I have seen your intro YouTube video but will recheck it for updates

Hi Dan

32 is pretty young for bowel cancer.

Is there any history of it in your familly? It's just that it is one that can be caused by a genetic issue and often developing a cancer at a young age can be an indicator of that

www.beatingbowelcancer.org/.../

Of course it can just be bad luck too!

If it is a genetic issue it's obviously worth knowing for others in your familly too

Keep up the fight

Thanks - I'm still awaiting an exact routine for treatment, but I log where I'm at each day

My paternal grandfather died of it so it is looking generic unfortunately 

I finally have mastered accessing the YouTube video logs so I am now up to date on where your at. Hope you get some sleep and the nurses continue to  be supportive and answer any questions. Take care for now. Jen

Hmm I hope we're wrong about it being genetic Dan but it does sound suspicious.

I don't know what your familly position is, whether you have or hope to have children or if you have brothers or sisters but you might want to find out for sure about the genetics of this

Unfortunately I have some knowledge of this from another point of view. My wife had the BRCA1 gene that makes you highly susceptible to breast ovarian and some other cancers. There have been an awful number of her familly other than her that have been taken by it, 3 in the last year alone. The one piece of good news was that in January we discovered my daughter had dodged that bullet and got my copy of the gene so it stops with her it can't skip a generation. Still fighting to get my son tested.

Anyway I've found that the NHS don't seem to take a very proactive stance on this, they don't point it out and suggest testing but if you go to them and say you think you may have a cancer gene they will look at the circumstances and if you meet a certain criteria they will do the test.

GPs are most familliar with the BRCA ones - Angelina Jolie gave it a lot of publicity but they should be aware of others there's an NHS page on it here:

www.nhs.uk/.../Causes.aspx

and the criteria for testing is here:

www.bowelcancer.tv/info.aspx

It looks like being under 45 is the normal yardstick so you and any of your close relatives would definitely qualify. 

One of the conditions FAP seems to have a research centre at St. Marks

www.polyposisregistry.org.uk/index.htm

Hi Dan 

Welcome to the forum albeit it under rubbish circumstances. I was 46 with a "squatter" in my large bowel, fortunately they seemed to get it all out, no spread and first after treatment scan came back clear.  I think it's great you doing a log as this will be very helpful to people of all cancers.  I've recently been helping a friends partner who just got diagnosed with oseophegal (spelling) and even though we all react differently I gave hints and tips of how I mastered the side effects to the best of my ability, he says it's been a god send and is so appreciative as he is managing his treatment very well by doing some of my tricks.  I will definitely follow your log and wish you all the very best! 

Take care of you

JB

By the way ...... Like the hat!!! Lol

Thank you for the info!! It is certainly something I will be looking into with my one brother on my ppaternal side, I think he's going to need a lot of guidance, as although a truly lovely and gentle young man, he is very shy and wouldn't be proactive at this, maybe it's something that I can help him with, I just hope I don't screw it up & scare him off it... He has 2 girls and a boy, so they will need to be checked as well - sometimes I feel this has happened to me for a reason - although that sounds ridiculously cheese - Stilton...