The Colon Club

So my mom is 75 and never had a colonoscopy.... to my dismay.
A few months ago she started experiencing vague abdominal pain and slight fatigue. A few days ago she noticed blood in the stool for the first time. Went to ER. CAT scan showed "mass" in right colon. She says it doesn't hurt unless the doctor presses on it.
Super scared. Since she's never had a colo this could be serious and widespread. I'm worried sick. My mom (God love her) is actually more calm than I. I'm just worried about the possible road ahead. So my question... for those of you that had similar symptoms, what can we expect? She goes for a consult today and colonoscopy will be scheduled.

emkaye wrote:...So my question... what can we expect? She goes for a consult today and colonoscopy will be scheduled.

I'm sorry to hear about your mother's situation.

What you can expect is that the next two to four weeks will be filled with various tests and pathology reports for determining (1) the exact nature of the "mass"' in the right colon, and (2), if the mass is cancerous, then the estimated stage of development (spread) of the cancer.

The doctor's won't know what to say exactly until all of the recommended tests are completed, and this could take some time. However, since your mother did have a CAT scan, the scan should already have given some information on possible spread of the mass to other areas covered in the scan. If the CAT scan was an upper-body scan and the report didn't mention any nodules or spots in the liver, lungs or other organs, then there is the possibility that the mass in the right colon is the only thing that they need to deal with right now, but you would have to check the CAT scan report itself, line by line,or talk to the radiologist, to see if the report mentioned any suspicious spots elsewhere in the scan.

Since this mass is in the right colon, the treatment would most likely involve surgery and chemotherapy. It would not involve radiation, since radiation is usually done only in the case of left-colon, rectal cancer cases.

The colonoscopy will no doubt take a biopsy sample of tissue from the "mass" and this sample will then be sent out to the pathology lab to be tested for cancer. The pathology report, when it finally comes in, will tell what type of "mass" this is and whether it is benign or malignant.

They might want to do some other types of scan, like a chest X-ray, an MRI scan or an ultrasound scan. You would have to ask the consulting doctor what he is planning to do. The various tests are designed to determine the T, N and M values in the TNM staging system (see link in footnote below). The TNM stage is what determines the sequence of treatments that will be assigned to the patient. They probably won't start any treatment until they have an estimate of what the TNM stage will be.

To learn more about Colon Cancer, you can read the document below:

NCCN Guideline on Colon Cancer
https://www.nccn.org/patients/guidelines/colon/index.html

O Stoma Mia wrote:

emkaye wrote:...So my question... what can we expect? She goes for a consult today and colonoscopy will be scheduled.

I'm sorry to hear about your mother's situation.

What you can expect is that the next two to four weeks will be filled with various tests and pathology reports for determining (1) the exact nature of the "mass"' in the right colon, and (2), if the mass is cancerous, then the estimated stage of development (spread) of the cancer.

The doctor's won't know what to say exactly until all of the recommended tests are completed, and this could take some time. However, since your mother did have a CAT scan, the scan should already have given some information on possible spread of the mass to other areas covered in the scan. If the CAT scan was an upper-body scan and the report didn't mention any nodules or spots in the liver, lungs or other organs, then there is the possibility that the mass in the right colon is the only thing that they need to deal with right now, but you would have to check the CAT scan report itself, line by line,or talk to the radiologist, to see if the report mentioned any suspicious spots elsewhere in the scan.

Since this mass is in the right colon, the treatment would most likely involve surgery and chemotherapy. It would not involve radiation, since radiation is usually done only in the case of left-colon, rectal cancer cases.

The colonoscopy will no doubt take a biopsy sample of tissue from the "mass" and this sample will then be sent out to the pathology lab to be tested for cancer. The pathology report, when it finally comes in, will tell what type of "mass" this is and whether it is benign or malignant.

They might want to do some other types of scan, like a chest X-ray, an MRI scan or an ultrasound scan. You would have to ask the consulting doctor what he is planning to do. The various tests are designed to determine the T, N and M values in the TNM staging system (see link in footnote below). The TNM stage is what determines the sequence of treatments that will be assigned to the patient. They probably won't start any treatment until they have an estimate of what the TNM stage will be.

https://www.nccn.org/patients/guidelines/colon/index.html

Thanks for your advice!
She is literally getting her initial consultation now. I've been saying prayers non-stop. Can hardly work today, I'm so nervous.

emkaye wrote:So my mom is 75 and never had a colonoscopy.... to my dismay.
Super scared. Since she's never had a colo this could be serious and widespread. I'm worried sick. My mom (God love her) is actually more calm than I.......

