Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17- still in hospital 11/15/17

Please feel free to read, share your thoughts, your stories and connect with others!
Utwo
Posts: 285
Joined: Mon May 23, 2016 10:14 am
Location: T.O.

Re: Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17- still in hospital 11/15/17

Postby Utwo » Sat Nov 18, 2017 11:42 pm

Please keep track of your temperature and pain.
You may want to see a doctor again if they fluctuate or go up.
These may be signs of active infection.
58 yo male at diagnosis: T1bN0M0, 0/15 nodes, low grade/moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma
03/2016 colonoscopy: 2 small polyps removed in left colon; CEA = 1.3
04/2016 colonoscopy: caecum sessile 3.5 cm polyp piecemeal removed with kind of clear margins
05/2016 "prophylactic" laparoscopic right hemicolectomy - bleeding, leak, infection
06/2017 CT scan, colonoscopy OK; CEA = 1.6
A lot of funny stuff discovered by CT scans in liver, kidney, lungs, arteries, gallbladder, lymph node, pancreas

User avatar
Maggie Nell
Posts: 1150
Joined: Wed May 27, 2015 1:57 am
Location: Central Highlands, Victoria, Oz

Re: Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17- still in hospital 11/15/17

Postby Maggie Nell » Sun Nov 19, 2017 12:13 am

NHMike wrote:They didn't have the trapeze attachments on the beds where I was but they didn't need to as the beds were electric and they could do all sorts of tricks. So you could use the electric motor to raise your upper body and then roll to the side and swing your legs out. There were handrails on the upper third of the bed as well and you could grab those to pull.

The approach that I use at home is to roll to the side. Then push my upper body to a sitting position using my near elbow and then hand along with my far hand. It's far from an elegant way to get out of bed. I know a lady with an incisional hernia (original surgery was for a weightlifting accident) and the doctors don't want to operate on her because of other risk factors. She wants them to put in a mesh. So better to heal up the right way the first time.



Ooo....now here's a question. When you have a right hemi and you're left-handed, do you have an
easier time with sitting up and so forth without aids?

Anyone left-handed who had a left hemi and noticed that extra degree of difficulty?
DX April 2015, @ 54
35mm poorly diff. tumour, incidental finding following emergency R. hemicolectomy
for ileo-colic intussusception.
Lymph nodes: 0/22
T3 N0 MX
Stage II CRC, no adjuvant chemo required.

User avatar
O Stoma Mia
Posts: 1709
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2013 6:29 am
Location: On vacation. Off-line for now.

Re: Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17- still in hospital 11/15/17

Postby O Stoma Mia » Sun Nov 19, 2017 3:45 am

Because of your multiple abdominal surgeries you may be at risk for small bowel obstructions (SBO) in the future. There are special diets to follow in order to minimize the chances of having SBOs in the future. Here is some further info on that:

http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=52932&p=417613#p417613

PS: Your signature is almost up to the limit of 500 characters. You might want to trim it down a bit with abbreviations, etc., so that you can include some other information. For example, if you do not have a temporary ileostomy now, then it might help to say "No ileo" in your signature so that people know what your current situation is.

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17- still in hospital 11/15/17

Postby NHMike » Sun Nov 19, 2017 7:31 am

Maggie Nell wrote:Ooo....now here's a question. When you have a right hemi and you're left-handed, do you have an
easier time with sitting up and so forth without aids?

Anyone left-handed who had a left hemi and noticed that extra degree of difficulty?


It's funny that you mention that as I think that the side that you get up on in the hospital depends on where you are in a semi-private room. I always got out on the left-side of the bed because I was on the left-side of the room. At home, it depends on how your bed is set up or which side of the bed you usually sleep on.

One nice thing about strength-training is that you train symmetrically so that you're strength is even between your left-side and your right-side. That's never really completely true because your dominant side is used more and you may favor one side for walking, running and doing things but overall, strength-training provides gives you generally comparable strength between sides. And I've come to depend on that in this recovery.

