Cecum tumour

Tasha4w

Hi All,

I am writing from Ireland because I can't find a descent board for this topic with a .ie on it :-) hopefully I can find some help, support and answers from you guys even if we are across the water.

 

my mam (aged53) has been diagnosed with colon cancer in the caecum. It's a moderately large Tumour according to the surgeon. She had a CT scan last week and we were given the following results today - no signs do tumours elsewhere, lymph nodes enlarged 2cm?, cyst on the liver, tumour was called a raised CEA.

 

although he explained everything brillently there was a lot of questions rolling around in my head that I didn't get a chance to ask. Mainly the enlarged lymph nodes. I am an EMT myself so I have a fairly good understanding of anatomy and medical mumbo jumbo. She is being operated on in 2 weeks time (it would be next week but i am taking her on holidays, which the doctor approved of) they are then sending it for biopsy to ensure of no more cancer elsewhere.. But I'm still hung up on the lymph nodes! 

 

Anyone else have have any experience here? Any information greatly appreciated :-) 

 

oh.. She is also severely anaemic and very fatigued any tips for energy on holidays??? 

lp1964

Dear Friend,

Sorry about the diagnosis, but you guys will get through this.

Coffee after lunch helped me with the ebergy.

Have her start taking 2x400mg Cimetidine (Tagamet) 2 weeks before and at least 2 weeks after surgery. This is an over the counter drug and supposed to reduce

the chance of the cancer spreading during surgery.

She will probably have chemo afterwards. Let us know what it is.

Have a great time on the vacation and good luck with everything.

Laz 

 

Trubrit

Overseas

we have many members from overseas, and you are MORE than welcome to join us. I'm sure there may be a few differences in treatments, but mostly it will be the same across the board. 

I am very sorry about your Mam's diagnosis, but it is a fact, and you are both, along with the rest of the family, now on the road to full recovery - please don't think anything less than recovery, but if you do, keep it to a passing thought or two - 

I'm on the run today, but if I leave you with one little piece of advice it is to get yourself (or you and you  Mam) a good notebook and pen. have your Mum keep said notebook and pen at hand and write down EVERYTHING both physical and emotional, then take it to every appointment and go through it with the Oncologist. When I was doing treatment, and even today, I take my notebook with me. Nothing is to short or to silly. I remember asking about baby powder, which I like to use, my Dr.  laughed like I was silly, but it wasn't silly to me (It was a friendly laugh, he is a good Dr.). 

Enjoy your holiday; pamper her silly and try your very best to leave as much worry behind in Ireland. 

visit us often, you have made a great find and we are all here to help. 

Blessings! 

Sue - Trubrit

Tasha4w

lp1964 said:

Dear Friend,

Sorry about the diagnosis, but you guys will get through this.

Coffee after lunch helped me with the ebergy.

Have her start taking 2x400mg Cimetidine (Tagamet) 2 weeks before and at least 2 weeks after surgery. This is an over the counter drug and supposed to reduce

the chance of the cancer spreading during surgery.

She will probably have chemo afterwards. Let us know what it is.

Have a great time on the vacation and good luck with everything.

Laz 

 

Thank you

I will look into the Tagamet over here ans talk to mam about it, thank you.

yes on the chemo, there is a 70% chance she will need it after surgery so we are just saying she will be getting it and then if she is within the 30% it will be a bonus. We were told there will be no hair loss with the chemo which made her very happy, that was a big fear of hers! 

Again thank you and I look forward to chatting :-)

Tasha4w

Trubrit said:

Overseas

we have many members from overseas, and you are MORE than welcome to join us. I'm sure there may be a few differences in treatments, but mostly it will be the same across the board. 

I am very sorry about your Mam's diagnosis, but it is a fact, and you are both, along with the rest of the family, now on the road to full recovery - please don't think anything less than recovery, but if you do, keep it to a passing thought or two - 

I'm on the run today, but if I leave you with one little piece of advice it is to get yourself (or you and you  Mam) a good notebook and pen. have your Mum keep said notebook and pen at hand and write down EVERYTHING both physical and emotional, then take it to every appointment and go through it with the Oncologist. When I was doing treatment, and even today, I take my notebook with me. Nothing is to short or to silly. I remember asking about baby powder, which I like to use, my Dr.  laughed like I was silly, but it wasn't silly to me (It was a friendly laugh, he is a good Dr.). 

Enjoy your holiday; pamper her silly and try your very best to leave as much worry behind in Ireland. 

visit us often, you have made a great find and we are all here to help. 

