Frightened in Richmond Texas

Mary109

Hello,

My name is Mary, I am 50 and there is no history of colon cancer in my family. Today I went and saw a colon surgeon! I had a colonoscopy Nov. 2. My dr found a "soft tissue mass" and could not biopsy it because of my upper colon has so many turns.

Anyway, I had a CT scan the day after Thanksgiving and there is definitely a mass that needs to be removed. He said he didn't know if it was cancer or not but the mass will eventually cause a blockage.

The surgeon concurred with Dr. and I am scheduled for surgery (no lap, regular incision) on Monday.

Any advice?

Thank you.

John23

Rush ?
Re:
"The surgeon concurred with Dr. and I am scheduled for surgery (no
lap, regular incision) on Monday."

"He said he didn't know if it was cancer or not but the mass will
eventually cause a blockage"

And the rush is for what reason?

You should get a "second opinion" from a gastrointestinal specialist,
who is not a member of the same group your doctor is in.

You should also get a second opinion from a colorectal surgeon
that is also not in the same group or area.

You should ask why you can't have laproscopical surgery, or try
other methods to shrink the growth.

Take a friend with you to take notes on each and every visit. It's easy
to forget important details when you're upset listening to the doctor.

And well before surgery, you must take the time to know exactly
what they plan to do; if it will leave you with an ostomy or not.

If it will, then you must take the time to indicate exactly where
you want the ostomy, and the details associated with the placement
of the stoma.

Do not rush. Take your time and get ALL the answers ahead of time.
Make sure you understand all the answers. If you feel you do not
want to allow them to do something, do not allow it.

It's your life at stake; it's your quality of life, and only you can
make decisions regarding it.

Mary109

John23 said:

Rush ?
Re:
"The surgeon concurred with Dr. and I am scheduled for surgery (no
lap, regular incision) on Monday."

"He said he didn't know if it was cancer or not but the mass will
eventually cause a blockage"

And the rush is for what reason?

You should get a "second opinion" from a gastrointestinal specialist,
who is not a member of the same group your doctor is in.

You should also get a second opinion from a colorectal surgeon
that is also not in the same group or area.

You should ask why you can't have laproscopical surgery, or try
other methods to shrink the growth.

Take a friend with you to take notes on each and every visit. It's easy
to forget important details when you're upset listening to the doctor.

And well before surgery, you must take the time to know exactly
what they plan to do; if it will leave you with an ostomy or not.

If it will, then you must take the time to indicate exactly where
you want the ostomy, and the details associated with the placement
of the stoma.

Do not rush. Take your time and get ALL the answers ahead of time.
Make sure you understand all the answers. If you feel you do not
want to allow them to do something, do not allow it.

It's your life at stake; it's your quality of life, and only you can
make decisions regarding it.

Hi John23,
The colon surgeon
Hi John23,

The colon surgeon said that laproscopic surgery was not possible because the growth is to large to come out through the lap incission. Also the CT scan showed my lymph nods are also being effected.

The Doc that did the colonocsopy is a gastro doc.

I will have to think about the second opinion though.

Thank you.

Kathryn_in_MN

I have the same question
What is the rush? "eventually cause a blockage"

If the mass is not large enough to cause a lot of trouble right now, with worry for obstruction immediately, then you have time to get more information and make more informed decisions.

I had no choice - my tumor was almost completely blocking (I had been living with severe pain for quite some time). I was told I needed surgery within the next 2-3 days and if I waited longer than that I was certainly chancing total blockage. I was kept on liquids only after my scope to help prevent that, and to stay prepared for surgery. My pre-op consult with the surgeon was scheduled for the next morning with surgery the following day.

I did still find time to jump online in the morning before going to the surgeon. I read about "minimally invasive" colon surgery and was glad I did. The surgeon assigned to me did not do left side laproscopic surgery - only right side. So I insisted on getting one that would do it for sigmoid. He did warn me that not every tumor comes out as easy as expected, and I could still end up with open surgery in the end. But I was lucky and had lap. My surgeon uses the same procedure as he does for appendectomies. 8 weeks later you couldn't hardly even see the scar! It is amazing. And I healed very quickly from my surgery too.