Hi emkaye,
Please do not worry. From what you have said it is just the beginning of a series of tests and it does take time. Please do not be concerned about what '..could be serious..' and know that the tests will show what isn't serious as well.
All the best.

Emkay, I could have written your exact post two months ago. Almost exactly. My mom is 75 and was feeling tired, losing weight and having pain in her right side abdomen area. She’s always been healthy and never had a colonoscopy. So right after the procedure, as Mom was recovering, doc came out to talk to my brother and Dad. I live on the opposite coast and didn’t even know this was going on because my mom never complains and didn’t want to worry me. Doc told them it was most definitely cancer but needed to wait for pathology report to be sure.

My brother called me to let me know what was going on and my stomach hit the floor and then I went numb. We’ve never had any major health issues in my family. No history of cancer. My grandmother is a spry 96.

I flew out to California to be with my mom after the diagnoses came from the path report. She had a right hemi and they removed 7 cm mass in her right cecum, along with about a third of her colon. The mass grew outside her colon and into her abdomen. I stayed with her in the hospital for a week while she recovered. Pathology came back T4N1M0 which means it was in one lymph node but not sign of mets.

She started chemo last week, on the Xelox regime. I have done endless reading and research about CC and treatment options. She is MSI which means she may carry the heritable gene that causes CC although no one else in our extended family has had it.

My advice is to read and research and give your Mom all the support you can, even though I know you are worried sick inside. Please feel free to PM me if you’d like to discuss more.

My heart and healing thoughts are with your Mom and family.

dauofcamom wrote:Emkay, I could have written your exact post two months ago. Almost exactly. My mom is 75 and was feeling tired, losing weight and having pain in her right side abdomen area. She’s always been healthy and never had a colonoscopy. So right after the procedure, as Mom was recovering, doc came out to talk to my brother and Dad. I live on the opposite coast and didn’t even know this was going on because my mom never complains and didn’t want to worry me. Doc told them it was most definitely cancer but needed to wait for pathology report to be sure.

My brother called me to let me know what was going on and my stomach hit the floor and then I went numb. We’ve never had any major health issues in my family. No history of cancer. My grandmother is a spry 96.

I flew out to California to be with my mom after the diagnoses came from the path report. She had a right hemi and they removed 7 cm mass in her right cecum, along with about a third of her colon. The mass grew outside her colon and into her abdomen. I stayed with her in the hospital for a week while she recovered. Pathology came back T4N1M0 which means it was in one lymph node but not sign of mets.

She started chemo last week, on the Xelox regime. I have done endless reading and research about CC and treatment options. She is MSI which means she may carry the heritable gene that causes CC although no one else in our extended family has had it.

My advice is to read and research and give your Mom all the support you can, even though I know you are worried sick inside. Please feel free to PM me if you’d like to discuss more.

My heart and healing thoughts are with your Mom and family.

Wow! Thanks so much for sharing your story! Prayers to your mom! My grandfather (her father) just passed away from natural causes at 97! I think he just got tired of living God rest his soul!

I wanted to update everyone.
My mom had her consult yesterday. She goes for colonoscopy on Tuesday (May 29th). They originally scheduled her colonoscopy for June 26! When the doctor's office called today to f/u she asked them to move it up if at all possible and they did!

So the consultation involved a rectal exam which revealed several hemorroids. My mom has had them previously but never internally. The doctor was pretty sure that was the source of her bleeding. Her bowel movements have been completely normal since then. She has had no other bleeding. She originally had one bout of diarreah (when she passed the blood) but she had eaten a large meal the night before and also taken 4 amoxicillans for dental work earlier that day.
The doctor suspects that the "mass" could be fecal matter but again they're not sure since she's never had a colonoscopy. Apparently the mass is small at this point but again no specifics until we have the colonoscopy.

THANK YOU everyone for your concerns and prayers! Reading these posts has helped me cope with all of this. I pray for all warriors on here! Fight on and God Bless!

P.S. I will keep everyone posted once we know more.

I'm sorry you and your mother are going through this!*hugs* I'm glad her colonoscopy was moved up. I hope her colonoscopy goes well!*hugs*

DarknessEmbraced wrote:I'm sorry you and your mother are going through this!*hugs* I'm glad her colonoscopy was moved up. I hope her colonoscopy goes well!*hugs*

Thank you!
Mom and I are waiting on pins and needles for the colo.