What has amazed me is how fast you lose strength if you don't maintain it. I did a Flexbar exercise yesterday (a rubber stick a foot long that you twist with your arms), and it took more effort than I'm used to. Last time I did it was a month ago.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

User avatar
susie0915
Posts: 945
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:17 am
Facebook Username: Susan DeGrazia Hostetter
Location: Michigan

Re: Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17- still in hospital 11/15/17

Postby susie0915 » Sun Nov 19, 2017 9:26 am

NHMike wrote:
Maggie Nell wrote:Ooo....now here's a question. When you have a right hemi and you're left-handed, do you have an
easier time with sitting up and so forth without aids?

Anyone left-handed who had a left hemi and noticed that extra degree of difficulty?


It's funny that you mention that as I think that the side that you get up on in the hospital depends on where you are in a semi-private room. I always got out on the left-side of the bed because I was on the left-side of the room. At home, it depends on how your bed is set up or which side of the bed you usually sleep on.

One nice thing about strength-training is that you train symmetrically so that you're strength is even between your left-side and your right-side. That's never really completely true because your dominant side is used more and you may favor one side for walking, running and doing things but overall, strength-training provides gives you generally comparable strength between sides. And I've come to depend on that in this recovery.

What has amazed me is how fast you lose strength if you don't maintain it. I did a Flexbar exercise yesterday (a rubber stick a foot long that you twist with your arms), and it took more effort than I'm used to. Last time I did it was a month ago.

This is so true Mike. I lost so much muscle especially being in the hospital for 3 1/2 weeks with my blockage. I looked at my arms and couldn't believe the loss of muscle. I tried to continue lifting weights during chemo but it did take time to get back to where I was. I think I'm pretty close now but have been out of treatment for a year and a half. Also, my running distance is getting close to where I was pre diagnosis. But I'm getting there and exercise helps me feel in control of fighting this disease and chance of a recurrence.
58 yrs old Dx @ 55
5/15 DX T3N0MO
6/15 5 wks chemo/rad
7/15 sigmoidoscopy/only scar tissue left
8/15 PET scan NED
9/15 LAR
0/24 nodes
10/15 blockage. surgery,early ileo rev, c-diff inf :(
12/15 6 rds of xelox
5/16 CT lung scarring/inflammation
9/16 clear colonoscopy
4/17 C 4mm lung nod
10/17 pel/abd CT NED
11/17 CEA<.5
1/18 CT/Lung no change in 4mm nodule
5/18 CEA<.5, CT pel/abd/lung NED
11/18 CEA .6
5/19 CT NED, CEA <.5
10/19 Clear colonscopy
11/19 CEA <.5

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17- still in hospital 11/15/17

Postby NHMike » Sun Nov 19, 2017 10:49 am

susie0915 wrote:This is so true Mike. I lost so much muscle especially being in the hospital for 3 1/2 weeks with my blockage. I looked at my arms and couldn't believe the loss of muscle. I tried to continue lifting weights during chemo but it did take time to get back to where I was. I think I'm pretty close now but have been out of treatment for a year and a half. Also, my running distance is getting close to where I was pre diagnosis. But I'm getting there and exercise helps me feel in control of fighting this disease and chance of a recurrence.


I'm glad that things are working out to getting back to where you were.

That's my #1 problem right now. My top speed walking is 2.7 MPH and top sustainable is 2.5 MPH. Drives me up a wall.

I'm going out to the gym in a few minutes to do some weightlifting. I was thinking of trying to bulk up the upper body while I can't do anything with abs and maybe doing leg extensions or something for the lower body. I can't do most of my bodyweight exercises as they work the core to some extent. During the week I think that I have less energy because I'm not working out. The Fitness Manager at work is having surgery in a few weeks and she's preparing us for that. There are a lot of people that don't re-rack weight plates, leave equipment out and she won't be able to put stuff back in place while she's recovering. So she basically warned everyone at work about that. She broke her collarbone in a cycling competition last year and she couldn't do quite a bit for a month so she's been through this stuff before and anyone that works out regularly hates downtime.

