Father was diagnosed

[GeoChicago]

Hi Everyone,
My father who is rather elderly at 86 has been diagnosed with colon cancer. He's one of these types of old school men who never would go to a doctor even when pushed to do so. Well, he has been suffering from diarrhea for about a month and finally had a colonoscopy. They found a 4.5 cm tumor, affected area, in his rectum. I don't know many of the technical details but it is considered "well differentiated" which I understand can be a good thing all else equal? He'll be going in for a CAT and ultrasound scan next week. Is there any advice, info, or hope anyone can give me as we proceed to these next steps? is there anything I should watch out for or pay attention to so as to ascertain how this might turn out? Thank you all.

Regards...
G

[WriterGirl1969]

Hi Everyone,
My father who is rather elderly at 86 has been diagnosed with colon cancer. He's one of these types of old school men who never would go to a doctor even when pushed to do so. Well, he has been suffering from diarrhea for about a month and finally had a colonoscopy. They found a 4.5 cm tumor, affected area, in his rectum. I don't know many of the technical details but it is considered "well differentiated" which I understand can be a good thing all else equal? He'll be going in for a CAT and ultrasound scan next week. Is there any advice, info, or hope anyone can give me as we proceed to these next steps? is there anything I should watch out for or pay attention to so as to ascertain how this might turn out? Thank you all.

Regards...
G

Hi G.
So very sorry that your dad and your whole family are going through this. I can be a scary time. The one piece of good news is that generally colon cancer is pretty slow moving. That may factor in to what the doctors decide to recommend. Is your dad in good general health otherwise? I can tell you that when I was diagnosed, I actually felt like I was in the best health of my life, so it's a sneaky bugger, cancer. Hopefully your doctors will find out more and provide the whole family with some good, sound advice. Do keep us posted, and although we're always sad to see another person need this group, we're awfully glad you did find it. There's lots of great advice and info to be had.

Hugs and Prayers,
Tracy

[GeoChicago]

Hi Tracy,
Thanks so much for replying. Oddly, considering he's a pack a day smoker, eats bacon for breakfast, sausages for lunch, and TV dinners for dinner,d he seems to be in otherwise reasonable health. His blood pressure is perfect, his kidneys are functioning well, his several blood tests have come back normal, and his cholesterol levels are all in good shape. I think they said his heart is pretty good too. I've always thought of him as a bit of a genetic mutant because he always looked at least 10 years younger than he is. He can be a bit forgetful these days but I'm not sure if that's normal or not at his age (86). He is rather frail though at 122 lbs and 5'8'' tall. I recognized he was losing weight years ago and insisted he go see a doctor about it, but being the way he is he got irritated at me for even suggesting it and never did. I don't know if colorectal cancer itself leads to that sort of weight loss (he was always around 150 lbs) or if there is something else in addition to that going on.
Thanks again for replying.

Kindly,
G

[WriterGirl1969]

It's funny how that happens sometimes, isn't it? I think of it as the George Burns effect.
I would say that yes, cancer can cause weight loss, because it's one of the symptoms they look for while monitoring. However, my understanding is that it's a sudden or dramatic weight loss vs. gradual. Hopefully the doctors will have some answers for you soon, and some good advice on where to go. Keep us posted - I'm sure you'll be able to get some great advice and information here. We aren't doctors, but we're not afraid to share info, either.

Hugs and Prayers,
Tracy

[DarknessEmbraced]

I'm sorry for your father's diagnosis!*hugs* I hope his scans go well!*hugs*

[Maggie Nell]

Hi Tracy,
Thanks so much for replying. Oddly, considering he's a pack a day smoker, eats bacon for breakfast, sausages for lunch, and TV dinners for dinner,d he seems to be in otherwise reasonable health. His blood pressure is perfect, his kidneys are functioning well, his several blood tests have come back normal, and his cholesterol levels are all in good shape. I think they said his heart is pretty good too.

Gosh, and I bet he enjoyed every cigarette, every rasher of bacon, every snag, and there is nothing like the feeling of settling down
in front of a favourite show (or maybe the boxing) with a TV dinner (invented by NASA for astronauts weren't they?)
I do envy that generation: they never had a gym membership, never wore lycra, and ate what they liked free from hazard warnings!
We shall not see their likes again.

Sorry to hear about your dad and that he didn't quite make it out the door without having to deal with doctors....

[GeoChicago]

Hi Tracy,
Thanks so much for replying. Oddly, considering he's a pack a day smoker, eats bacon for breakfast, sausages for lunch, and TV dinners for dinner,d he seems to be in otherwise reasonable health. His blood pressure is perfect, his kidneys are functioning well, his several blood tests have come back normal, and his cholesterol levels are all in good shape. I think they said his heart is pretty good too.

Gosh, and I bet he enjoyed every cigarette, every rasher of bacon, every snag, and there is nothing like the feeling of settling down
in front of a favourite show (or maybe the boxing) with a TV dinner (invented by NASA for astronauts weren't they?)
I do envy that generation: they never had a gym membership, never wore lycra, and ate what they liked free from hazard warnings!
We shall not see their likes again.

Sorry to hear about your dad and that he didn't quite make it out the door without having to deal with doctors....

Yes, I know what you mean. Don't get me wrong...I'm very grateful he's made it this far without having gone to the doctor at pretty much any point in his lifetime. He's a freak of nature to some extent and I selfishly hope I'm blessed with his genetic material into old age. If he can get through this situation at present, I could see him living another 6 years at least. The next few weeks may shed some light on this.

G