Hello Jo.. Me to.. Got a clinic appointment on 10th y July 2019..in the dark atm.. Confused and shocked.. Lost... Hope your doing well.. Thx for sharing...

Stephen x

Hi Stephen. I haven’t posted in this forum for a long time. I am doing very well and last month my annual CT scan showed “ no evidence of disease” 2 years on from my surgery. I am now enjoying a very active life in North Essex after taking early retirement from the NHS. My follow up care and monitoring transferred across here from the West Midlands very smoothly. 

Confused, shocked and lost sound like perfectly normal feelings! I felt the same and it was a very difficult time, especially the waiting, The not knowing and the uncertainty. 

I would definitely recommend making contact with Bowel Cancer UK , an amazing charity which helped me a lot. There’s a very active group of lovely supportive people there and there are very active Twitter and Facebook pages. 

Hope you get as as much information as you require at your appointment. I got a lot of help and info from the colorectal clinical nurse specialists at the hospital where I had my surgery and chemo. 

Best wishes, jo 

Thanks so much Jo.. 

Means a lot.. And so happy for you.. And yes im going to look into this more.. Chat with people in same boat.. Thanks for your speedy reply.. You take care Jo.. Thanks again

Stephen x

Thanks so much Jo.. 

Means a lot.. And so happy for you.. And yes im going to look into this more.. Chat with people in same boat.. Thanks for your speedy reply.. You take care Jo.. Thanks again

Stephen x

hope things work out well for you like it has for me. All the best, Jo 

Hi, I’m Jim

my question is more about weight loss. I was diagnosed with bowel cancer after an abnormal poo stick screening.

I’m 72 & haven’t missed a 2 year screening ever, for which I’m eternally grateful, because after scanning my cancer was found to be only 2cm long.

The tumour was in an awkward place in a corner where the rectum meets the bowel, & I was in theatre for 9 hours plus 2 hours critical care! On the plus side, when tested the cancer hadn’t got through the bowel wall & no chemo was required, although I do have a temporary stoma bag fitted for 2-3 months.

But back to my question...18 days post op in hospital plus 

9 days back at home now, feeling fine, & eating like a horse, but I’m still losing half a kilo (1lb) a day, every day! 

Total weight loss of 1st 4lbs from my pre op weight of 11st 12lbs. Anybody have any idea when it will stabilise & start going back up?

Hi Jim, 

I had similar experience as yourself. From procedure to stoma, however I had several months of chemo after it was found in my lymph nodes, that being said, I have done well. The weight loss has steadied but it is three years for me now , while I don't loose any weight I don't ever put it on either. Happy days some would say. 
 

watch your diet, certain foods can trigger heavy bowel movements, so it is harder to gain weight. So put that worry aside and enjoy the slender years. 
 

dee

Hi Dee

Thankfully my weight has crept back up & is now stabilised at my normal weight ... for now at least!

Jim

Hi,

Sorry to muscle in on this thread, but I was wondering what the early symptoms of this forum's users were.

I had generalised itching just before Christmas which lasted about 3 weeks and, early this year, (2weeks ago), I noticed a point pain in my abdomen about 6cm up from my navel and 3cm into the right side. I now feel its presence as a dull ache without having to prod there. Blood tests at the beginning of the year showed a slightly raised Gamna GT, but all others including CRP, ESR and FBC were within normal range. An abdominal ultrasound I had last week came back clear, but that of course can't check the bowels (the sonographer pointed out that my painful area was in the bowel area).
Discerning any bowel movement changes is a challenge for me as I was diagnosed with IBS back in 2014 after a clear colonoscopy, but if anything, there is a bit more mucus than usual and stools are smaller and harder despite me drinking plenty of water. Frequency is still the frankly ridiculous 'several times a day' (as has been the case for years).
In October 2018, I had a further clear colonoscopy due to a point pain on lower left of abdomen and rectal bleeding which turned out to be due to piles.

I have read that polyps take at least 5 years to develop, so would my colonoscopy in late 2018 preclude the likelihood of bowel cancer?

Sorry again to butt in with all this, but I know there are a lot of people on the forum that are willing to share their experiences and opinions (I am fully aware that a clinician's advice is ultimately what I need though - so I will hopefully see a Gastroenterologist next).

Hi Dave

In my case my bowel cancer was discovered by the screening programme (offered to over 60s) where a kit is sent to me every 2 years & I send a small sample of my faeces away in the container provided.

I had no pain or any feeling that anything was wrong like you had, so I have to say I feel very lucky that my cancer was picked up by the screening process. 