One thing that I've noticed with trying to increase pace and stride-length. It puts more stress on the stitches in my rear end as there's a little more blood back there after long walks. I imagine that running would likely pull them out or tear something.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

User avatar
O Stoma Mia
Posts: 1709
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2013 6:29 am
Location: On vacation. Off-line for now.

Re: Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17- still in hospital 11/15/17

Postby O Stoma Mia » Mon Nov 20, 2017 3:53 am

AlexMichelle wrote:... I tell you that I am going to ask every single person I meet 40 yrs plus if they have had a colonoscopy. I am a colonoscopy advocate now. I feel like because this tumor was Stage 1, I have a job to go out and tell everyone to get a colonoscopy...

If you are eventually going to become a CRC screening advocate, you might be interested in reading some of the articles in the French press. After all, you state in your profile that your interests are "...Francophile, speaking French, reading."


User avatar
chrisca
Posts: 246
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 10:35 pm
Location: Portland, Oregon

Re: Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17- still in hospital 11/15/17

Postby chrisca » Mon Nov 20, 2017 4:05 am

Usually the nurses tell you this, but just in case they didn't. If you feel a sneeze coming on, grab a pillow before you sneeze and firmly hold it over the abdominal incision to reduce strain on the stitches.
Male, false negative colonoscopy age 48
DX: 12/2010 rectal cancer age 51
Stage T3N0M0 2 cm from anal verge
neoadjuvant rad/chemo Xeloda
Rectal resection (open surgery) straight anastomosis
Xeloda round 2
ileostomy reversal 11/2011
Successful adhesion X-lap 8/2013
Ongoing LAR syndrome but NED 10 years

DarknessEmbraced
Posts: 3815
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2014 4:54 pm
Facebook Username: Riann Fletcher
Location: New Brunswick, Canada

Re: Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17- still in hospital 11/15/17

Postby DarknessEmbraced » Tue Nov 21, 2017 12:30 pm

Wonderful that you are a stage 1 and are in remission!*hugs* I hope that your bowels will get moving soon!*hugs* I found hugging a pillow when sneezing or coughing helped. Also at night when I went to sleep the nurses would bring warm sheets that I would put on my abdomen to help with cramping.
Diagnosed 10/28/14, age 36
Colon Resection 11/20/14, LAR (no illeo)
Stage 2a colon cancer, T3NOMO
Lymph-vascular invasion undetermined
0/22 lymph nodes
No chemo, no radiation
Clear Colonoscopy 04/29/15
NED 10/20/15
Ischemic Colitis 01/21/16
NED 11/10/16
CT Scan moved up due to high CEA 08/21/17
NED 09/25/17
NED 12/21/18
Clear colonoscopy 09/23/19
Clear 5 year scans 11/21/19- Considered cured! :)

AlexMichelle
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Oct 28, 2017 11:54 am
Location: California

Re: Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17- still in hospital 11/15/17

Postby AlexMichelle » Wed Nov 29, 2017 10:49 pm

OStomaMia, great article about early screening age in France. I am telling my daughters to get colonoscopies before age 40, especially now that their mother has had colon cancer.

I am now 3 weeks post op as of tomorrow and healing well. I walk a lot off and on throughout the day and am getting between 7,000 to 10,000 steps per day. I live in a two story house so I am going up and down stairs several times per day, doing loads of laundry, loading and emptying dishwasher, etc. I am not talking anything for pain, although I definitely still feel the effects of the open surgery. I'm still on a low residue diet and have frequent small bowel movements. Looking forward to no pain and regular bowel routine in the future.

