Diagnosed with rectal cancer - please handhold....

[Prettysunset]

Not me, but my brother. He has already had cancer once but unrelated. Now has a 5 cm tumour and has just discovered it's rectal cancer. It hasn't spread and he has an appointment next week to discuss treatment.

What can we expect? Are there any specific questions he should ask?

I'm so scared and could use some reassurance. Our mum died of an unrelated cancer when she was in her early 40s so I am doubly, triply, terrified.

If it hasn't spread the outlook is good,family member had the op to remove tumour,fitted with temporary stoma,not the most plèasant thing to deal with but it a a lifesaver.The colorectal nurses are super,arrange delivery of all the supplies he will need.The system is seamless.
It has been four yrs and he remains well.No other treatment was required and four months later the bowel was reattached.
Message if you need anymore information.

Treatments will have improved since your Mum had cancer. Hand hold from me

A colleague of mine was diagnosed with that about six years ago. He is alive and well.

Thank you so much. This is very reassuring. He has a meeting next week & I’ve said I’ll help him make a list of questions. If anyone had ideas, I’d be grateful. I’m worried about the idea of a stoma as I don’t think it’s occurred to him yet. I’m also worried about Covid delaying things, and the actual staging of it. I guess they won’t know this until his op.

@Prettysunset

I have a bit of experience of this - Try not to worry too much and don't worry about the stoma/bag thing.. if he needs one the modern systems are generally straight enough to cope with once you've got used to them.

To avoid completely outing myself I've tried sending you some more details via a message - hope you get it.

My husband has coped with 2 stoma for the last 15 years. He had what we were told was bladder cancer but things were far worse than anticipated. Stoma care was daunting but we had ongoing support from stoma nurses. The equipment he uses is foolproof. The surgery saved his life basically. Stoma is a small price to pay.

@notimagain Thank you so much. That's really helpful. Your message has given me hope.

@Smudgeis13 That has given me hope, too. It really does sound like the stoma have been a small price to pay. I'm sure my DB would feel the same. It feels like we are up for a long journey ahead.

My best friend had this and has a stoma now. She says it’s really easy to sort out and a small price to pay for being cancer free. I hope your dB will be ok 😘

I was diagnosed with rectal cancer 2 years ago after screening. No symptoms whatsoever and it hadn’t spread. I was given a bowel resection (6 inch cut and some keyhole) where the affected part was cut out leaving me with 5 cm of rectum (important). I was offered chemo but the surgeon assured me the cancer was all gone so I didn’t have it. I had a stoma for 4 months while the internal scar healed.

Stoma was a bit of a nuisance but I recovered well and got back to hiking, running, cycling and swimming. I learnt to live with The stoma pretty well.

The stoma was reversed and I had a fairly tough few months while my bowel got it’s act together and learned to cope with 20cm of it missing and only having 5cm of rectum. 18 months later I am coping with an irregular bowel system but living life to the full. I still have regular checkups and will do so until I am cancer free for 5 years.

It’s a lot to go through but it beats having full blown bowel cancer.

Thanks again for all your experiences. I appreciate the sharing so much. It’s given me a clearer idea. Really grateful.