I don't want to spend too much time on my case, suffice to say that after 15 months wearing ileostomy bags, my stoma was reversed 3 months ago & I have now been signed off as not needing any more treatment now, apart from 6 monthly follow ups.

However, because I also have ongoing metastatic melanoma skin cancer thought to be sun related (silly vain me) which moved to my lung (and then removed by surgery) I am on a yearly course of monthly sessions of immunotherapy.

So now I do have this ongoing fear of any of those cancers returning! Every day it's in my mind, even though I feel fine & well. But I can't spend the rest of my life worrying about something that may or may not happen! So I get on with life...we only get one!!

Which is why I have a feeling that your fears are  mentally responsible. Stress can cause all kinds of changes to the body, especially the digestive system. You've had a colonoscopy  which showed nothing untoward & other tests also showing negative. I've had those stomach pains before, ones that I could feel when I pushed my bowel from outside. The doctor diagnosed constipation, & prescribed medicine for it. You've got IBS, (probably half the population have it) & we all know the bowel related problems that can cause.

So my advice Dave would be to try & relax, seek out some techniques to help you with that, even pay a counsellor if needs be.

Evidently, if the blurbs are to be believed, one in two of us will get cancer. If it happens it happens, but remember technology is quite brilliant at dealing with it today!

Dont wish it on yourself my friend, from what you've said the chances of you having it are unlikely! I hope you don't find my reply too flippant, it's just the way I've learnt to deal with my own circumstances.

Jim

Jim,

Flippant? Far from it! You are right to say what you say.

I have massive respect for anyone who has gone through what you have in recent years. I really hope the immunotherapy continues to keep it at bay and your innings continues for many years to come.

In my cycling days (before kids), I used to raise money for Melanoma UK with an annual 100-miler, and I'm all too aware of what can happen through a friend who suffered from it. As you say though, treatments have come along in leaps and bounds in the last 20 years or so.

I suppose it's me being a father these days that has brought out the hypochondriac in me that had previously laid dormant for so long!  Weird recent stuff like generalised pruritus (itchiness) is something I've never had before, ditto a raised liver enzyme, so I will at least get this checked out just to be sure.

Thanks for your comments, Jim.

Dave 

Thanks for your swift reply & for the good wishes for my hopefully, prolonged future!

Good luck with any further diagnosis, though I feel you'll come out just fine. Dig that bike out again & give the road a pounding to take your mind off things! 
 

Jim

Well, the CT Colonography revealed no issues in my bowels, liver or pancreas........but I have a 2cm tumour in my right kidney.

My voice is hoarse and I have some rib pains, so I'll be having a chest CT later next week to confirm whether or not it has spread to my lungs (I really hope and pray it hasn't).

It's a bit of a shock to be told you have cancer, but I need to get on with facing it and hopefully, god willing, getting clear of it.

I'm so glad I pestered the GP for the blood tests and the follow-up referral after a clear US.

I hope you are doing OK, Jim, and thanks again for your positivity - I need it to rub off on me!

Hi Dave

Sorry to hear of your diagnosis, and I know...."cancer" is an awful word to hear! Not easy to tell you anything that'll make you feel better right now, only that we've all been there & heard the word ourselves. Let's hope your lung scan is a gud 'un bud! I'll be thinking of you with everything crossed!
 

But even if the cancer has spread, it's not necessarily as bad as your mind is telling you just now. When I saw my surgeon for a consultation before the lung surgery, his straightforwardness really lifted me. Basically and I can't recall his exact words, it went something like..."Ok you've got a tumour in there, so...we'll have it out, it's not a massive job, bread & butter to me, & then the oncology team will sort you out with medication after that.

I left that room feeling a lot better in my head!

And that's the way it is Dave, when it becomes fact, it is fact, whatever the details, & has to be faced. But try & psyche yourself up before the scan result.

But remember what I said in my last letter...we have the best medical people in the world on our side....and they ALWAYS do their very best for us! 

I myself have been a bit stressed lately. I was supposed to have a CT scan this month, to check the immunotherapy treatment's working &  no more tumours are re-appearing, but they've put it back till May. The reason being that the colorectal team gave me a scan early January,  as is normal, to finally sign me off from the bowel cancer care. And because of that, it's too soon, for bodily safety reasons to give me another scan so quickly.

Now obviously any tumour would have showed up in that January scan & I'm an idiot for worrying...but I was SO looking forward to getting the all clear from this month's scan.

And that in a nutshell is what the word cancer does to our noggins Dave. I should know better shouldn't I?

Good Luck with the scan!