Surgery Tomorrow

pilarica
pilarica Member Posts: 44 Member
in Colorectal Cancer #1

Hi everybody Happy New Year to all, may this year bring you all success, love and good health!!

 

I am having surgery tomorrow, they areremoving my primary tumor from the sigmoid colon...... I have been on chemo for 1 year to reduce the size of the tumor and they think now is the time to take it out. I also have mets in the liver that have responded very well to chemo.

I am scared and also happy to think that the tumor will be out of me...... any recommedations for the days in the hospital and after. One thing I know I need are prayers for tomorrow so things go the best they can be.

 

Thanks, and hugs to all

Comments

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,796 Member
    #2
    You have my prayers

    Good luck tomorrow. All will go well, and you will feel better knowing that the tumour has been excised. 

    Advice. Drink lots of water and get up and move about as soon as you are given permission. The more you move, even when it is uncomfortable, the better you heal. Also gets the bowel moving, and they won't let you have any food until that happens. 

    Don't be shy with the meds, either. I always shot myself with some Morphine before I knew I was getting out of bed. Getting out of bed hurts like crazy, once your up on you're feet, it doesn't hurt even half as bad, so a shot of morphine takes the edge of that initial pain. 

    So, drink and walk, and keep your mind busy. Happy thoughts, positive thoughts. You will be on the road to recovery and soon you will hear the words NED. 

    I will think of you tomorrow, and send prayers Heavenward. 

    Sue - Trubrit

  • Annabelle41415
    Annabelle41415 Member Posts: 6,742 Member
    #3
    Prayers

    Prayers on the way for a successful surgery and a healing 2015.  One thing is walk, walk, and walk some more.  It might hurt but it's the best thing for you and will get your bowels working faster.  Take the pain medication as needed and don't let it get out of control because then it is harder to relieve your pain.  Better to take it before you need it than wait.  Please let us know how you are doing and glad that you are finally getting that surgery.

    Kim

  • Cathleen Mary
    Cathleen Mary Member Posts: 827 Member
    #4
    Trubrit said:

    You have my prayers

    Good luck tomorrow. All will go well, and you will feel better knowing that the tumour has been excised. 

    Advice. Drink lots of water and get up and move about as soon as you are given permission. The more you move, even when it is uncomfortable, the better you heal. Also gets the bowel moving, and they won't let you have any food until that happens. 

    Don't be shy with the meds, either. I always shot myself with some Morphine before I knew I was getting out of bed. Getting out of bed hurts like crazy, once your up on you're feet, it doesn't hurt even half as bad, so a shot of morphine takes the edge of that initial pain. 

    So, drink and walk, and keep your mind busy. Happy thoughts, positive thoughts. You will be on the road to recovery and soon you will hear the words NED. 

    I will think of you tomorrow, and send prayers Heavenward. 

    Sue - Trubrit

    So glad that you are now a

    So glad that you are now a candidate for surgery.  I always find the day before the worst part.  Prayers that all goes well and you will soon be on the road to recovery and NED.

    CM

  • herdizziness
    herdizziness Member Posts: 3,624 Member
    #5
    Surgery

    here's to an easy uneventful surgery, it's hard NOT to worry, I think we all do it before every surgery.  Try and get plenty of sleep though, and after your surgery, walk, walk, walk, walk as much as you can to heal faster, get the bowels moving and to gwt out of there, drink plenty of fluids as well.

    I'm glad you are getting rid of the colon tumor, and then can concentrate on getting those liver tumors shrunk and out of there and then on the road to NED.

    Will be thinking of you tomorrow with nothing but good thoughts that your surgery is quite uneventful!!!

    Winter Marie

  • tanstaafl
    tanstaafl Member Posts: 1,313 Member
    #6
    cimetidine

    Did you take cimetidine for surgery like Ann and my wife?  We feel, based on our observations, that cimetidne near surgery is an incredible opportunity even a little after. 

  • pilarica
    pilarica Member Posts: 44 Member
    #7
    tanstaafl said:

    cimetidine

    Did you take cimetidine for surgery like Ann and my wife?  We feel, based on our observations, that cimetidne near surgery is an incredible opportunity even a little after. 

    Thanks for all the good

    Thanks for all the good advise and good thoughts, energy, prayers etc.

    Here I go........ the surgery is scheduled for 2:00pm. 

    Thanks, again

    Pilar

  • Easyflip
    Easyflip Member Posts: 588 Member
    #8
    Hi!

    Heard it went great!  Congratulations! One step at a time, we're all pulling for you!

     

    Easyflip/Richard

  • hippiechicks
    hippiechicks Member Posts: 509 Member
    #9
    So glad to hear your surgery

    So glad to hear your surgery went well!! 

    I would recommend the same, stay on top of the pain not behind it, walk as soon as advised and as often as you can.  One thing I always advise in hospital is keeping the door closed as often as possible to keep airborn germs down to a minimum and ask for hand sanitizer or wipes .. nurses and doctors see lots of patients and can be potential carriers .. and having a bug now would not be fun.  I tried to walk when and where there was little activity out in the halls for this reason as well.  I know this may sound over the top .. but it is the season ... and they are saying this flu is a rough one.  

    Wishing you a wonderfully Happy New Year!! 

  • pilarica
    pilarica Member Posts: 44 Member
    #10
    hippiechicks said:

    So glad to hear your surgery

    So glad to hear your surgery went well!! 

