Three years today.

Hi Susan, Sorry to hear your appointments have been altered.My husband had his 6 month CT scan in May and thankfully it was clear.

Originally I am sure we were told he would have scans every 6 months but now have been told he will have CEA blood test only in November.Are things the same where you live? I have read that the CEA test is not always 100% accurate in detecting a recurrence.

They are also trying to give the results by phone in our area so may not even see a consultant.

Take care

Jenny.

 

Hi Jenny

Glad your hubby is okay-I don't know what (if any )other changes have been made as my last scan was Jan/Feb 2017.I live in E Sussex NHS area-

Can't you ask your GP how accurate  he thinks CEA tests are ?

I'm going for my blood test next Tuesday and will see my GP 1st week in September-so I'm all in 'the dark' at the moment.

Sincere wishes to you both

Susan

 

Hi Susan. I'm still here. Passed the 46 month mark not long ago and anxiously waiting for the colonoscopy appt. I rang the hospital and they said it's planned for October, but could be Nov or maybe Dec. Bowel prep for Christmas she joked. Yes, I did laugh. Even Jan was mentioned! I have been told by a cancer society nurse here that if the one year check is ok, then the 4 year one should be, as tumours take 10 years or so to grow. But it's still a worrying time. 

?I hope your blood test was ok. Waiting is very stressful, but I can't really complain here as I get results very quickly. 

Please keep in touch, I find it held to share things. 

Now I've been told the ?colonoscopy will be in January! Ho hum. Can't do much about that. Keep well. John. 

Hi 1954marg

I am not an expert at these things (far from it) - but obviously he will feel weak after surgery and also very tired-he may stay in hospital for more than 8 days (I was in for 8)-depending on how he responds to the surgery and after care etc.

Hope things won't be too difficult for you both- It will take time for him to recover-be prepared.

My husband had to look after me and give me injections every day for 5 weeks-if you are unable to do the (blood thinning)injections-you should tell the hospital and perhaps your local GP surgery can be involved in this. He may not feel as bad as you think-his appetite may not  be good for a while-but everyone is different.

If I can answer anything else you may need -I will try my best to answer you !

I am not a professional just another person who has had bowel cancer -

But really your GP needs to help at this time-

Best regards

Susan

 

Thanks Susan for your helpful advice i am more worried about his surgery than him will keep you updated 

 

Hi Marg. ?I'm not a medical person either. My own experience four years ago was fairly routine after the initial stress. They took a longish piece as it was an extended rt hemicolectomy with a blockage and two small perforations well away from the tumour. I developed an infection at the bottom of the scar which took a while to clear. I had daily ?visits from a district nurse to pack the wound. I was ok with the daily injections. Surgery should be routine and the recovery also. I didn't need a bag, I don't think these types of procedures do. So, all the best. It should be all good. I didn't have chemo either, but your team will know what to do! 

Hi Marg-I expect there will be a pre-surgery chat with the consultant(or have you had this already) ?

If not ask your GP anything you are worried about-also things that you may not have information about after surgery.

How about your consultant's  Colo-Rectal Nurse-(I still have contact with mine)-I e-mail her fairly often to ask questions-she usually replies when she can-(sometimes it's a longer wait than others)!

Do keep us up to speed onyour  husband's progress.

Best regards to both

Susan

My cancer was fairly well advanced at T3 and I had this op three years ago. No doubt we are all different but I found it to be a bit of an anticlimax. I was taken into the theatre at about 8:30 in the morning and came to in a side ward around lunch time, and was fed a substantial meal about an hour later. There was some initial soreness and it was not a good idea to move too quickly but I found that after a day I was able to get around without very much difficulty.

The dominant factor in the time that I spent in hospital seemed to be the need to demonstrate that my digestive system was working end to end, so to speak. As soon as this took place, after four days, I was discharged and a day later I was out in the car shopping albeit making sure that I didn’t do anything too strenuous.

I had three incisions about 1cm long two of which were for the manipulators and the third for the camera, and one about 5cm through which the chopped out bit was extracted.. All healed quite rapidly and it is now very difficult to see where they were.

Post op I was monitored by the surgeon and by the research oncology team (perhaps I should mention that I opted to take part in a medical trial associated with the chemo) at 6 month intervals. After a couple of sessions the surgeon decided that he didn’t need to see me again and left it to the research team to continue the monitoring. At the last session, the consultant decided to move me onto annual monitoring.

By the way, I was 78 at the time of the operation.

I hope all goes well for your husband. The procedures these days are well established and not as invasive as they used to be

You will know ?that laproscopic surgery is less invasive than open surgery. Mine was ?open, so the ?recovery time was longer. I also developed a large hernia which was repaired with mesh. Your surgeon will probably ?discuss the options. I don't think laproscopic surgery is  a major hernia risk. Don't worry! 

You have my sympathy, John, going through open surgery is not the most pleasant of experiences and I can well imagine that the recovery time is very much longer.  Reading your earlier posts I see that yours was not a straightforward situation, for a normal right hemicolectomy the standard these days is for laparoscopy surgery - at least in the UK.  Good luck with your continued recovery.