It is definitely worth pursuing if there is any way to have yours lap rather than open.

Patteee

I agree with John on having
I agree with John on having a second opinion. The results might very well be the same, but then you will be in a position to choice who you are most comfortable with. In my case, my first opinion was a local colorectal surgeon, who couldn't even schedule my surgery for 6 weeks out. My second opinion was at Mayo and within a week I had gone through all their testing, met the surgeon and had surgery. I don't agree with "what's the rush"- I obstructed and thank God I was all set to go before at Mayo.

Second. I am glad you found us Mary. If this is colon cancer - yes, the prospect of cancer is frightening and the reality even more so. But if it is, it will be ok. You will find what you need within yourself to get through this and fight the Beast. You will join thousands of us who are dx'd with colon cancer every year. Who just like you were scared and felt so unprepared for this. Part of getting through this is reaching out to friends, family and people like us who have been there. Ask questions, research options, get your questions answered- all of it helps to reduce the fear and bring back some control in your life. Keep coming to this board!

thready

Surgery
Mary109,
I know this is scary, I had a resection done on September 14th, I'm early 50's. I knew I was dealing with cancer but I had not had a CT scan so we did not know if it was elsewhere. My surgeon did a regular incision because he wanted to look at everything inside. I was talking to my husband tonight about the fact that I had the regular incision and not a lap surgery because we were given more information and the surgeon was sure he got all of the tumor and he knew there was not anything visible lurking about. After we got the pathology report that is when they staged my cancer, IIIB. My CT scan done after surgery did not show any other problems in my chest, abdomen or pelvis.

Your first concern is to have the surgery so you do not become obstructed. If that happens you have other issues to deal with. Getting the mass out is really important. My tumor was almost obstructing the bowel so I was on a low residue diet and surgery soon followed my colonoscopy. Between now and the time you have surgery try to get a good walk every day, it will help in your recovery.

The surgery was not complicated by anything and I did great. After surgery my family made sure that I did my deep breathing and moved my feet and legs. Then when it was time to get up and get moving they were there to help. The surgeon and the nurses told me that to wake up my bowel I needed to walk but I also needed to get up out of bed frequently. They said the short trips out of bed helped more than the long walks. If family is not there with you make sure that you take the initiative to do these things with help from the hospital staff, it does help get going and prevents ugly complications.

Pain needs to be addressed. I was given dilaudid IV every 2 hours. I had problems with nausea so they added phenergan and I was good to go. Don't be afraid to take the pain meds especially the first few days and if things are not to your liking please speak up and tell the staff and your doctor. You will also be given antibiotics so if you have prolems with ANY type of yeast infection please let the doctor know so you can get meds to treat.

When they tell you it is time to eat, take it slowly. Clear liquids to start and then advance to full liquids and then a soft diet this is over a period of days. Don't go right to the chicken fried steak! (I know of a person who did that and ended back in the hospital with problems.)

O.k. that is the technical stuff, now to the emotional stuff. Take a deep breath and realize this has to be done, but this is what medical people call "an insult to your body" so you will have emotions, this is part of it and you need to let it out. We all try to be brave but you are a person who is experiencing a difficult time. Since you don't know what the mass is you need to know that you are doing the best thing for your self and you will learn what it is and deal with it when the reports come back. Your job at hand is to recover, be good to your self, take time to care for your needs, and know that we are all here for you if you need to talk, vent, rant, cry and just chat.

Make sure you accept help from those who offer! Make sure you tell those around you what is going on, and ask for help from family friends etc. I am a private person and did not want to tell anyone, my husband told everyone and that was helpful!

We will all ask you about the CT scan if it showed anything else besides the mass, and if the mass was confined to the bowel.

Take care and let us know you are doing, when surgery will be scheduled etc. The people here will pray, send you hugs, good vibes etc for you and it is nice to know they are here.