Blessings! 

Sue - Trubrit

Notebook is a permanent fixture!

Thanks Trubrit, yes I have my note book sorted with quiet a few pages already full! I am very greatful for your replies as I feel very numb the last two weeks and even now after getting a very positive result from the Dr. 

myself and my sister in law plan on spoiling her rotten on holidays and make sure it's one not to forget ;-) 

thank you again, and chat soon

Easyflip

Sorry about your mum

I had an enlarged node because it was larger than 1 cm.  Your mum's may be harvested if they can reach it along with others and checked for cancer. Sounds like they've decided to give her chemo anyway because they're suspicious and feel the cancer has made it's way out of the colon. CEA stands for cancer embryonic antigen, a protein floating around in the blood that for some suggests metastatic cancer, it is not a type of tumor. Again this reading on her must have them leaning towards chemo. In America we favor Folfox chemo, Europe favors Folfiri. They're about the same effectiveness and both thin the hair but hair loss is possible. Tell your mum chemo is tolerable, they have something for every side effect. Most of all give your mom plenty of hope, encouragement and humor. Most of all love, dote on her, mothers love that kind of stuff from their beloved sons! Good luck, stay the course and you'll be fine!

 

Easyflip/Richard

Trubrit

Tasha4w said:

Thank you

I will look into the Tagamet over here ans talk to mam about it, thank you.

yes on the chemo, there is a 70% chance she will need it after surgery so we are just saying she will be getting it and then if she is within the 30% it will be a bonus. We were told there will be no hair loss with the chemo which made her very happy, that was a big fear of hers! 

Again thank you and I look forward to chatting :-)

Popping bubbles

Depending on the chemo regime, there may be hair loss. I lost most of my hair, and ended up shaving it all off. 

I don't mean to pop bubbles, but your mam needs to know the possibility is there. 

Sue - Trubrit

thxmiker

Welcome to the board.  We are

Welcome to the board.  We are sending our thoughts and prayers for your mom's health.

 

Cancer in the Apendix and Cecum is common.  The biopsy will tell you what cancer she has.  That is the important information.  They type of cancer cell will determine the aggresiveness of the treatment.

 

Low sugar intake will help.  She will not digest sugars well after colon surgery. More veggies and less meat will ease digestion issues.  Keeping happy will also help. Mental attitude will have a large effect on how she heals.  

 

Best Always,  mike

tanstaafl

CA19-9

It's a long story but presurgical CA19-9 (with ESR) serum biomarker has been useful to many, both for typing the cnacer and sometimes monitoring.  

 

annalexandria

I'm sorry you and your mam are facing this...

it's not an easy journey, by any means, but many of us have made it through and are doing well.  Your mam will too!

I would second the suggestion of tagamet, if it's available where you live.  Kind of a "can't hurt, might help" sort of thing.

And I would also talk to the surgeon if possible about how many lymph nodes he/she plans to remove.  There is some research that suggests that removing a higher number of nodes leads to better outcomes, but sometimes they only take out a few.  I had 38 removed, and although it may not have impacted the course of my disease, I did manage to survive a stage 4 diagnosis (3 years cancer free), so it may have helped.

As for the anemia, could she have a blood transfusion?  I had several when I was sick, and they helped quite a bit.

Tell your mam good luck from us, and let us know how she does.

Big hugs to you both~AA

Tasha4w

Today's the day!

We had a great holiday last week ;-) got back Thursday then stright in Friday for pre op, so back to reality with a bang!

yesterday mams heamoglobin had dropped again to 6 so she got a transfusion of 2 units which worked wonders. (Pity they couldn't have done it two weeks ago..) 

shes just gone into theatre now so I've a painful 4 hour wait upon me. On the plus side every inch of my house is scrubbed clean from the waiting this morning!! 

Fingers crossed for a good outcome. Prayers, good vibes and energy welcome! Xx

Trubrit

Tasha4w said:

Today's the day!

We had a great holiday last week ;-) got back Thursday then stright in Friday for pre op, so back to reality with a bang!

yesterday mams heamoglobin had dropped again to 6 so she got a transfusion of 2 units which worked wonders. (Pity they couldn't have done it two weeks ago..) 

shes just gone into theatre now so I've a painful 4 hour wait upon me. On the plus side every inch of my house is scrubbed clean from the waiting this morning!! 

Fingers crossed for a good outcome. Prayers, good vibes and energy welcome! Xx

Good thoughts and prayer heading mam's way

I will be thinking of your mam today, and as she recovers. Thinking of you too.

