Shock diagnosis.Bowel cancer spread to Liver.

My husband of 62 has just been told he has cancer of the bowed which has spread to the liver.

He has had CT and MRI scans and next week goes for. PET scan .

His GP thought he had an ulcer until the colonoscopy showed otherwise so it has come as a great shock. I have read that liver cancer is not curable and he has been told he may be offered chemotherapy.

Has anyone any experience of this type of cancer and what we can expect ? Has anyone survived this for any length of time..?

still sinking in and so many questions.

any help gratefully received.

Thank you

 

 

 

 

  • My Husband has Rectal Cancer which has spread to liver. That was 6.5 yrs ago!! He's still battling it and there are good & bad days still. You never give up hope!! 

  • Thank you for your reply Shirley. My previous comment was dated March 2016. Sadly my father passed away in August 2017 (14 months ago) 

  • Hi Shirley

    My dad was diagnosed just before Christmas with rectal cancer and spread to liver. I am totally heartbroken and have no idea how to help him. What treatment did your husband have? Your story makes me so hopeful xx

  • Glad to hear your husband is doing well. My dad got diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2017 he had an operation to remove part of his bowel but it had already spread to his liver. He got chemo but was really ill from it and was in hospital for 12 days. Since then hes had more chemo and seemed fine. Had a scan on 31st of dec 2018 so he could start chemo this month but he suffered a mild heart attack and is now in hospital. Scan has showed cancer has progressed more than would of liked but he has to now wait a further two months before he can have any chemo. So fingers crossed he can as we cant take anymore bad news.

     

  • This title drew me in as my husband received the same diagnosis of bowel and secondary liver cancer  1 month ago. He has always been very reserved so does not want to tell family or discuss the situation. He is not having any operation but will be put on Folfox chemo every two weeks and I am worried for his mental health. He used to enjoy travel but has now given up work and spends most of his time on his computer playing games. I have thought that it is best he does that as he has been coming to terms with the diagnosis. He now starts chemo this week and talks about how he only has a few weeks/months and will not ever be able to travel again.I appreciate the diagnossis is shocking to him ( and me) but I am concerned his approach is damaging to him. There are so many wonderful inspirational stories on this forum that I yearn to find a way to motivate him. I would like to book a few short holidays for him to look forward to but does any one know of this type of chemo and whether it is safe/possible to travel after having it?

  • Hello, I would wait and see how your husband reacts to the chemotherapy as everybodies reaction is different. With my dad we got into a cycle of a couple of tired days a few sicky days then maybe 3/4 good days where we could do things then the cycle would start again. So maybe wait until he's had his first couple of treatments and see how his body responds to it before booking anything. Also you may find that once he starts his chemotherapy, he may open up a little more to the people surrounding him during his treatment sessions as they are going through the same thing. My dad didn't really like speaking too much about it to family but he found a lot of comfort in speaking to others who were experiencing the same thing. Its very difficult as a relative to hear your loved ones saying they only have a few weeks/months left to live but this seems to come and go in waves. Keep your chin up and stay strong and remember you are able to have down days too, its totally normal. Do you have a maggies centre near to you or something similar? they were an incredible support to my dad during his treatment and perhaps they could help your husband! xx

  • Hi Linda

    So sorry to hear about your husband. I am 65 I was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in October 2017 which had spread to my liver. I had a right hemicolectomy in the November, started a 4 month session of chemo in January 2018, I then had my first liver resection in the May and the 2nd two weeks later  (ALPPS) followed by another 4 months of chemo. I have just had another major operation to have a rectal polyp removed which was pre cancerous.

    I am now in remission. So take it from me it can be done, especially if you have fantastic family and friends to support you.

    Hope all goes well

    Denise

  • Thank you so much for your very positive post.

    since I last posted things have moved on a bit! 

    My husband had a bowel resection and then a large portion of his liver removed. The histology on the liver brought up a surprise as the cancer spread in the liver was not from the Bowel cancer but proved to be nueroendocrine tumours.

    he has had the chemotherapy following the bowel cancer op and is now undergoing treatment for the neuroendocrine cancer. 

    He has been told it is inoperable and not curable but treatment can hopefully slow it down.

    research is moving forward all the time so we all live in hope that eventually we conquer all forms of this awful disease.

    Good luck to you on your journey. We wish you well.

  • I was told that at one stage too but I am still here to tell my story.

    Good luck to you both and try to be positive