I have recently finished a five week course of chemo/radiation for Bowel cancer.  I had few side effects.  By the end of the first week past the end I was feeling fine. By the end of the fourth week I felt back to normal, Bowel fine, plenty of energy and eating well.

i had an MRI and CT scan and as I felt so well I felt very positive about the outcome.  I had had no symptoms before diagnosis  and felt just as well at the end of it all. 

I was therefore very shocked when i got the results a few days ago and was told that there had been very little change. The tumour has minimal reduction and the margins hadn’t really changed.  Good news that it still hadn’t spread.

i am now booked in for surgery.  I started with a T3 No M0.

Apart from being baffled as to why it hasn’t worked, I also am puzzled as to why no one noticed through the radiotherapy scans.  I thought they could see lots of detail.  I worry that as I haven’t reacted to chemo here, then if they find cancer cells from what they cut out, then chemo might not work again.

Can anyone comment? How often does this happen?