxing time with your family.

    Me, I am going to the top of our track this afternoon to move large stones with my friends farming husband and his tractor. Someone has moved these stones this week for some unknown reason and they are now blocking the gully and thats going to adversly affect the road and track when we get more rain. Then when it is a rain free day I shall be up there painting said stones. The joys of living in the country.!!!!!!!! LOL. I shall have to get warmly dressed up as it has turned chilli again.

    Let us know how you are doing lovely Jo, look after yourself

    love and hugs

    Annabel. xx

  • Hi Hope my love, have been keeping up with your posts.

    You have managed a difficult time well.

    Have been thinking about you over the holiday period. and wish you a bright and comforting New Year.

    hugs

    Annabel.xx

  • Oh Jo, I am so sorry to hear what a rotten time you had over Christmas.  I do hope you are feeling a lot better now you have stopped the chemo. I hope you managed to enjoy your day with family today, and I'm so glad you have a supportive partner who sounds like he looks after you well.  Good luck to your daugher with her degree.  We took my son back to London tonight, he is back to Uni tomorrow - med students don't get the luxury of long hols like many other students do.  I'm back to work tomorrow.  I'm trying to positive for the New Year, I'm afraid I do still have my very sad days and if I'm honest the whole of December has been emotional but onwards and upwards for the New Year.  Wishing you all the best Jo and please let me know when you get a date for your operation.  Thinking of you Hopex

  • Hi Jo,

    I have just come across this thread for the first time which is strange as I've been using this site a lot recently and trying to read up on all of my 'virtual friends' and their encounters with cancer. I swear this site doesn't work consistently sometimes!

    I know we have kept in touch on my own thread but having read in more detail what you have been through I just wanted to let you know that I think you are such a strong lady to have dealt with so much and now be back at work whilst keeping such a positive attitude and a sense of humour all the way along, as well as offering support to others on here. My heart was pounding as I read about your op last September and your explanation of how you were feeling as I could relate to many of those feelings. I remember it all too well. Time has passed so quickly and I sometimes find it hard to believe that both of our ops were over six months ago!

    I hope all is going well with being back at work, I hope to return to work soon too. You really are remarkable and I hope your partner, family, friends and work colleagues are looking after you. Are you planning another 'summer' Christmas this year to make up for the last? Haha! We may well do this tool,

    Speak soon,

    Nicola xx

  • Hi Nicola,

    Thank you so much for your kind words.

    Your 'revival' of this thread made me re-read it from the beginning and I can't believe how far I seem to have come since last September! Same for You too! You did in fact post on here, around Sept 25th I think. It was during the early recovery period for us both!

    I have recently started a new thread called 'An anxious wait' which I started when I found out that another tumour (secondary liver cancer) has popped up in my liver and the surgeon wanted to wait 3 months to before operating in case more tumours emerged.

    Well, the 'anxious wait' should be over soon as I'm due a scan on Easter Saturday and hope to get the results in early May! Then, it's a case of 'To operate or Not to operate?' The results may show that a liver resection operation is no longer an option! But a stoma reversal op may be a goer!

    Going back to work has proved a brilliant distraction, as has getting a new puppy! I'm too busy to be anxious these days!

    Well, I'll keep posting on your thread - that's grown hasn't it? As I commented to Irene, this forum is amazing!

    Take care, Nicola. Love and hugs to,you and your little girl, Jo xx

  • Yes I did post here before, there's me blaming it on this site but now I'm going to blame it on my Chemo brain! Even though Chemo finished a few months ago I do tend to still blame everything on that these days, haha! I did re-read most of this thread this morning, mainly your own posts.

    I will follow your most recent thread going forwards and will be thinking of you on that Saturday and early May. I will keep everything crossed for the answers you are hoping for. A new puppy is a brilliant distraction (as is a two year old!) of which gives me more of a reason to give myself a kick up the rear end on those down days which I still have sometimes!

    Speak soon, love and hugs to you too xxx

  • Hi there Jo,

    I was just having a quick scan of the site, noticed that Nicola had ressurected your thread and so I thought your favourite stalking victim would drop you a line and say hi.

    "HI!"

    Hope you are doing OK while you wait for your scan on Easter Saturday although as you say the new puppy will keep you busy even if work doesn't.  I remember having a labrador puppy when I was about twelve and I remember being pinned in the corner of the room laughing as she played with my ankles using her sharp little teeth.  She was a lovelly dog but unfortunately she was just too hyperactive for Mum and I so we found her a new home on a horse ranch.  We checked on her a few weeks later and she was loving it so it all worked out in the end.

    Anyway enough rambling just wanted to see how you were.

    All the best to you.

    Garf. xx

  • Hi Garf,

    Great to hear from you!

    I have certainly experienced the wrath of puppy teeth! He seems to enjoy biting me more than my partner.

    Maybe I should clarify. . . My partner does not enjoy biting me, but the dog does! Ah, the English language eh?

    It's a shame that you had to rehome your Labrador, but I can empathise! Less than 2 weeks of owning wee Paddy, both my partner and I are exhausted!

    How lovely that your pup could go to a ranch.

    Take care, Garf,

    Big hug from your overt stalker! x

  • Good morning Jo,

    That really made me laugh!

    Isn't it great that we use one of the most difficult languages in the world to communicate?

    Garf. xx