I have been seeing mucous in my stool like I did before surgery, so I called my surgeon and he said not to be concerned. I can't imagine why I an seeing clumps of mucous three weeks after surgery. I meet with my surgeon and oncologist in a week just to see how I am healing and to plan for the ct scans every three months. They will also tell me what to eat and supplements to take to help prevent a recurrence. Oncologist already told me I will be on low dose aspirin once I have healed. Now taking 800 mg Tagamet per day (was put on it when we found out I had cancer) and need to find out if I should keep taking it for prevention.

I did not have a temporary bag and no colostomy. The future plan of action is to try to take great care of myself physically and mentally, take myself out of stressful situations, do the ct scans per schedule for 5 years, and a yearly colonoscopy for 5 years. I can only imagine how stressful it is for everyone who waits for results from those tests. Oncologist will also test me for Lynch syndrome since my mother died at age 43 of a fast growing malignant brain tomor.
F 9/14/17 blood, 10/05/17 endoscopy/colonoscopy 4.5 cm tumor lower colon/upper rectum/left side -11/09/17 open Rectosigmoid Colon Resection remove invasive adenocarcinoma, moderately diff marg clear.15 lymph nodes neg malignancy. benign liver w/fibrous nodule- rectum at 15cm Tumor location: above peritoneal reflection 4.2 x 2.7 cm Tumor inv muscularis closest 1.5 cm. pT2pNO Stage 1. No Lynch

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17- still in hospital 11/15/17

Postby NHMike » Thu Nov 30, 2017 6:56 am

It sounds like you're doing really well.

I still have the mucus coming out four weeks after surgery and I assumed that it's part of the healing process from the body given the trauma down there.

I have a 10 pound lifting restriction from the doctor but I typically carry in 20-30 pounds of stuff to/from the office.

It sounds like things went quite well for you. Yes, there's the mental worry which will probably be around for a while but physically you're doing great.

I'm in that 7,000 - 10,000 steps range right now though I did go up to 28,000 steps a few weeks ago as a challenge. I think that those steps really help your physical and mental well-being.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

AlexMichelle
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Oct 28, 2017 11:54 am
Location: California

Re: Open Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17

Postby AlexMichelle » Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:34 pm

NHMike, Wow, you are doing great. Now, you make me want to increase my steps with a challenge for myself! Did your abs feel sore when you reached 28,000 steps? I trained my abs extremely hard prior to surgery, but I find that I can feel stress in them if I walk longer than an hour at a time. I pace my steps throughout the day. I started lifting only 5 pounds in each hand today. My arms have become so flabby and weak in past 3 weeks. You made me feel such a peace of mind that you are also experiencing the mucous. The doctor did tell me not to be worried about it, but I still wondered if anyone else experienced it. I have the mucous every time I go to the bathroom. Must still be very raw in there.

Today is 3 weeks post op and I feel less pain today than days past. If anyone is reading this that is about to experience open surgery, just know that it takes about three weeks, at least in my case, before the pain is negligible. I took pain pills for two weeks and nothing after that. The first week was quite painful, but the hospital kept the pain under control, and I had expected much worse. The doctor say that it takes six weeks to heal, and I am halfway there and feel pretty good. I will stay on the low residue diet until Christmas. I was put on the diet in October, so it will be about 2 1/2 months that I will have been on a low residue diet.
F 9/14/17 blood, 10/05/17 endoscopy/colonoscopy 4.5 cm tumor lower colon/upper rectum/left side -11/09/17 open Rectosigmoid Colon Resection remove invasive adenocarcinoma, moderately diff marg clear.15 lymph nodes neg malignancy. benign liver w/fibrous nodule- rectum at 15cm Tumor location: above peritoneal reflection 4.2 x 2.7 cm Tumor inv muscularis closest 1.5 cm. pT2pNO Stage 1. No Lynch

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Open Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17

