Stomach / Colon cancer

Having lost my father to cancer when I was around 20, I am now potentially looking at the same battle with my mother. 

She has been experiencing nausea, heartburn, abdominal pain, fatigue for some time now. Although fatigue has been very long standing but the nausea has been steadily increasing over the past few months. After urging her to visit the GP she finally did due to lower right quadrant pain, where she previously had years ago prior to appendix removal. After this visit GP fast tracked tests. FiT test came back abnormal, although 6 months prior I noted she had the test return negative. Awaoting colonoscopy and abdominal ultrasound scan. 

After viewing the results of her recent blood tests I noticed abnormal but expected despite the fact that WBC are increasing with each subsequent blood test, as are the platelet counts and neutrophils. Which from my understanding could be an indication of a tumour. Unsure what Im after from posting this as I understand everyone has differing symptoms and journey etc. Perhaps I just needed to vent and write this into words. 

  • Welcome to Cancer Chat, Tommy325.

    Thank you for sharing what you and your mum are going through - it sounds like a very difficult and uncertain time, and I’m sorry to hear that you're facing this after already having experienced such a loss with your dad.

    It’s completely understandable to feel overwhelmed when waiting for tests and trying to make sense of it all. Sometimes just putting it into words, like you’ve done here, can help process things a little.

    You’re right in saying that everyone’s situation is different, and often there aren’t clear answers until all the investigations are complete.

    If you feel it would help to speak with someone with a medical background about what’s going on, our nurses are here to listen. You can call them on freephone 0808 800 4040, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. They won’t be able to give a diagnosis, but they can explain things and support you through this.

    Please know you’re not alone, and we're here whenever you need to talk or simply share how things are going.

    Best wishes to the both of you,
    Renata, Cancer Chat Moderator