New Diagnosis - is drastic surgery needed

Right sided tumors are thought to be a bit more aggresssive. It sounds like they are wanting to do a resection? My tumor was in the sigmoid, but had gravitated towards my right side, and required me to have my cecum, valve and appendix removed (as well as an ovary). So essentially, I had two separate areas resected. Mine was stage 2A.

Stop every surgeon just wants to do surgery You have to live with the post op & sometimes that's not pretty. Get to some of the best cancer center in US ............. Mayo SLoan Kettering MD Anderson for a second option before you do any drama to you body I did 3 visits at 3 different facilities before I decided what road to go down
I was also told the cure was surgery & then live with a bag or go die. Nice doctors. I had had it with the local quack hospitals I made the move to to to Mayo A whole different attitude to patients. They say we work to have you live NOT die. Which dyeing was what I was told by 2 facilities. Remember it is your body & you have the right to say No which i have done a few times Ask questions & if you don't understand ask until you do
Run from that doctor get to a real hospital

The surgery is not drastic. Just be sure you find a surgeon who does this particular surgery, right hemicolectomy, on a regular basis. Experience is essential. Do not go to a general surgeon.
I had a flat polyp right above the cecum found during my first screening colonoscopy. Biopsy showed stage 0 cancer. I wondered why they had to take half the colon and not resect just a few inches. My gastro doctor explained that there are so many nerves and blood vessels connected to the right side colon, that it is safer to remove all of it than try to reconnect all of that. I researched and found that was true. My surgery was in 2016. If not for the small scar around my navel, I wouldn’t know I had the surgery. No change in bowel movements.
The biopsy after surgery showed stage 1 with 20 lymph nodes all clear. No chemo or radiation needed.
Do not fear the surgery. As long as you find a good, experienced colorectal surgeon, you will do well. I rather have the surgery than go through chemo or radiation.
If you have any questions, ask away.

Thanks for the comforting words. This surgeon is well versed in this surgery and also explained the intricacies of this location. The surgeon is also confident that this surgery should be sufficient since there are no indications it has infiltrated. I’m just nervous.

I understand. However, I had very little pain. I was on a morphine pump and only used it when I wanted to sleep. The nurses asked me why I wasn't using it and I said, I don't have any pain. I did have a horrible headache the day after surgery that the morphine did not help. They said it was a caffeine withdrawal headache since I was a heavy coffee drinker. They gave me Tylenol and that took care of it.

Do not let them put a tube down your nose. The surgery does shut down your digestive tract, and they don't want you to heave and vomit. My surgeon said that is standard care but he knew how uncomfortable that was, so he didn't order it. Jello went down well, but broth did not. They will keep you in the hospital until you have a bowel movement (5th day for me).

I went back to work 10 days after my surgery. I praise God that everything went so well. All of my colonoscopies since the surgery have been clear. I still see my surgeon once a year.

It sounds like you have a good surgeon. My gastro doctor sent me to a general surgeon, who I did not like and who did not do many of these surgeries. I took it upon myself to find a colorectal surgeon, and I am so glad I did.

Talk to an oncologist for 2nd opinion.
I talked to three surgeons, two oncologists and one radiologist prior to my selection of treatment for colon cancer.
Discuss chemo/radiation solutions to get to a pathological complete response( no detectable cancer)
You may be able to avoid surgery with a complete response to treatment,
Its very important to get a variety of opinions on your potential treatment options
Timely moving though your options needs to be driven by you.
Keep in mind that the insurance company and your regular doctors do not traditionally drive the second opinion process without a specific request by you or link to specific insurance resource for second opinions
This is difficult process to select specialists in medical fields that you are not familiar
Keep notes on your questions with each doctor
Good luck

I had a tumor right across from the ileocecal valve, found with my first colonoscopy at 54. In March, I had the right side of my colon and appendix laparoscopically removed. Stage 2a tumor, luckily didn't spread to any lymph nodes or elsewhere.

I had surprisingly little pain in hospital and while the doctors offered to release me the day after the surgery, I opted to stay another day since it was hard to walk to the toilet and I was having many loose stools. My poor husband had to raise me on and off the toilet as I was numb with the spinal block .

I would recommend the best ranked medical center for colon cancer you can go to. And screening the surgeons to select one well experienced in the procedure. I had mine done at a top 25 for colon cancer treatment, luckily near home. But if it had turned out to be a cancer that needed chemotherapy, I planned on going to Mayo. You want the best care for the best possible outcome.

In about a week, I was moving around pretty well. It has been 3 months and I eat normally, but do have occasional constipation, which is nothing new to me.

My oncologist has me taking Signatera blood tests to watch for a return, I would recommend asking for this screening since a sample of your tumor is needed. Every 3 months, a blood draw is screened for the tumor markers. So, negative results give you peace of mind.

Best wishes to you for a successful treatment and recovery.

Thank you for sharing. Your experience so far is the same path my husband is on. He had his first colonoscopy 4 years ago, and it was clear. Last year, his blood work started showing a noticeable decrease in hemoglobin. They decided they had celiac disease. Then, he had what they thought was a ruptured hemorrhoid.....this colonoscopy showed the tumor. CTs so far don't show any invasive action.... Surgery in a couple of weeks will make that call.

Thanks for the advice of the Signatera blood test. I will add that to my list of questions. I have started a notebook with all the tests, results, etc

In 2022 I had a cancerous tumor in my transverse colon, right at the hepatic flexure- that's right at the top of the ascending colon at the start of the transverse colon on the right side. The surgeon did a colon resection using laparoscopic surgery, he removed the caecum, the ascending colon and enough of the transverse colon to get good margins and enough lymph nodes for analysis. I didn't have an appendix( removed at age 11) and I think he left the ileocecal valve. I had some pain after the surgery, but it got better each day and I had a 3 day stay in the hospital post surgery- they were waiting till I at least f@rted, but I did better than that two days after the surgery. The surgery was what they'd consider curative as the cancer had not spread to neighboring organs, nor to any lymph nodes ( IIA) The genetic analysis of the tumor showed it was "microsatellite instability high" (MSI-H) though no Lynch syndrome) and they don't recommend chemo with IIa MSI-H tumors, so I didn't need that. At this point I am in the surveillance mode, a bit over two years out, with oncology visits, blood work at 6 months intervals and CT scans yearly.