Jan
PS Mary I just read about your CT scan. I did not get a second opinion for surgery. I do agree that second opinions are important, and did get one when it came time to treat the cancer, but mostly you need to be comfortable with what is happening, a second opinion can help with that but you need to decide if you need one.

Also I am in Texas.

John23

Rush ?
Mary -

I had an colon cancer tumor obstruction. I had zero time, and
no way to get another opinion fast enough. They told me I had
hours before my colon would burst if I did not have an operation
immediately. Then they didn't have an operating room, and had
to transport me to another hospital. Three days later, they operated.

Your doctor is telling you that "the mass will eventually cause a blockage".

You are not in immediate danger..... "Monday" (12-07-2009), seems
to be rushing things a bit, doesn't it?

You have time to get other opinions. You should really take that time.

According to what you have related, they are assuming a swollen lymph
node is cancer ridden? They haven't found out if what's in your colon
is actually cancer or not (even though the mass can usually be identified
as cancer or not with a colonoscopy), they haven't taken a biopsy of
that mass, and they're assuming swollen lymph nodes are cancerous.....

If the mass is "eventually" going to be a problem, then you really should
not rush into surgery. You have time to get other opinions.

Maybe the other opinions will be the same; maybe they'll change your life.

And even more important, is the possibility of getting an ostomy
without having prepared for one. You have to know these things
prior to your surgery.

Go here for ostomy forums:
http://www.uoaa.org/

Good health to you!

Shayenne

John23 said:

Rush ?
Mary -

I had an colon cancer tumor obstruction. I had zero time, and
no way to get another opinion fast enough. They told me I had
hours before my colon would burst if I did not have an operation
immediately. Then they didn't have an operating room, and had
to transport me to another hospital. Three days later, they operated.

Your doctor is telling you that "the mass will eventually cause a blockage".

You are not in immediate danger..... "Monday" (12-07-2009), seems
to be rushing things a bit, doesn't it?

You have time to get other opinions. You should really take that time.

According to what you have related, they are assuming a swollen lymph
node is cancer ridden? They haven't found out if what's in your colon
is actually cancer or not (even though the mass can usually be identified
as cancer or not with a colonoscopy), they haven't taken a biopsy of
that mass, and they're assuming swollen lymph nodes are cancerous.....

If the mass is "eventually" going to be a problem, then you really should
not rush into surgery. You have time to get other opinions.

Maybe the other opinions will be the same; maybe they'll change your life.

And even more important, is the possibility of getting an ostomy
without having prepared for one. You have to know these things
prior to your surgery.

Go here for ostomy forums:
http://www.uoaa.org/

Good health to you!

Hi Mary!!
And welcome to our family! I know everyone here has a wealth of info here, and their situations are all going to be different. I also had a large mass on my colon, with multiple mets to my liver when I was diagnosed, but when they saw it wasn't obstructing anything, they did not rush into surgery, since I was still able to pass stools, and it wasn't blocking anything.

Now, down the road we can't guarantee there will be problems with it, I was put on chemo, which shrunk all the tumors, which I think is better, to shrink them before having to make a huge incision and yank out a foot on your colon, when it could be more minimal then that.

On my 4th treatment with chemo, I had my rupture because of that mass, and my bowels started to leak into my belly, where I almost died, they did emergency surgery on me, I had the chief surgeon doing it, and he took it all out, washed my belly all out, and now I have a temporary colostomy, which can be reveresed (I'm too chicken though), but now my only problem is my liver...nothing they can do.

You just have to do what's best for you, I really didn't think I needed a second opinion, since they decided not to open me right away, and let chemo shrink it before they did.

