Mums bowel cancer

Hello my mum has recently been diagnosed with bowel cancer and turns out it is advanced, and spread to lung and liver, she had a stent fitted last Thursday, just waiting to hear when chemo can start....how long does this take ? No one has mentioned the words terminal which gives me hope, but I can’t see anything that’s says there is any hope ..anyone been through this, she is so brave and I feel sick with worry for her

  • hi there!

    my names Sarah, I’m 28 years old and my beautiful mum has just been diagnosed with bowel cancer, she also has cancer mattases spread to her liver and one on her lung. It’s been 4 weeks since mum was in hospital with pain, she’s had an operation and she now has a stoma which helps her go to the toilet, she was in intensive care for a few days but now she’s home and she is so brave! She actually looks amazing, she looks so strong. About 2 weeks ago we received the news from mums biopsy, we are waiting for her appointment with the oncologist to discus next steps etc. Mum met the oncologist when she was in hospital with her stoma and she said how well my mum looked, she has an appointment next week to discus the biopsy further, I’m hoping in a few weeks time she can start treatment. I am in the same situation as you regarding mums treatment plan, all we can do is be hopeful and hope that the doctors and surgeons can look after our mums and we can be strong for them, if you ever need to talk please message me anytime.

    sarah

  • Hello Watts1975,

    Thank you for posting on the forum. I am sorry to learn about your mum's situation. This must be a difficult time for you all.

    It is hard to know what lies ahead for your mum as bowel cancer can behave differently in individual people. But I am afraid to say that when bowel cancer spreads to the liver and lungs a cure is unlikely. But with a good response to treatment it is possible for some people to live a small number of years and in a few cases for longer. But of course this depends on how well the treatment works. So it is really a matter of seeing how things go. This uncertainty can be very hard to deal with.

    I am not sure if your question about how long it takes was asking about how long your mum will have to wait for chemotherapy or if you were asking about the treatment. I don't really know how long your mum will have to wait before she starts treatment as this can be variable. But in many cases people start treatment within a few weeks of seeing the chemotherapy specialist. Sometimes they might have to wait a bit longer if it is a holiday period or busy time.

     As I don't know what chemotherapy your mum is going to have, I don't know how long the treatment will take. It is usually given as a day case in hospital, but your mum may need to take chemotherapy tablets at home. One common first treatment is oxaliplatin and capecitabine.     Sometimes Fluorouracil is given instead of capecitabine. But there are other regimes that can be used.

    I hope that you get some news soon about when treatment might start.

    Please get back to us if you have any other questions.  You may find it helpful to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline.  The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

    Kind regards,

    Jean

  • I am sorry Sarah I stayed away from this site for some time as I found I was getting more upset but have looked again as mums situation is worse, I hope your mum is doing ok x

  • hello watts1975

     

    Hope your well?

    I haven't logged on since before January either :)

     

    unfortunately my lovely mum passed away on February. 6 months from diagnosis.. it was a shock for us all. her body couldn't handle the chemo and her

    tumor in her bowel was still growing.

     

    how is your mum doing?

     

    x Sarah 

  • Hi Sarah, i am so so sorry for your loss, how absolutely heartbreaking for you and your family.   My mum is still her, but I fear for not much longer, her chemo was stopped for the same reason, she now has had a permanent drain fitted, I joined again for some answers as I believe this is the end stage.  Like you all a complete shock, healthy able bodied, then out of nowhere this.   
     

    I am praying for just one last Christmas, but fearful.   I am really sorry, I hope you are all doing the best you can.

     

    Melani xxxx

  • Hi, I’ve just been diagnosed with bowel cancer which. Has also spread to my liver.  I’ve not started treatment yet as I’m waiting for a biopsy and the wait is killing me.  Can you tell me your mums timeline.  At the moment I feel physically fine although I’m tired but all my blood tests are clear and I had no symptoms til this pain in the side csme about 6/7 weeks ago.  Now I have a stomach the size of a football and it’s so uncomfortable.  I’m trying to stay positive but it’s hard I just can’t stop crying about having to leave my kids behind.

    how is your mum feeling now 

     

  • Hi I am so sorry you are going through this and I am sure it's awful waiting, my mum was diagnosed after a pain in her side July last year after.  We paid fot a private scan to speed things up, although we have been told NHS is the best to treat it as they are the same consultants who would do it privately.   We seemed to get bad news every time she saw someone initially.  It's really been a roller coaster, the tumours would shrink, be stable then spread and shrink again.  The chemo was eventually stopped about 6 weeks ago as her body can not cope, her stomach swelled with the ascities at this point,  she is in her 70s so I would imagine age is a factor.   What I would say to you is I know others in your situation and the outcome has been positive so do not give up hope, everybody is different, they can do such fab things nowadays, for everyone with a bad outcome there are loads of good ones, take care of yourself, try and eat as you need your body to be strong and you can fight this ! Reach out to the Macmillan nurses they have been an absolute godsend, Your in my prayers x

  • Hi thanks for your reply.  I am trying really hard to be positive I think I’m still in shock!  what started as a pain in my side a month or so ago is now constant pain and the swelling in my stomach is ridiculous.  I’m scared that when I go there they’re going to say it’s too late to give me anything due to the Ascites That said other than that my bloods are good my appetite is still good and I’m getting plenty of rest so there’s a few things in my favour.

    i can’t imagine how you feel with this happening to your mum.  I hope she gets some peace soon and you too will be in my prayers and thoughts xx