Keep us posted. We're here for you. 

Sue - Trubrit

Tasha4w

Good news!

Surgery went fantastic!! (Let's out large breath!!) 

no need for intensive care, no bag. Surgeon said there was no sign of any cancer elsewhere in the abdomen. Tumor came out easily and he was very happy with the result. Mams doin good, on heavy pain killers so still not awake for long periods but when she is she's in good spirits after hearing the news. 

Now.... More waiting!! 10 days for the inspection of the Tumour then hopefully we will find out about the cyst on the liver and the lymph nodes but I'm concentrating on today's good news for now ;-) 

Tasha4w

From a high to a low ;-( Stage 4??

5 weeks post op, mam is flying it. No problems with the resection, everything is working as it should be, wounds are healing perfectly ;-) 

we were in today with the doctor to find out about the tests done on the tumour and the lymph nodes and it's t4 N2 M1 ;-( 4+ lymph nodes and there was signs of a mucus ?? around some.. The mets I'm not sure about, with all this swimming in my head I never asked about the M part and he didn't say so my head is all over the place about that.. But after the CT scan they did say there was a cyst on the liver so i must ask about that. We will be meeting the oncologist next Wednesday to prepare for chemo.. Gonna be a fun Christmas!! 

Anyone any experience with this level I would love to hear from you. 

JanJan63

Tasha4w said:

From a high to a low ;-( Stage 4??

5 weeks post op, mam is flying it. No problems with the resection, everything is working as it should be, wounds are healing perfectly ;-) 

we were in today with the doctor to find out about the tests done on the tumour and the lymph nodes and it's t4 N2 M1 ;-( 4+ lymph nodes and there was signs of a mucus ?? around some.. The mets I'm not sure about, with all this swimming in my head I never asked about the M part and he didn't say so my head is all over the place about that.. But after the CT scan they did say there was a cyst on the liver so i must ask about that. We will be meeting the oncologist next Wednesday to prepare for chemo.. Gonna be a fun Christmas!! 

Anyone any experience with this level I would love to hear from you. 

I'm sorry I missed your

I'm sorry I missed your thread before now. And I'm sorry you're here with us because of the reason for it. But you're in the right place. Lots of stage four people on here with positive outcomes. Do you know what chemo she's going to get? I didn't have hair loss but do have some pretty good thinning out. I had a lot of hair to start with so it's not a big deal. I do have new hair growth at the same time so it'll be okay. It's funny because my understanding is that the chemo goes after fast growing cells which is why it can affect the hair yet my fingernails are growing like crazy.

I'm glad your mam is doing great after surgery. Here's to her getting better as soon as possible. Christmas will be crappy with the chemo, I'll still be on it, too, so mine will be crappy as well. But I intend this to be the only crappy Christmas I have. Fingers crossed for your mom! 

Trubrit

Cyst

I too have a cyst on the liver, and have been told they are very common. Most people never find out they even have them as they don't casue any problems.

There are many Stage IV's here on the forum, some are doing well, others are doing well but are on maintanace chemo, which means chemo for life. 

I will be interested to hear what chemo regime they will put her on.  I was on FOLFOX with 5FU. Then six weeks of Radiation with six weeks hooked up to 5FU. 

Are they going to put a port in? This is a little device they place in the chest to administer the chemo meds. 

Come back with any and all questions you may have. We're here for you and your mum.

Sue - Trubrit

 

LindaK.

Tasha4w said:

From a high to a low ;-( Stage 4??

5 weeks post op, mam is flying it. No problems with the resection, everything is working as it should be, wounds are healing perfectly ;-) 

we were in today with the doctor to find out about the tests done on the tumour and the lymph nodes and it's t4 N2 M1 ;-( 4+ lymph nodes and there was signs of a mucus ?? around some.. The mets I'm not sure about, with all this swimming in my head I never asked about the M part and he didn't say so my head is all over the place about that.. But after the CT scan they did say there was a cyst on the liver so i must ask about that. We will be meeting the oncologist next Wednesday to prepare for chemo.. Gonna be a fun Christmas!! 

Anyone any experience with this level I would love to hear from you. 

Numbers

The article I'm posting a link to may help understand the numbers:  http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/staging

I'm sure you will still have many questions, but I hope your mother has a good oncologist who will guide her and her family through every step.  Take it one day at a time.  There are many stage 4 survivors here who can give you good advice and guidance.

