Where do I go from here? 34 year old son diagnosed with rectal cancer

if he has all the test results he can make video appointments with an oncologist at other facilities that may give him a better starting point. easier to get those appointments than in person.
once they have copies of his tests they can give preliminary recommendations.
tell him not to wait. I was told mine was usually slow growing when it was found so I researched and researched for 9 months. turned out it was not slow growing and I had to make a quick decision. luckily I had some good information to help me make that decision.
mine was only 3 centimeters but was wrapped around the sphincter muscle so operation was out and "nigro protocol" may have destroyed that muscle.
if you would like the name of the facility and the doctor I saw, please message me and I will send it to you. it is in San Diego, but there are proton center all over the east coast. only 2 in California. Loma Linda is another facility he may check with. knew someone with prostate cancer that went there and raved about good it was. again though that is in California. not a bad place to be in the winter though,
insurance (hope he has it) covered all the second, third and fourth opinions that I had. so it may be, for peace of mind, important to make more than one appointment at different facilities.
once you get accepted for treatment it starts within weeks. in my case just days.

@myboysthree, I thought I'd check in. How are you doing? Was your son able to talk with someone about getting a second opinion with Mayo Clinic experts?

@cfairer, it is so helpful and hopeful for @myboysthree and others reading this discussion to hear from a long-time survivor. 20 years out from stage 3B anal cancer, wow!

He called them on Tuesday, as we had not heard from anyone. They instructed him to call his current Oncologist and have them fax records and film to Mayo. Which he did. Not sure what next steps are or how long it will take for us to hear back from someone once they receive his records.
Thanks for checking in 😊

Yes it is. Thank you for sharing and giving us hope 🙏❤️🙏❤️

Thank you for your words of encouragement and hope. I’m trying to get things moving along as fast as possible, especially since I just found out that his rectal cancer is a Grade 2 Stage 3. His current Oncologist has stressed to us that he needs to be seen sooner rather than later.

First of all I want to thank you all for your support and guidance. It is greatly appreciated!
Secondly I wanted to let you all know that my son received a phone call from the GI Center and we now have an appointment on the books for next Tuesday. They told him they would call him on Thursday to discuss the Intake process and what to expect on the day of his appointment.
I will be sure to keep you all updated!
Thank you all for the support!❤️🙏

Don't let anybody tell you we will call you I did that road for 2 weeks & got sick & tired of waiting for folks to call back People today have such bad phone manners call them ask questions insist that they give you answers And if you don't understand be polite but firm This is your life you only have one so don't take no for an answer or we don't have time as your appointment time we scheduled you for is over My feeling too bad I need answers as this sickness is not a trail run this is for real It's my life and I want to stay around for a bit more So be firm but get the answers you need to be well informed so you can make correct decisions

May I ask what your symptoms were?

I’m going on my first year after diagnosis for Colon Rectal Caner.
My treatment began with my first round of Chemotherapy with a couple weeks between infusions. I had the pump for 48 hours after each session

I was not a candidate for radiation and after speaking with several people who had it I believe I was fortunate
I have a team which meet every Friday comprised of my Gastrointestinal, Oncology specialists and surgeons. To date I’ve declined surgery and opted for a second round of Chemotherapy and now after a complete blood work I’m a candidate for a trial program which is one of the Biologics.
I have had the same extreme pain in my bottom and used multiple medications for pain management
One thing I’ve found is diet makes a big impact on how my body handles digestion and impacts my bowl movements which can cause lots of inflammation and pain
I’m trying to look forward for the newest approaches without resulting in surgeries.
It appears everyone wants to give radiation treatment then Chemotherapy then surgery but after deep research I feel there’s better options but only time will tell

My advice is to get several different opinions I went to Moffitt and FCC Florida Cancer Center and another cancer research center. Make sure all your doctors to communicate with each other as a team.
Once you do that you’ll be able to make the best decisions for yourself.
Best wishes