Hello Steviebird,

                           comes as a shock when you get news like this.and really not very good.Your bowel does become inflamed after you have had a colonoscopy,its not designed to have foreign objects inserted,but it should ease back after a while.However loose stools are one of signs of a tumour being present so it may well be a case of symptom progression.The sensation you describe is most likely to be the mass in your colon pressing on nerves as you have suggested,especially since it appeared to be filling the bowel with inward spread

                               You are a long way from being game over,but l can appreciate that this is how it feels initially.Until you have all the tests and scans done will you know the extent of the problem and the solutions available to resolve it.l went through bowel cancer with spread to the liver, and have come out fighting fit the other side,so there is nothing written in stone about potential outcomes.

You need to be careful about placing too much stress upon yourself,again l realise this is easy to say,but having been there l certainly recognised the potential damage and overburden it would place upon my recovery,so practiced what l preach.You will get enough pressure from the surgery and Chemo/radiotherapy without loading more upon yourself

                      hopefully your waiting on the unknown will not be too long,but if can be of further help,just reply at any time,

                              Take care,

                                                  David

Hi David, thank you so much for replying. It's very reassuring to hear that you're fit and well now after going through something similar, although I am sorry to hear you had to go through it in the first place! I appreciate your thoughts on both of my questions, if it is the case that I can feel the tumour, then I've had it a very long time. It does appear to have gotten worse over the last couple of days, as has the abdominal pain, but I'm putting that down to it having 10 biopsy samples taken. Either that or it's psychological, there's no way it could have grown in 2 days, surely?!

You're right, I need to try not to stress too much, but as I'm sure you're more than aware, it's a HUGE shock. I'm fortunate in that I have a very supportive group of friends and family around me so I need to save my strength and get ready to fight the long battle ahead.

Thanks again, I really do appreciate it. Hopefully I'll be able to report back soon with a brighter attitude! x

Hello Jimbobski,

                            sorry to hear you are facing an eviction of a very unwelcome visitor.l think your comments were exceptionally well put,and exactly the right perspective to have on your side in a long term struggle.l hope they serve you well and that you carry your day,

                                                                                     keep looking for the light shining at the end of the tunnel,its worth the journey,

                                               David

Hello Steviebird,

                         intrusion and the biopsies will account for the pain,and yes there is no way it would have grown in two days,it will have been far slower growing than that,and would gradually creep up in size until it reaches the point of intrusion versus expansion in the bowel which causes significant change to trigger awareness.Soft tissue sarcoids are considered fast growing in as little as 6 months,so bowel tumours could be present much longer.It is far better that it grows contained inside the bowel than going the opposite way and is safer to surgically remove.

                                           stay positive,

                                                                 David

Thanks David, that is nice to hear, I try to stay focused on the positives, until we know the full facts it's easy for us to jump to the wrong conclusions, the mind has a sneaky way of distracting us from the facts.

Thanks for your words of wisdom. 

Steviebird: you're in a haze, just like me but try to keep busy and stay strong, we need to know the full story before we can feel better about the next steps x

Hi Jimbobski, so sorry to hear you're going through a similar thing to me right now. Looks like we're at the same stage in the process, would be good to keep in touch and follow eachothers journey, hopefully both of us will come out of the other side of this.  

I'm trying to keep positive, but I didn't get out of bed until 3pm today, not a good start! It's all I can think about at the moment and you can't worry if you're asleep, can you. I've also lost half a stone in a matter of days - I hadn't had any weight loss beforehand but I guess the stress really is getting to me. I've been trying to lose weight for over a year, very unsuccessfully, nothing like a cancer diagnosis to help shed those extra pounds, eh?

@David, thanks for more words of wisdom. I really do appreciate and digest thoroughly everything you say. It's funny how my brain has switched from "I couldn't live with a stoma" to "a stoma isn't so bad" and looking up how to care for one. Typical example of my mind racing away with me. I'm going to try and enjoy the weekend, may even put the Christmas decorations up and at least attempt to get into the holiday spirit....