Linda

Tasha4w

Trubrit said:

Cyst

I too have a cyst on the liver, and have been told they are very common. Most people never find out they even have them as they don't casue any problems.

There are many Stage IV's here on the forum, some are doing well, others are doing well but are on maintanace chemo, which means chemo for life. 

I will be interested to hear what chemo regime they will put her on.  I was on FOLFOX with 5FU. Then six weeks of Radiation with six weeks hooked up to 5FU. 

Are they going to put a port in? This is a little device they place in the chest to administer the chemo meds. 

Come back with any and all questions you may have. We're here for you and your mum.

Sue - Trubrit

 

Thank you

Thank you guys, no clue about the chemo type or administration yet. I will post again tomorrow after seeing the oncologist. Thanks again x 

Tasha4w

Full story

ok, so we're dealing with stage 4 colon cancer with mets to the omentum and lymph nodes... 

Met with the oncologist and nurses today and they were fab! I have gathered from the bits of info I could get out of them that it's incureable but treatable.. There a bit slow with the bad news so soon into treatment! 

We now have to wait for a date for a port to be put in at our regional hospital. We were told it could be 2 days it could be 10 before an appointment is available. Depending on the swiftness of that mam will be starting on 5FU and FOLFOX via pump for 48hrs every 2 weeks initially for 6 months, prob starting before Christmas (again depending on how quick they get in the port) 

sooooooo the truth is out!! 

Trubrit

Tasha4w said:

Full story

ok, so we're dealing with stage 4 colon cancer with mets to the omentum and lymph nodes... 

Met with the oncologist and nurses today and they were fab! I have gathered from the bits of info I could get out of them that it's incureable but treatable.. There a bit slow with the bad news so soon into treatment! 

We now have to wait for a date for a port to be put in at our regional hospital. We were told it could be 2 days it could be 10 before an appointment is available. Depending on the swiftness of that mam will be starting on 5FU and FOLFOX via pump for 48hrs every 2 weeks initially for 6 months, prob starting before Christmas (again depending on how quick they get in the port) 

sooooooo the truth is out!! 

Good

It is a hard road, but it is really good when you get a treatment plan and know how you are to move ahead. 

Your mum will be on the same plan that I was.

I think you will find that your mum goes in for the infusion of FOLFOX which takes anywhere from 2 - 4 hours and then comes home with the pump (5FU) for the 48 hours. 

The port is a wonderful thing. She will be sore around her shoulder area for a week or so, burised but other than that, she should have no problems.

Have her ask (if they don't mention it themselves) for some Lidocaine Gel so that she can rub it on the port about half an hour before infusion. That will numb the area up for when they insert the needle. I really didn't have any problems getting my port accessed. It was just a prick, no worse than getting blodd drawn. 

Try and find the posts here about cold sensitivity. She will need a pair of gloves by the fridge, and keep away from the cold drinks (though there is a post going at the moment that talks about taking ice with the infusion. Sounds weird, but seems to be working for some). 

There are a heap of other side effects. Some she may or may not experience. Just pop on and we'll be here to help her (and you) along. 

Sue - Trubrit

Tasha4w

Trubrit said:

Good

It is a hard road, but it is really good when you get a treatment plan and know how you are to move ahead. 

Your mum will be on the same plan that I was.

I think you will find that your mum goes in for the infusion of FOLFOX which takes anywhere from 2 - 4 hours and then comes home with the pump (5FU) for the 48 hours. 

The port is a wonderful thing. She will be sore around her shoulder area for a week or so, burised but other than that, she should have no problems.

Have her ask (if they don't mention it themselves) for some Lidocaine Gel so that she can rub it on the port about half an hour before infusion. That will numb the area up for when they insert the needle. I really didn't have any problems getting my port accessed. It was just a prick, no worse than getting blodd drawn. 

Try and find the posts here about cold sensitivity. She will need a pair of gloves by the fridge, and keep away from the cold drinks (though there is a post going at the moment that talks about taking ice with the infusion. Sounds weird, but seems to be working for some). 

There are a heap of other side effects. Some she may or may not experience. Just pop on and we'll be here to help her (and you) along. 

Sue - Trubrit

Thank you

Thanks guys, the port will be going in on Tuesday, in the following Monday for anti nausea etc and then in tuesday for first round of chemo.. Thank God things are being done quick. First round will be given the 15th and finished 18th, anyone hazard a guess on how she might be feeling by the 25th? As in nausea and fatigue?? 

Cheers x