Diagnosed with colon cancer: Nervous..Help!

Posted by bravesfan @bravesfan, Jun 6, 2023

Hello everyone I was diagnosed 6 days ago with colon cancer . I am early 50s. now I am waiting for my next steps. Friday i have 2. Scans scheduled. I see a cancer doctor next Wednesday and then the doctor that did my colonoscopy on Thursday. I don't really know what's going to happen. I know after the colonoscopy He said he tattooed a 5 to 6 inch area and i might be needing surgery. i don't know what to expect. I also just lost my husband of thirty five years to covid a year ago so i'm going through this by myself. If I have the surgery am I going to need help at home question? how long will I have to be out of work ? They know nothing.. I'm not sure what to tell my job yet..I just have so many questions.. i'm sorry any help would be great.
I do believe my Lord has me but I also worry because I do have 2 sons 22 and 33 and 3 grand babies who just lost their papa. I'm not ready to leave them yet.
Does any of this make sense to you?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Colorectal Cancer Support Group.

I imagine that being organic makes all things better ? .....
Egg yolks are high in cholesterol and a source of saturated fatty acids and as such are not heart healthy.
Cardiologists have written about egg yolks as being a heart disease risk.
My latest research is the health dangers of artificial sweeteners.
Sucralose and Aspertame are best avoided. Stevia or stevia leaf by Truvia seems to be the only natural sweetener not related to bad things.
I have eliminated a hundred things from my grocery cart.
Cancer patients and especially those of us with bowel cancers, need to be reading the nutrition labels on everything we buy and know the meaning of it all.

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Thinking about you @bravesfan, as you prepare to meet with doctors tomorrow and Thursday to talk about your treatment plan and more.
On this page near the bottom (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/colon-cancer/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20353674), Mayo Clinic provides questions to prepare to ask your doctors, like
Some basic questions to ask your doctor include:

Where is my colon cancer located in my colon?
What is the stage of my colon cancer?
Can you explain my pathology report to me?
Can I have a copy of my pathology report?
Has my colon cancer spread to other parts of my body?
Will I need more tests?
What are the treatment options for my colon cancer?
Will any of the treatments cure my colon cancer?
What is the chance that my colon cancer will be cured?
How much does each treatment increase my chances that my colon cancer will be cured?
What are the potential side effects of each treatment?
How will each treatment affect my daily life?
Is there one treatment you feel is best for me?
What would you recommend to a family member or friend in my same situation?
How much time can I take to make my decision about treatment?
Should I seek a second opinion?
Should I see a specialist? What will that cost, and will my insurance cover it?
Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can take with me? What websites do you recommend?
Do my siblings or my children have an increased risk of colon cancer?

As for foods after surgery, you might be interested in this related discussion:
– What is a good diet after colon surgery? Are probiotics good? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/diet-after-total-colectomy/

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Hey all
Got some info
Met my new cancer Dr. And my surgeon..I believe with them and The Lord I am in good hands! The good news is its my sigmoid? Upper descending colon. Surgery is scheduled for July 11th. I will be in hospital Tuesday thru Friday and go home if all is good. He is removing about 2 feet. Apparently I won't know stage till afterwards. Then will know of chemo needed.
I took my loa from work starting today to focus on myself and get a few things with my blood work he didn't like fixed. We didn't discuss foods wish I would have asked that so I'm ready when I get home. Praying every day all goes well..

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@paul28

I was found to have colon cancer a year ago at 72yo. I was stage 4 as the cancer was also found in a lymph node. Scans also showed a lung nodule that was suspected to be metastasized cancer from the colon.
I went straight to colon resection surgery. I was very hopeful that I would not be in need of a bag afterwards or even a temporary one. My doctor was confident that one would not be needed which proved to be the case.
I recovered best possible at home with no help whatsoever for seven weeks and then returned for Lung wedge resection of my right lower lung area.
I will say that colon resection is a far easier recovery as compared to the lung. The majority of pain in both was during the hospital stay, not so much after coming home. You lay down, nap, sleep, eat, go to the bathroom and repeat.
Plan to go nowhere except for your follow-up appointment. No house chores or grocery shopping. Get everything you need before going to the hospital for your surgery. Stock up and be prepared to rest. Clear your mind of everything else that may be going on and concentrate on only you.
That's it.
My concerns and worry over doing this alone, totally alone, not even a visitor was unfounded. I got along just fine.
You will be eating different so pre-plan for that. You won't be cooking as normal. Talk to your doctor about meals after surgery and research online.
We are always more resilient in adversity than we give ourselves credit for. Be strong. Be determined. Best wishes to you!

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My husband was diagnosed with colon cancer yesterday. We are at the beginning of the fight. I am overwhelmed and consumed with this.

