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