Hope you stay around here, and let us know what's going on with ya, it's a really nice family to be around with

Hugsss!
~Donna

sfmarie

I couldn't agree more
with the posts. Looking back, if we had the right surgical and oncological team in place, perhaps things would be different. Make sure you have the right team in place before they go in. If they find mets to other places, for example, having the specialists there could really make your outcome different. If there is no rush, give it another week and start making calls. Where do you live? If you post that, I am sure you will get lots of referrals. Marie

geotina

Hi Mary
Welcome to the board although we all wish you did not have to be here. That being said, where is the mass in your colon? That could make a difference in whether they need to do the surgery soon or whether you can buy a little time. George's mass was in the transverse colon. His colonoscopy was 3/27, then things moved fast. Met with colorectal surgeon, met with oncologist, had all testing CT's, consults etc. and surgery was on 4/2 and he was home on 4/8 and 4 weeks later started chemo. At the time we didn't seek out a second opinion, the colonoscopy pictures spoke for themselves. Our team was competent, very well qualified, specialists in their field, board certified, explained everything thoroughly and we went with it with very good results. Take a deep breath, your journey is just beginning and know that you can come on here with any question you may have, large or small. Take care - Tina

cyndi2324

I agree with the others not
I agree with the others not too fast get a second opinion. If my colon hadn't ruptured I would have at least gotten a second opinion.
I wish the best for you,
Cyndi

Mary109

Hi All,
I stayed home from
Hi All,

I stayed home from work today, and thought a lot about my situation. I spoke to my gastro dr. and she said that while not being a surgeon in her opinion waiting a few weeks will not hurt. And a second opinion for my peace of mind is worth it.

I need to clarify my initial post. The mass is called a soft tissue mass or smooth mass. Gastro doc says that the mass is paritally blocking the colon, but matter is getting through, just not as it should. I told the surgeon on Wednesday that I wanted the mass out and next Tuesday would be fine. It was after I got home that I had second thoughts.

Sorry to be so flaky.

Thank you.

Patteee

Mary109 said:

Hi All,
I stayed home from
Hi All,

I stayed home from work today, and thought a lot about my situation. I spoke to my gastro dr. and she said that while not being a surgeon in her opinion waiting a few weeks will not hurt. And a second opinion for my peace of mind is worth it.

I need to clarify my initial post. The mass is called a soft tissue mass or smooth mass. Gastro doc says that the mass is paritally blocking the colon, but matter is getting through, just not as it should. I told the surgeon on Wednesday that I wanted the mass out and next Tuesday would be fine. It was after I got home that I had second thoughts.

Sorry to be so flaky.

Thank you.

Hey Mary- glad you are
Hey Mary- glad you are getting a second opinion. The end might be exactly the same, but that in itself is good! Someone else on here (up above) talked about the surgery as not where she felt like she needed the second opinion, it was the next step where she did. I for one felt forced into a second opinion, I mean cripes the colorectal surgeon here in the cities couldn't even schedule me for 6 weeks. I am a teacher and was already out of school for the summer, my insurance covered Mayo 100% and was floored at how quick I could get in, get the testing done in 3-4 days and surgery there after. To me it was a no brainer that I would at least check Mayo out. I knew the result would be the same (and it was)- and in all honesty, I fell in love with Mayo- I felt immediate relief from my fear, I felt in incredible capable hands and I knew more than anything in my heart and soul that I did everything possible and had the best. As it turned out, my bowel obstructed in the middle of the night, early Saturday morning, I was back in the cities and 2 days away from my scheduled resection at Mayo. Had I not gone to Mayo and already been scheduled in their books? I would have been an emergency surgery here in the cities and more than likely a general surgeon, on call on would have done it. But because it was set to go at Mayo? The Mayo surgeon gave the go ahead to fill me full of morphine and transport to Mayo in the middle of the night. I was met there by the full team and full surgery was done. I have no qualms about putting this colorectal surgeon on a pedestal and proclaiming to the world that she saved my life.

I can't promise that your second opinion will move the earth like mine did What I will say is it will give you back some of you power and control over what is happening to your body and your life. Surgery will probably still be recommended, that probably won't change. And you may end up going with the first surgeon to begin with!But it will never be a waste of time or effort and truly does put you back in the driver's seat.