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I am so sorry that you got the dreaded news.
I was having watery diarrhea for an extended period of time and I finally gave up on putting off my first ever colonoscopy.
We were looking for a cause for the diarrhea, not necessarily expecting colon cancer.
My polyp was lab tested during the colonoscopy and was cancerous.
You've got to like your doctors, your surgeon and your hospital.
You must have complete trust and confidence in them.
Otherwise, you will already be off to a bad start. Do not skip this step! Get it right!
My surgeon and I got on the same page pretty quick.
He knew that my concern with surgery was the possibility of waking up with a bag.
He didn't think I would need one.
My second concern was to do whatever necessary to avoid chemo.
I wanted surgery first, and to then make an assessment afterwards when much more would be known. (Best thing that could have happened).
I was still recovering at home from sigmoid colon resection when I returned 7 weeks later for metastasized colon cancer to my right lower lung.
That's called a lung wedge resection. By comparison, the lung is a tough surgery.
My goal was to have both surgeries and then have "wait and see" while doing blood tests and CT Scans every 3 months.
With no problems, we then go to 4 months.
And now 20 months later, we are still following this plan.
If you are diagnosed with Colon cancer today, too many patients are being quickly referred to Oncology tomorrow.
Chemotherapy prior to surgery is quite commonplace.
Cancer patients will be told to go "see what the Oncologist has to say". What they say is that you need to begin a chemo regimen pretty quick.
I don't like hearing that people have been talked into things that they did not understand.
Ask questions, get answers, understand the information, research, and research more!
My other advice would be to not become a nervous wreck over this.
Get it all planned out with the right people and have no fear.
Fear makes all things worse and adds nothing to the solutions and decisions that you will be making.
You will go to the hospital, have a surgery, be there 3 days, come home, have diarrhea and not know what to eat!
You can do this!!
Best wishes to you both!
Paul

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@paul28

I am so sorry that you got the dreaded news.
I was having watery diarrhea for an extended period of time and I finally gave up on putting off my first ever colonoscopy.
We were looking for a cause for the diarrhea, not necessarily expecting colon cancer.
My polyp was lab tested during the colonoscopy and was cancerous.
You've got to like your doctors, your surgeon and your hospital.
You must have complete trust and confidence in them.
Otherwise, you will already be off to a bad start. Do not skip this step! Get it right!
My surgeon and I got on the same page pretty quick.
He knew that my concern with surgery was the possibility of waking up with a bag.
He didn't think I would need one.
My second concern was to do whatever necessary to avoid chemo.
I wanted surgery first, and to then make an assessment afterwards when much more would be known. (Best thing that could have happened).
I was still recovering at home from sigmoid colon resection when I returned 7 weeks later for metastasized colon cancer to my right lower lung.
That's called a lung wedge resection. By comparison, the lung is a tough surgery.
My goal was to have both surgeries and then have "wait and see" while doing blood tests and CT Scans every 3 months.
With no problems, we then go to 4 months.
And now 20 months later, we are still following this plan.
If you are diagnosed with Colon cancer today, too many patients are being quickly referred to Oncology tomorrow.
Chemotherapy prior to surgery is quite commonplace.
Cancer patients will be told to go "see what the Oncologist has to say". What they say is that you need to begin a chemo regimen pretty quick.
I don't like hearing that people have been talked into things that they did not understand.
Ask questions, get answers, understand the information, research, and research more!
My other advice would be to not become a nervous wreck over this.
Get it all planned out with the right people and have no fear.
Fear makes all things worse and adds nothing to the solutions and decisions that you will be making.
You will go to the hospital, have a surgery, be there 3 days, come home, have diarrhea and not know what to eat!
You can do this!!
Best wishes to you both!
Paul

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Oh my goodness Paul. Thank you for all the information. His is a 5cm villous mass with stigmata in the descending colon. Not a great prognosis. They said probably not a bag but life with a bag is better than no life. We have been married 38 years. He is my best friend. I hope he has a good outcome. Thank you again for all the information. Right now I have no answers and have no idea who to even talk to. Should the oncologist doctor have a specialty in colon cancer or doesn’t it matter

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@lindadob

Oh my goodness Paul. Thank you for all the information. His is a 5cm villous mass with stigmata in the descending colon. Not a great prognosis. They said probably not a bag but life with a bag is better than no life. We have been married 38 years. He is my best friend. I hope he has a good outcome. Thank you again for all the information. Right now I have no answers and have no idea who to even talk to. Should the oncologist doctor have a specialty in colon cancer or doesn’t it matter

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Sorry to hear of your husband's diagnosis @lindabob. It comes just one month after my surgery to remove most of my colon along with a 6 cm malignant tumor in the top-left corner of the colon and a very small malignancy in my appendix at the bottom-right. Everything between was removed, along with samples of 20 lymph nodes that all proved to be cancer-negative. Now with almost no colon at all, my digestive system features my small intestine that feeds small feces (the size of my thumb) almost directly into my rectum for disposal almost as in the olden days.