    I would recommend the same, stay on top of the pain not behind it, walk as soon as advised and as often as you can.  One thing I always advise in hospital is keeping the door closed as often as possible to keep airborn germs down to a minimum and ask for hand sanitizer or wipes .. nurses and doctors see lots of patients and can be potential carriers .. and having a bug now would not be fun.  I tried to walk when and where there was little activity out in the halls for this reason as well.  I know this may sound over the top .. but it is the season ... and they are saying this flu is a rough one.  

    Wishing you a wonderfully Happy New Year!! 

    Thank you al for the good

    Thank you al for the good wishes, YES the surgery went well, they took the tumor out, it was bigger that they though, they were able to re-connect me!!!, so I don't have a bag...... now I am recovering, every day a little better.

     

    Thanks again,

    Pilar

  • Helen321
    Helen321 Member Posts: 1,459 Member
    #11
    pilarica said:

    Thank you al for the good

    Thank you al for the good wishes, YES the surgery went well, they took the tumor out, it was bigger that they though, they were able to re-connect me!!!, so I don't have a bag...... now I am recovering, every day a little better.

     

    Thanks again,

    Pilar

    So glad your surgery went

    So glad your surgery went well! Speedy recovery.

  • Michael0545
    Michael0545 Member Posts: 1
    #12
    Always good news to hear the

    Always good news to hear the surgery went well, I'm new to the Cancer forum but an old hand at Colon Cancer. On Christmas Eve.of 2000 I had about a third of my colon removed

    after Cancer was detected, I never thought my threshold for pain was any different then the average person but I was up and walking about 7 hours after surgery without

    that much pain. I was very lucky the Cancer had not penetrated the lining of the Colon.

    In early Dec. of this year after a normal colonoscopy a large mass was detected  and again Cancer. On Dec 17th I had surgery but this time they took out all the colon. This time

    as I was 14 years older I was up and walking the following day but again not that much pain ?  After eight days in the Hospital I went home Christmas Eve, only to have a set-back

    and was back in ICU on Dec.27th, another six day stay but I'm home and getting stronger every day. The BEST NEWS of all, the lab report came back clean again no lymph nodes

    infected.  Thats twice I've dodged the bullet.

    Praying for your full recovery

    Michael

  • janderson1964
    janderson1964 Member Posts: 2,215 Member
    #13
    I am glad everything went

    I am glad everything went well for you.

  • pilarica
    pilarica Member Posts: 44 Member
    #14
    janderson1964 said:

    I am glad everything went

    I am glad everything went well for you.

    Folow-up

    Soooo the surgery went well, the big colon tumor is out ( she said it was the size of a grapefruit), the surgeon said that the margins came clean and that out of 19 lymph nodes only 1 tested positive. I saw my oncologist Friday and she was very happy, now she can focus on treating the liver mets. 

    The plan is as follows:

    6 weeks to recover from the surgery (my incision is BIG from my naval to the pelvis) she wants everything really healed. She also said that it is unusual for the primary tumor not to respond to chemo, I was on Folfox + Avastin for a year every other week and the Colon Tumor was resistant, but the liver improved substantially.

                                     March 2nd. MRI and then decide what type of treatment she is going to give to the liver mets ( I have several very small tumors in my liver, she said can't operate because there are too many and all over). The surgeon checked all my organs during the surgery and she said everything looked healthy, that the liver tumors were several but small and that there were big healthy areas in my liver.

    Thanks for all the prayers, good vibes etc...... It really helps!!! 

    Any advise on liver treatments????

    Enjoy every day the best you can!!!!

    Love

    Pilar

  • janderson1964
    janderson1964 Member Posts: 2,215 Member
    #15
    pilarica said:

    Folow-up

    Soooo the surgery went well, the big colon tumor is out ( she said it was the size of a grapefruit), the surgeon said that the margins came clean and that out of 19 lymph nodes only 1 tested positive. I saw my oncologist Friday and she was very happy, now she can focus on treating the liver mets. 

    The plan is as follows:

    6 weeks to recover from the surgery (my incision is BIG from my naval to the pelvis) she wants everything really healed. She also said that it is unusual for the primary tumor not to respond to chemo, I was on Folfox + Avastin for a year every other week and the Colon Tumor was resistant, but the liver improved substantially.

                                     March 2nd. MRI and then decide what type of treatment she is going to give to the liver mets ( I have several very small tumors in my liver, she said can't operate because there are too many and all over). The surgeon checked all my organs during the surgery and she said everything looked healthy, that the liver tumors were several but small and that there were big healthy areas in my liver.

    Thanks for all the prayers, good vibes etc...... It really helps!!! 

    Any advise on liver treatments????

    Enjoy every day the best you can!!!!

    Love

    Pilar

    That is good that your liver

    That is good that your liver is healthy and no other organs are involved. There is the HAI pump which is primarlily done at memorial Sloan Kettering. I have not done it but there are a lot of folks who have had success and eventually liver resection. FOLFIRI chemo coctail usually does well with liver mets. There is also y90 radioembolization which I just recently had a great response from.

  • tanstaafl
    tanstaafl Member Posts: 1,313 Member
    #16
    HAI

    Over at Colon Club there is a whole group of people that have gotten hepatic artery infusion (HAI), mostly with Dr Kemeny at MSKCC, to convert problem liver mets into a resectable liver. Some post  here too.

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