Colorectal with Peritoneal Cancer

Is there anybody out there? A couple of months ago my husband could not eat anything due to it causing abdominal pain and retching. At first we were told it was stomach flu, etc. But after various other tests a CT scan was done which revealed he had a large growth that had blocked his colon. Unfortunately when they operated they could not remove any of it because a) it had ‘gone too deep’ b) adhered front and back (not sure what that meant) and c) there were several secondary nodules in his peritoneum, so they just did an ileostomy so that at least he can eat again! His biopsies were referred to a specialist team at a hospital who I understand can perform some pretty drastic surgery with heated chemo (?). Anyway they have just told the hospital to give him a 3 month course of treatment and then to do another  CT scan to see what effect, if any, the chemo has had. We have been told his cancer is advanced, aggressive and fast growing. None of this sounds very encouraging to me! I am really scared about what the future holds!!

  • Hello Grismr, 

    I am so sorry to hear about your husband. It's a shame that the tumour they discovered in his colon was inoperable. I hope that the chemotherapy treatment will be effective. There is information on our website on this page on advanced colorectal cancer which I hope you will find useful. 

    I hope that you will also meet others on the forum who have been affected by advanced colorectal and peritoneal cancer and that they will be along shortly to share their story with you. 

    Should you have any questions or wish to talk things through at any stage of your husband's treatment, feel free to give our cancer nurses a call on this free number 0808 800 4040 - their line is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. 

    I hope that the treatment works well for him - we are thinking of you and your husband during this challenging time. 

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Hi, I know it’s late but just wanted to reach out to you as my mother-in-law has just been diagnosed with peritoneal Cancer. She has suffered other illness over many years. She has refused chemo therapy due to her other problems and is under pallitive care. My husband and I have moved in with her to take care of everything and anything she will need. She is 73 and at peace with her life coming to its end. I would like to keep up to date about his treatment though as I have not heard of this cancer and we still do not understand how advanced or how much more of a “normal” life she could have. I know she is just starting to take morphine during the day aswell as night. She is trying to take as little as possible and is living every day as much as she can... I hope you can keep me up to date as I will with the progression as it unfolds. It may be that it’s better not knowing how quickly the cancer will take to spread further...
  • Hello Amey. Thank you for your post. Like you I had not heard of peritoneal cancer until now and to find his colon cancer had already spread to the peritoneum before we even knew it was cancer was a bit of a shock. Mike is only 56 and we were looking forward to moving into our new-build house in a couple of months - life can be cruel! I’m really sorry to hear about your mother-in-law and hope the end is as peaceful as it can be. I don’t really know what to expect for Mike - is she in a lot of pain hence the morphine? Please let me know how she is getting on and I will let you know any developments with Mike. I don’t know about you but I am really scared!!

  • Hello Grismr,

    I'm so so sorry to hear about your husband, I'm just reaching out to advise that you're not alone. Your husbands story is identical to my stepdads, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer with spread to the peritoneal on 9th October. Unfortunately prognosis for my stepdad is terminal and we are all devasted, I feel like our lives have been turn upside down with a flick of the light. The news to us was a complete surprise. He has been given an option of chemo but whether he takes it or not is unknown.
     

    Just wanted to reach out and wish you and husband all the best X

  • Hello em89

    Thank you for your message and good wishes. We have got a video call with my husband's oncologist on Monday when we will find out the results of the scan he had to find out what effect the chemo is having. I just hope that it will be good news and that it can keep him going at least until all this COVID stuff is over and we can come out of isolation!

    Rose (grismr)