Living with bowel cancer

Sorry to hear that brummiegran. My Dad had bowel cancer. No stoma. He managed very well and lived for many years after. No special tips really. The usual take it one day at a time etc. I'm just trying to be reassuring. I hope others can give you more specific tips. Best wishes!

Hi,

My son is recovering from bowel cancer. He is only 45. He does have a stoma bag but is hoping to have it removed very soon.

The cancer web pages can be overwhelming but my son was in hospital for 12 days and when he was discharged he 90% returned to normal life.

The hospital gave my son a factual book about the best way to recuperate and a number he could ring if he had any worries.

Hope it all goes well Brummiegran.

I have no experience of this, I'm afraid. I have a very good friend who went through this procedure about 4 years ago and is doing very well now, also a neighbour two or three years ago, ditto.
I do hope everything goes well for your husband - and for you because I imagine you must be feeling apprehensive about caring for him, not knowing what to expect and so on. Sending love and good wishes to both of you

Brummie I am so glad your DH is coming home so you can give him some extra special care which isn't complicated. Just let him go at his own pace especially with regard to eating and drinking. Having enough fluids is half the battle in bowel care so don't worry too much if his appetite is small but make sure he always has a glass of something refreshing (non alcoholic) nearby. I'm sure he will be getting some advice on diet and nutrition and follow up appointments. You may be offered an after care advice/help line too but just go back to the GP if you are worried. good luck with it all and I hope he makes a speedy recovery.

Thank you everyone. I am just feeling jumpy. Getting through the operation and after effects was bad enough but the longer term seems daunting

My friend was in exactly this situation several years ago - she leads a perfectly normal and healthy life and did so within a short time of getting over the trauma of surgery. She really is fine and goes sailing and travels back and forth to their house in France all the time. She is just as she was before the surgery and has had no problems at all.

That is reassuring x

Hi Brummiegran. Almost 2 years ago now, my husband was operated on for bowel cancer, but he had a stoma bag. He coped with it, but it could be a nuisance at times, at least your husband doesn`t have that to cope with. My husband had a stoma reversal operation in January, which went fine, but other complications set in, nothing to do with the bowel cancer, but all is fine now. All the best to you and your husband.

I didn't have bowel cancer but I did have a hemi-colectomy and wedge re-section in 1997. I don't even think about it as, after the wounds healed, I am not affected in any way. (That is, apart from having an abdomen with scars that look like a London Underground map, but then my bikini-wearing days were already over.)

P.s. I hope your husband makes a speedy recovery.

Thank you again. He still isn't home as there is an issue with his bloods. He is going to need chemo and that is frightening me. How will we cope with the side effects?Everyone says I am being strong but I think i am just waiting for it to sink in.

I know everybody is different, Brummiegran, but when DH was rushed to hospital 7+ years ago he was found to have a perforated smal intestine and had a bowel resection (no bag, because small intestine). After biopsy the perforation revealed a tumour and he was diagnosed with a variety of lymphoma not uncommon in transplant patients on immunosuppressants. He was transferred to his "regular" hospital in London. After discharge his chemo was a monoclonal antibody therapy which caused no problems whatsoever other than the sheer hell of driving him to London for it in winter (50+ miles) and he has been free ever since. The one problem was that I don't think the initial op was well sewn up as his clips opened up and he also subsequently developed an ever increasing incision hernia which is both unsightly and uncomfortable. Surgery to treat it has been considered too risky.
So the actual "life after a resection" has been OK. Are you in Brum and are you at the Queen Elizabeth? From my point of view having the initial op done as an emergency on a Sunday morning with, I suspect the "B" team in a general hospital and the subsequent treatment 50 miles away in London seemed the worst! I should be grateful he survived instead!!
Good luck to both of you

Chemotherapy nowadays is very refined with attention paid to alleviating any possible side effects as well as it often being done at home whenever possible.

I know of someone who had bowel cancer picked up with the postal screening process, had a colostomy (for a few months) and followed by chemo and radiotherapy and then a reversal of the colostomy.
He's absolutely fine now. He said chemo made him feel a bit like having mild 'flu but nothing like as bad as he'd imagined. The anti sickness medication was very effective.

He's in his early 60's, back at work, playing golf etc and you'd never know he'd been ill.

Good luck Brummiegran to both of you

Thank you. He is home, feeling tired. We see the oncologist at QE next week, Soutra. We'll just have to take one day at a time xxx

Good morning. My older cousin had surgery for her bowel cancer about 15 years ago and is doing well. 90 now and still busy. She finds there are certain foods that give her diarrhoea but otherwise she is fine.

Brummiegran Have you tried contacting the MacMillan nurses? They are there to supprt people through these scary times.

Thank you. Going to speak to a nominated nurse today xx

If you are "under" (as they say, but it makes your DH sound like a foundation stone ) the QE you could not be in a better place.
Good luck with the appointments, take your Kindle or a good book with you though!

DH has a stoma bag and underwent chemo and is now in remission. He copes so well with the bag. We've been on holiday, and abroad to Canada though he found changing the bag in a plane loo not the easiest thing.
We had great support from the local hospital and Macmillan unit. Was an anxious time, but take each day as it comes. Good luck. x

Best wishes to your husband for a good recovery.
I have a friend who had bowel cancer many years ago and as a full life.

Thank you all. It is not easy but what is the alternative. If he hadn't had the screening test we wouldn't have had this opportunity for a cure.