Chemo not working

[EyUpThereLass]

DGF has stage 3 bowel cancer. He had it a couple of years ago, got the all clear then it returned. He's been having chemo in the hope it would shrink the tumour so he could have it operated. It hasn't changed.
They are now trying radiotherapy in the hope it will shrink it. Has anyone any experience of this? Does radio often give better results than chemo in shrinking tumours? Thank you.

I think it depends on the cancer. My mum had similar, they did chemo/radio prior to the surgery in the hope of shrinking it to make surgery easier. It didn't shrink it but they did surgery anyway. She is still clear 10 years later. Best of luck to your DGF

I have stage 3 bowel cancer and before treatment I was bleeding a lot. By day 3 of a 5 day intensive radiotherapy course it had stopped bleeding and I felt a whole lot better, so yes it can help. I had chemo too and my scans showed that whilst the cancer was still there it had shrunk significantly. Have since had a big old op where it’s all been removed.

can I suggest popping over the bowel cancer uk’s website? They have a great forum on there with loads of knowledgeable people. There is also a bowel cancer Facebook group which too can be helpful.

A friend of my mothers had radiotherapy and it did the trick for him. However, it may be returning now as he's had blood in his stool again. He's 91 though, so having had a good six months without pain has been worth it for him. He didn't have chemo first.