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Rectal Cancer Metastasized to Bones
My husband is 47. In Aug of 2021, he was diagnosed with stage 2 rectal cancer. He went through chemo, radiation, and surgery in May to remove the tumor. Post surgery they told us they got it all. However, in July, his CEA started to increase rapidly. They found that his rectal cancer had spread to his bones, which is VERY rare. They typically don't even check your bones for spread because it usually only spreads to liver and lungs first, so by the time they found it he had 11 spots. They did genomic testing and said that the type is also VERY rare so there are no targeted therapies available. They are trying chemo and radiation again. In September, the lesions in his femur and humerus were so large that they were both at risk of fracture. They stopped chemo to schedule surgery where they inserted a rod into his femur and 24 hours later they inserted a plate and screws into his arm. This recovery has been tough and we have a ways to go. He is currently back in radiation for 5 different spots with new scans scheduled next week. Since this type of metastasis is so rare, we are looking for anyone else who may have experienced this as well.
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Hello @samanthaf and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I am so sorry to read your husband's diagnosis and all he (and you) have been going through. I can imagine that with a situation so rare, you must feel like you are on an island so to say. I'm curious, is this a situation your husband's doctors have seen before and are familiar with, despite it being so rare?
Hi Samantha-
I am currently going through something similar. Diagnosed w/ Stage 3 colon cancer in 2016, went through surgery and chemo and have been getting clean scans ever since. This August I started getting headaches and it turned out I had a metastatic ocular tumor. I got a craniotomy but further scans showed I have bone mets on my spine and pelvis. I had nothing go to lungs, liver or anywhere else, just straight to the skull and bones and I am very puzzled by it and very upset that it was not caught earlier. I finished radiation for my skull last week and I am about to start chemo, but I have been in so much pain in my lower back that they are now considering radiation for some of those spots. I got an epidural last week and it did nothing for the pain.
Hi @kat77. this must've come as unexpected surprise that colon cancer would metastacized to the brain and bones. You may also be interested in this related discussion:
- Hi, stage 4 colorectal cancer here https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/hi-stage-4-here/
Have you discussed getting a consult with palliative care to help with pain management?
Hi Colleen-
Thanks so much for replying. I am sitting down to read that thread right now. I have been reluctant to take any pain meds beyond Advil because I'm afraid of becoming dependent on them, and also, the few that I have ever been on in my lifetime for surgeries wound up constipating me badly. That being said, I'm at the point right now where I'm just in too much pain, so on Monday I am going to ask my oncologist to put me together with a palliative care doctor.
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