Postby NHMike » Fri Dec 01, 2017 9:15 am

AlexMichelle wrote:NHMike, Wow, you are doing great. Now, you make me want to increase my steps with a challenge for myself! Did your abs feel sore when you reached 28,000 steps? I trained my abs extremely hard prior to surgery, but I find that I can feel stress in them if I walk longer than an hour at a time. I pace my steps throughout the day. I started lifting only 5 pounds in each hand today. My arms have become so flabby and weak in past 3 weeks. You made me feel such a peace of mind that you are also experiencing the mucous. The doctor did tell me not to be worried about it, but I still wondered if anyone else experienced it. I have the mucous every time I go to the bathroom. Must still be very raw in there.

Today is 3 weeks post op and I feel less pain today than days past. If anyone is reading this that is about to experience open surgery, just know that it takes about three weeks, at least in my case, before the pain is negligible. I took pain pills for two weeks and nothing after that. The first week was quite painful, but the hospital kept the pain under control, and I had expected much worse. The doctor say that it takes six weeks to heal, and I am halfway there and feel pretty good. I will stay on the low residue diet until Christmas. I was put on the diet in October, so it will be about 2 1/2 months that I will have been on a low residue diet.


I was exhausted that evening of the 28K steps (it was 9 miles and it took me 4 hours to do). There was a reason for doing it as I had the two-week post-op appointment and I wanted to know whether or not I could make it to the appointment using public transportation (I'm about 50 miles from my hospital). There were some aches and pains here and there but not in the lower abs where the scar is. I usually stopped or slowed down when there were aches or pains. Or I stopped altogether to take a break. I did not walk more than 1 hour at a time. So it was done in several 1-hour segments with significant breaks in-between.

I think that it's a good idea to train before surgery if possible. The abs are important for us if we're going to have open surgery but I like to focus on the core because those muscles will be in bigger demand to compensate for the abs not being able to do their normal work.

Here's one of my favorite exercises that I probably won't be able to do for a while: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abCh7XyZXOw

The level of pain after open surgery varies widely from person to person. I've seen people that take meds for a day or two after the surgery and then that's it while others have taken the pain meds for a month after surgery. I didn't take any pain meds after leaving the hospital and didn't take that much in the hospital. Most of the pain, for me, was due to the catheter and the ureter stents and the pain was relieved by nurses emptying out the bag.

I did a lot of strength-training on the Cybex machines at the gym a week ago and overdid it. There was one exercise in particular, the Rotary Torso, that I probably shouldn't have done. I'm going to hit the machines today though. It's a good feeling after a strength workout.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

menreeq
Posts: 70
Joined: Fri Jun 30, 2017 10:26 am

Re: Colorectal cancer surgery 11/09/17- still in hospital 11/15/17

Postby menreeq » Fri Dec 22, 2017 2:33 am

Late reply but I was told my daughters should get their colonoscopy 10 years before my age at diagnosis -- that's 31 for them. I have no fam history or Lynch or other familial cancer syndrome per Genetic screen. The presence of these could change recommendations for first scope.
Stage IIA rectosigmoid CC (T3N0M0)
Dx 6/5/17 @age 41ls
Workup: c-scope, EUS, rectal MRI, CT C/A/P
AdenoCA 5.5cm, WHO Grade 2, 0/22 LN, no distant mets
CEA 1.9 (6/5/17), 0.8 (2/28/18), 1.0 (9/17/18), 1.1 (4/16/19), 1.0 (9/24/19), 1.7 (7/8/20)
No lymphovasc/perineural invasion, clear margins
MSI intact, OncotypeDx RS 7
Lap sig colectomy 6/23/17, no ileo/colostomy
Genetics neg for mutations, 4 VUS
Xeloda monotherapy 8/13/17-1/22/18
PET/CT 3/21/18 NED
CT C/A/P 9/17/18 NED, 3/8/19 NED, 9/19/19 NED, 5/13/20 NED


Return to “Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum”



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 25 guests