mucus discharge

tuby
tuby Member Posts: 6
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi all,
My father was dx with stage 4 colorectal cancer, he has his colostomy since 7/04 and the surgeon wants to make sure he is cancer free after the chemo for another 3 years before reversing it. Since 11/05, he has been having a lot of mucus, hemorroids and back pain radiated from his back all the way down to his left leg. In 1/06, he has his L5/S1 microdiscetomy done and those electri-shock pain was gone. However, the pulling-liagment pain is still here and no doctor can answer that. Since he has many other health problems such as prostate enlargement, hermorroids, unknown mucus discharge, ulcer and hernias, etc, pain medicine and other 5 different kinds of pills per day caused a lot of health concerns. Does anyone experience mucus drainage after lower rectum tumor removal surgery together with prostate enlargement and herromoids issues? His CEA was 1.8 after chemo and rose to 5.8 after 5 months. His PSA from 9.0 in 2004 and is now 15.8 in 2006. His urologist ordered a biopsy this coming monday and his next Wed CT/PET as well to see what caused the elevation of PSA and CEA.Does anyone out there experience the similar pulling-lagiment back pain that he has all the way to the left leg? Sometimes, it even went to his left shoulder.Sorry for this long post and I hope someone can help to answer some of our concerns.

Thanks

Alfred

Comments

  • musiclover
    musiclover Member Posts: 242
    Sorry to hear about your father and what he is going through. I have no input about the things you mentioned that are causing him pain but regarding the PSA, my brother in law had very high levels (14 and higher) until he took my advice and bought "The McDougall Program; 12 Days to Dynamic Health." His doctors wanted to do surgery, had no suggestions about why the level was so high or how to bring it down. He emailed Dr. McDougall (he will answer all emails!), went on his program and brought his PSA down to 6 then 5 by himself. McDougall's own father in law has had prostate cancer for 30 years but with the program it has not progressed (it is a slow growing cancer). Protocal is to test the level, do a biopsy (nearly ALL men have some cancer cells after age 60) then surgery. None of that is necessary according to Dr. McDougall. Here is a link to just one article regarding this - http://www.vegsource.com/event/mcdougall2.htm. You can visit his site as well at www.drmcdougall.com. Hope this helps a little.
  • Kanort
    Kanort Member Posts: 1,272 Member
    Hi Alfred,

    I am sorry that your father is having pain. Most of your questions are ones in which I have not had any experience. However, I did have mucus about three or four years before my diagnosis. I went to the doctor and was told it was stress related. Looking back on it, I wonder? Please let us know how your father's PET/CT scans comes out.

    Take care,

    Kay
  • well
    well Member Posts: 26
    Hi Alfred,

    I can't address any of the myriad other symptoms your father may be experiencing, but the mucus may very well have a "normal" explanation. Even those of us with ostomies can experience that, if we have an intact openeing to the outside (either an intact anal opening or a mucous fistula.)

    You see, living colon tissue creates mucus as part of it's normal operation, even if it's not "working" in the normal sense. (Mine is offline, with an ileostomy, so is not in any way performing its normal functions.) But, being alive, it creates that mucus, and if there is an opening, it will come out the opening, which can be quite a surprise for the patient who was not warned to expect it. It isn't as often, and certaily not as copious, as normal bowel movements were, but it is not a bad sign at all. Of course, the ideal person to reassure you about this would be the surgeon who knows just what "plumbing" was left inside your father, so I would recommend a quick call to the surgeon's office for that reassurance. There are a number of other symptoms you mention that probably warrant mentioning too, in case they mean something more to someone more faliliar with your father's unique situation. But in general, that mucus is not something that would frighten me to hear about.
  • tuby
    tuby Member Posts: 6
    Hi all,

    Thanks for all the replies and now I understand more about the reason of his mucus. My father's case is a little unique as he could not pass out the mucus due to lots of hemorroids inside and he really has to push to get the mucus out. Then his back pain will get release a little bit, not as much pain. Do you have pain at all when passing mucus? I just got a MRI report of his lumbar spine, they found a 1.2x0.7cm T1 and T2 hypointense vaguely peripherally enhancing lesion within the right iliac bone and a comment stating that metastic lesion is not excluded. This sounds very scary that he may have the metastic disease to his bone. I am so afraid and very cofused now and I don't want to tell him anything at this time until talking to his doctor. Next week, I will have other challenge to bring him to have MRI on the body, heart and prostate. It is just too much problems that he has.

    Thanks

    Alfred
  • well
    well Member Posts: 26
    tuby said:

    Hi all,

    Thanks for all the replies and now I understand more about the reason of his mucus. My father's case is a little unique as he could not pass out the mucus due to lots of hemorroids inside and he really has to push to get the mucus out. Then his back pain will get release a little bit, not as much pain. Do you have pain at all when passing mucus? I just got a MRI report of his lumbar spine, they found a 1.2x0.7cm T1 and T2 hypointense vaguely peripherally enhancing lesion within the right iliac bone and a comment stating that metastic lesion is not excluded. This sounds very scary that he may have the metastic disease to his bone. I am so afraid and very cofused now and I don't want to tell him anything at this time until talking to his doctor. Next week, I will have other challenge to bring him to have MRI on the body, heart and prostate. It is just too much problems that he has.

    Thanks

    Alfred

    Yes, pain is a part of things for some of us, and considering your father's hemorroids, it makes sense that it would be painful for him as well. Ideally he won't need to strain, as that can aggravate the hemorroids, but we all know "ideal" doesn't always happen in the real world.

    "Not excluded" is a sort of medical weasel term if you will. It means "I don't want to say it's definitively there. but I certainly don't have the data to definitively say it's not there either." Typically, it's a way of telling a doctor, "you'll have to base this determination based on the other things you know about the patient, this test isn't conclusive by itself."

    I would say that asking his doctor your specific questions is probably the best course to take right now.

    Hang in there, it sounds like this is a difficult time for both of you.
  • tuby
    tuby Member Posts: 6
    Hi All,

    I just got my father PET/CT scan back today, bad news that the scan demonstrate evidence of tumor recurrence in the rectal pouch. There is a 2.1x2.0cm soft tissue density at the level of the medial aspect of the right rectus abdominus muscle. That may well be the reason why he felt a pull liagment pain. In addition, there are multiple signs of metastatic disease in the abdomen especially involving omentum and small bowel. Other than that, there is no liver and lung metastases found. He is feeling very down as he expects a good scan, he only completed his chemo in last Aug and last Oct he started to have the pain till now. How come this recurrent carcinoma back so fast? Not even 2 months, I hope his next chemo will do better. My family worries a lot about this recurrent being so quickly, hope this is not an advance or progressive cancer. Anyone that experience the metastic disease to the small bowel and abdominu mucles area, I would appreciate giving me some advise.

    Thanks

    Alfred