IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE ON THIS SITE,PLEASE READ THIS - ALL THE WAY!!
In September 2009, and at the age of 64, I was diagnosed with bowel cancer. The diagnosis was a a result of tests followed collapsing at work due to severe anaemia. To say it came as a bit of a shock would be an understatement. Two months later I underwent almost seven hours of surgery to remove a lump the size of a grapefruit. The tumour had attached itself to my bowel, bladder and intestine and in the few days before the operation I actually started passing poo in my urine as the connecting wall between my bowel and bladder had ruptured. As a result of the damage caused, as well as having part of my bowel removed around one third of my bladder had to go as well as a bit of my intestines. It was also necessary to fit me up with a loop ileostomy. A long period of recuperation followed, including six months of tablet chemotherapy. Having regained what appeared to be good health I was able to resume what passes at our house for normal life. Tests were then set up for reversing the ileostomy Unfortunately that was not going to happen.
Scans indicated that the tumour had flared up again, and brought along with it some little friends in the form of small secondary spots on my liver and lung. If the first bout was a shock, this just stunned me. I wasn't expecting anything like this at all, but had to prepare for a second round of surgery, and In February 2011 I had another six hours under the knife.
Scans indicated that the tumour had flared up again, and brought along with it some little friends in the form of small secondary spots on my liver and lung. If the first bout was a shock, this just stunned me. I wasn't expecting anything like this at all, but had to prepare for a second round of surgery, and In February 2011 I had another six hours under the knife.
Sadly things weren't as straightforward as had been hoped. First I had to have a ureteric stent inserted in the tube between kidney and bladder as a precaution against damage during the operation. The bowel tumour had spread to the top of my left leg and wrapped itself round the arteries. These had to be cut out and scraped clean before being reconnected, and some lymph nodes had to be removed. When all that had been done I underwent a liver resection to remove the diseased area there.
I was told that my cancer had been quite aggressive and that if I hadn't had that surgery I would have quickly become seriously ill. I was certainly having my money's worth out of the NHS by now, and my consultant was quick to point that out. At a follow up clinic, he said to me, "The operating theatre was very crowded during your operation. Besides me (the liver surgeon), there was a urologist, a vascular surgeon, and a colorectal surgeon. In fact the only department at this hospital not represented was Gynaecology"!
So, more loafing around trying to get better and waiting for the tests to see if all the work these fantastic people had done was paying off. Initial scans were clear and hopes were high. The ureteric stent was removed and plans were made for the usual course of follow-up chemotherapy.
In May 2011 my left leg, still painful from the surgery, started to swell badly so my GP sent me for an ultrasound scan to check for a DVT. This test showed no such thing, but obviously something was wrong so a CT scan was carried out, and yet another blow was about to land. This showed extensive blood clotting in the area at the top of my left leg due to pressure from yet another tumour flare up and from scar tissue from the two operations. Unfortunately secondary cancer spots had also returned to my liver. As if that wasn't enough the cancer spot in my lung had been joined by a blood clot.
Now that's a bit serious, and the doctor didn't even want me to drive home in case it worked loose and saw me off! A course of injections to thin my blood and aid the dissolving of the clots was prescribed, and I am still having to jab myself daily as a precaution. The leg swelling has now almost gone, but the aforementioned problems were also restricting my kidney function by putting pressure on my ureter, and so back into hospital to have the stent replaced. I've also been left with a mobility problem due to the after effects of surgery. Pottering about at home is OK, but even short walks need the aid of a walking stick, and for anything further I have to use my little electric buggy. Mind you, every cloud has a silver lining. They've given me a blue badge so I can park just about wherever I like!
So, I'm currently undergoing some serious chemotherapy. I have a PICC line in my arm and on alternate Tuesdays I spend several hours at Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield on assorted drips. When that's done they hook me up a pressure infusion bottle to push even more chemicals into my system over the next 48 hours while at home, during which time I also have to take steroids. Marie has been trained to change my dressings, remove the empty infuser, flush out my PICC line etc., though she still won't wear a nurses uniform! All this keeps me away from the hospital as much as possible, though I do have to pop into Rotherham Hospital on the Friday prior to treatment for a quick consultation and blood test.
There are lots of possible side effects of chemo. To start off the only one manifesting itself was problems with fatigue, but more recently one of the chemo drugs is causing pain in the fingers if I pick up something cold, out of the fridge for example. I recently took something from the freezer and immediately had to drop it the pain was so bad! Once the item is put down the pain goes. Weird of what?
I can't say that I feel ill, and I look disgustingly healthy after what's happened, but I am completely cream-crackered right now, and it will no doubt get worse before it gets better. What happens after this is anyone's guess.
The next bit is the most important bit.
Why am I telling you all this? Well, it's a warning that if you don't read and act on what I've got to say next you might have to put up with the same or something similar, and I wouldn't want ANYONE to have to go through it.
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best
Back in 2009 the question arose as to why my cancer had got so far advanced before being diagnosed without me having any warning signs. The answer was simple. I did have warning signs - I just didn't recognise them. So what are the signs of bowel cancer? The following list has been lifted from the NHS website.
Early bowel cancer may have no symptoms. Some symptoms of later bowel cancer can also occur in people with less serious medical problems, such as haemorrhoids (piles). See your doctor if you notice any of the symptoms below. The initial symptoms of bowel cancer can include:
- blood in your stools (faeces) or bleeding from your rectum
- a change to your normal bowel habits that persists for more than six weeks, such as diarrhoea, constipation or passing stools more frequently than usual
- abdominal pain
- unexplained weight loss
As bowel cancer progresses, it can sometimes cause bleeding inside the bowel. Eventually, this can lead to your body not having enough red blood cells. This is known as anaemia, the symptoms of which include:
- fatigue
- breathlessness
In some cases, bowel cancer can cause an obstruction in the bowel, the symptoms of which include:
- a feeling of bloating, usually around the belly button
- abdominal pain
- constipation
- vomiting
When to seek medical advice
See your GP if you have any of the symptoms above. While the symptoms are unlikely to be the result of bowel cancer, these types of symptoms always need to be investigated further.
I didn't have the blood loss problem, otherwise I'd have been off to the doctors as quick as a flash, but I did have almost all of the other problems on and off over the two years prior to being diagnosed. I simply put it all down to life in general and the onset of old age in particular. Had I realised what was happening to me and done something about it earlier I might not be in the state I'm in now.
The intention of this story is not to cause panic, but simply to say that it doesn't matter how young or old you are, watch out for the signs.
It's important that if your body isn't behaving as you'd like or expect DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. What you've got is probably not cancer. You might just have simple stomach ache, or constipation, or diarrhoea, or piles, but GET IT CHECKED OUT. Go see your GP and INSIST on tests.
YOU'VE READ MY TALE OF WOE. NEED I SAY MORE?
The intention of this story is not to cause panic, but simply to say that it doesn't matter how young or old you are, watch out for the signs.
It's important that if your body isn't behaving as you'd like or expect DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. What you've got is probably not cancer. You might just have simple stomach ache, or constipation, or diarrhoea, or piles, but GET IT CHECKED OUT. Go see your GP and INSIST on tests.
YOU'VE READ MY TALE OF WOE. NEED I SAY MORE?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and don't forget to TELL YOUR FRIENDS THE SAME.
August 29th 2011
Updated 8th September 2010