Despite indications that the tumors were removed, my surgical team called in an oncologist. He was impressed with results of the surgery and offered crucial information about chemotherapy-- good effects and bad -- and asked me to decide over the weekend on taking chemo or not. I chose not. Instead, the oncologist set up a plan for surveillance over the coming five years to immediately detect any malignancy should one occur. That's what I call "covering all your needs" before they occur. Hopefully, you can see possibilities for your husband's treatment and surveillance or, at least, questions to ask your oncologist and surgical team about your husband's future with cancer behind him. Martin

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@lindadob

Oh my goodness Paul. Thank you for all the information. His is a 5cm villous mass with stigmata in the descending colon. Not a great prognosis. They said probably not a bag but life with a bag is better than no life. We have been married 38 years. He is my best friend. I hope he has a good outcome. Thank you again for all the information. Right now I have no answers and have no idea who to even talk to. Should the oncologist doctor have a specialty in colon cancer or doesn’t it matter

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So sorry for the cancer diagnosis of your husband, @lindadob.
I agre with what @paul28 has written.

I had a transanal resection for a polyp that the first biopsy (taken at a colonoscopy) said was pre-cancerous. Second biopsy (post-surgical) revealed positive margins. Surgeon said, no new surgery because she could see nothing more and because polyp was too close to the sphincter, and she didn't want to put the sphincter at risk. She sent me to an oncologist. He said the same: no surgery so as not to put the sphincter at risk, better radiotherapy. Now I have a rare, very low rectovaginal fistula because of the radiotherapy.

I consulted the same surgeon about fixing the fistula. She offered a flap with a temporary colostomy with a fairly high chance of recurrence of a fistula. Went for a second opinion. Surgeon #2 said: they should have operated again after the biopsy indicating the positive margin and wait & see before doing radiotherapy. A third opinion from an investigator and surgeon oncologist said the same thing.

A more recent colonoscopy revealed a new polyp facing the fistula, so now, on Jan. 26, I'm having a resection of the rectum, mesorectum and sigmoid with a coloanal anastomosis, to avoid a colostomy, to reduce the risk of a new fistula, of a new polyp, and of cancer.

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@verol65

So sorry for the cancer diagnosis of your husband, @lindadob.
I agre with what @paul28 has written.

I had a transanal resection for a polyp that the first biopsy (taken at a colonoscopy) said was pre-cancerous. Second biopsy (post-surgical) revealed positive margins. Surgeon said, no new surgery because she could see nothing more and because polyp was too close to the sphincter, and she didn't want to put the sphincter at risk. She sent me to an oncologist. He said the same: no surgery so as not to put the sphincter at risk, better radiotherapy. Now I have a rare, very low rectovaginal fistula because of the radiotherapy.

I consulted the same surgeon about fixing the fistula. She offered a flap with a temporary colostomy with a fairly high chance of recurrence of a fistula. Went for a second opinion. Surgeon #2 said: they should have operated again after the biopsy indicating the positive margin and wait & see before doing radiotherapy. A third opinion from an investigator and surgeon oncologist said the same thing.

A more recent colonoscopy revealed a new polyp facing the fistula, so now, on Jan. 26, I'm having a resection of the rectum, mesorectum and sigmoid with a coloanal anastomosis, to avoid a colostomy, to reduce the risk of a new fistula, of a new polyp, and of cancer.

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I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. You really gathered food information for yourself. How do you stay on top of things so well? My husband just had the cea bench mark done for the colon cancer. He also has a ct scan scheduled and we have an appointment with the surgeon this Friday. I also talked to the pcp today and we are awaiting the pathology. I am so overwhelmed but I hope things turn out positive with you. You are definitely on top of things and that is excellent. I am going to pray for all of us!

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@lindadob

Oh my goodness Paul. Thank you for all the information. His is a 5cm villous mass with stigmata in the descending colon. Not a great prognosis. They said probably not a bag but life with a bag is better than no life. We have been married 38 years. He is my best friend. I hope he has a good outcome. Thank you again for all the information. Right now I have no answers and have no idea who to even talk to. Should the oncologist doctor have a specialty in colon cancer or doesn’t it matter

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Oh, everything matters and Oncology ranks right at the top in your "matter-of-concern" LIST #1, #2, #3 and possible more!
Why?
Because you do know that chemotherapy and radiation is not a clear and precise science.
Why?
Because your chemo plan of navigation, the chemo cocktail, the specific drugs. term, etc is a guess .... a guess by an Oncologist who on a good day might get it right 10% of the time on the initial first try.
This is the first day of "discovery" to see how well you can tolerate it, AKA, "how bad are your side effects" ??
This plan may be amended, (likely), or terminated all together.
As in anything. there are those who are more than satisfied and those who regret their decisions.
The worst case scenario is when after all is said and done, the patient regret comes solely from feeling that they were "talked into something" with far less than adequate knowledge and understanding of what they signed up for.
Don't be that person!!
Best to everyone!
Paul

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