Please keep us posted and know we are thinking of you and your mom. Take it one day at a time.

Hi everyone,
Well mom had her colonoscopy yesterday. I knew something was wrong when they took her into a private room. I could see the look on the nurses face was kind of grim.
She has a rather large tumor (most likely cancerous) in her cecum. It was almost encircling the entire wall. Had she waited much longer and it could have potentially blocked off her colon entirely.
The good news... he said it appears to be contained within the colon and not spread outside.
She goes for her surgical consult on Monday and we'll know more. She is most likely looking at a hemi-colectomy (no ileostomy).
He said she may be able to have the surgery done laprosocpically. That would be a huge blessing. Has anyone else on here had it done laporscopically? Are there any increased risks?
I've been a mess since then. My father is 85 and in failing health. Mom has been his primary caregiver so this will be a big adjustment on our family.
I'm lining up a list of caregivers and supports for mom when I can't be there for her. I live locally but can only be there so much.

Hello!

I'm sorry you and your family are going through this, but the slight sliver of silver lining is that you caught it before it blocked her colon. Now you are able to formulate a plan, pick the best surgeon and hospital, and get that mess out! My husband had no symptoms other than some off and on mild cramping we thought was IBS, until he got so sick we ended up in the ER. A colonoscopy showed a mass that had grown so large it blocked his colon and he needed emergency surgery. He was supposed to have it done laparoscopically and they even picked a surgeon available who was skilled in that kind of surgery, but once she started she saw his colon was so swollen and dilated she had to open him up all the way. It is my understanding that laparoscopic surgery is easier to heal from since it's a few small incisions versus one huge one. She should also be less at risk of a hernia with the smaller incisions. Others who have had the surgery can give you a better idea of what to expect.

I know this is awful, but take heart that it was found and now they can remove it and work toward getting her better. Read some of the threads here, a lot of people who were staged at 3 or 4 are doing well and are showing no evidence of disease (NED) years later. It helps me a lot to read those stories, it gives me something to hold on to. Good luck to your mother and your family!

emkaye wrote:... She goes for her surgical consult on Monday and we'll know more. She is most likely looking at a hemi-colectomy (no ileostomy).
He said she may be able to have the surgery done laprosocpically. That would be a huge blessing. Has anyone else on here had it done laporscopically? Are there any increased risks?...

Risks and complications for a laparoscopic right hemi-colectomy are described in this article. To access this article you first have to register on their website (iregistration is free).

Laparoscopic Right Colectomy (Right Hemicolectomy) Technique
https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1535029-technique#c3

emkaye wrote:.... She is most likely looking at a hemi-colectomy (no ileostomy).
He said she may be able to have the surgery done laprosocpically. That would be a huge blessing. Has anyone else on here had it done laporscopically? Are there any increased risks?...

Right hemi-colectomy done laparoscopically 6 months ago.
5 incisions with 22 staples and 30cm removed - terminal ileum, cecum, appendix and most of the ascending colon.
The largest incision, about 4", was in the centre of my abdomen just above the pubic bone. The others were all about an inch, one inside the belly button, the other three on the left side of my abdomen.
I had a great surgeon, the oncologist even commented on how "neatly" everything was done.

Catheter was removed first thing in the morning the day after surgery and it was recommended that I walk as much as possible which I did. Surgery was on Monday morning, I was home Wednesday afternoon,
Although I've never had one I would guess the pain is similar to that after a C-section. I was able to manage the pain with Tylenol 3 although the nurses kept suggesting stronger meds.
First few days home going up and down stairs was painful but manageable, sitting up in bed though was much more painful - that lasted about 2 weeks.
I had some water retention in my hands and legs, but slept with my feet raised at night and it was gone each morning. It resolved itself as my pain level decreased so I never discussed it with the surgeon or my family doctor.
I was able to shower as soon as I got home without having to protect the incisions, but no baths allowed. Clean wash cloth and towel each time to prevent any chance of infection and everything was fine.
I had expected that bowel movements would be difficult but surprisingly they weren't.
Staples were removed about 3 weeks after surgery.

If you have any questions I'll be happy to try to answer them.

mob

Thanks everyone for your information and support! It has helped me tremendously.
Mom is in good spirits and feeling well. I hope this continues. The surgical consult is on Monday. So pray that we can get it done laporscopically and that her lymph nodes are clear.
I have a a whole list of caregivers and resources lined up for her.
Most of all, I have a whole army of people praying for her.
Thanks again,
I will keep you all posted.
God Bless!