New Member Having Surgery on Friday

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camicom
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 1:39 pm
Facebook Username: david galloway

New Member Having Surgery on Friday

Postby camicom » Wed Jul 17, 2019 1:58 pm

Hello, just turned 49. Always in shape, haven't eaten red meat in over 20 years, non smoker, light beer drinker, excercise 4-5 a week. No family history.
Mid may I had some rectal bleeding that I went to the ER for They did a CT scan with contrast and bloodwork. Everything came back normal. To be safe I scheduled a colonoscopy for mid June.

Well I'm glad I did. They found a 5CM tumor in my Transverse Colon. My wife and I were stunned. We stumbled out of there like zombies. They did blood work before I left and my CEA was 1.2 and rest of the BW was normal. I was orignally slated to have an oncology surgeon do an open transverse colectomy. After much research, including this forum I decided to pick a colorectal surgeon(came recommended from a friend of my primary who happens to also be a colorectal surgeon for infants. He asked him who he would choose and he said the surgeon I picked). He is going to do a Robot Assisted extended right hemicolectomy. I understand its takes more colon, but from what I've researched, its actually the preferred option. Also ahving it done lap is a big deal for me.

I kind of have an idea of what to expect. I had an abdomoplasty(Tummy tuck for excess skin) many years ago, recovery was a bit difficult. Couldn't straighten up for about 2 weeks. Assuming they don't have to convert to open during the surgery, I know I will get a catheter, but hopefull no other tubes. I had 5 drains from the previous surgery.

Would you guys please give me some advice and give me an idea of what to expect. I would very much appreciate it.

Dave
6/17 Colonoscopy 5cm Malignant Neoplasm in Transverse Colon
CEA 1.2
Stage 3A
BRAF Neg
11/23 CT scan showed multiple Liver Mets
12/03 MRI showed 35 Liver mets largest being 2cm many very small Not resectable
12/10 CEA 4.5nl
12/11 Port Placement
12/12 Liver Biopsy confirming tumor same type as before
12/17 Started FolFox with Avastin
3/21 MRI Showed average 40% shrinkage and tumor inactive or dead
4/15 Started 4000mg daily of Xeloda as Maintenance
6/24 CT scan showed no growth, everything stable

Beckster
Posts: 438
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2017 3:01 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: New Member Having Surgery on Friday

Postby Beckster » Wed Jul 17, 2019 6:12 pm

camicom wrote:Hello, just turned 49. Always in shape, haven't eaten red meat in over 20 years, non smoker, light beer drinker, excercise 4-5 a week. No family history.
Mid may I had some rectal bleeding that I went to the ER for They did a CT scan with contrast and bloodwork. Everything came back normal. To be safe I scheduled a colonoscopy for mid June.

Well I'm glad I did. They found a 5CM tumor in my Transverse Colon. My wife and I were stunned. We stumbled out of there like zombies. They did blood work before I left and my CEA was 1.2 and rest of the BW was normal. I was orignally slated to have an oncology surgeon do an open transverse colectomy. After much research, including this forum I decided to pick a colorectal surgeon(came recommended from a friend of my primary who happens to also be a colorectal surgeon for infants. He asked him who he would choose and he said the surgeon I picked). He is going to do a Robot Assisted extended right hemicolectomy. I understand its takes more colon, but from what I've researched, its actually the preferred option. Also ahving it done lap is a big deal for me.

I kind of have an idea of what to expect. I had an abdomoplasty(Tummy tuck for excess skin) many years ago, recovery was a bit difficult. Couldn't straighten up for about 2 weeks. Assuming they don't have to convert to open during the surgery, I know I will get a catheter, but hopefull no other tubes. I had 5 drains from the previous surgery.

Would you guys please give me some advice and give me an idea of what to expect. I would very much appreciate it.

Dave


Welcome! I had a right hemicolectomy in Nov of 2016. Just like you...prestine bloodwork...CEA 1.9(see my signature below) I went in for a screening and woke up with a 3.5cm tumor in the cecum. Colorectal surgeon performed a lap on Nov 4th at 9:00am and I was discharged on Nov 6th at 6:00am....did not need any pain medicine. I had a bagel and cream cheese the next morning. the first week I was sore trying to stand up, but after 5 days, I was fine! No drains and my catheter was removed the morning after surgery. Your best medicine is to walk, walk, walk. I started walking the morning after surgery...did 5-6 laps that day in the hospital and another before my husband came to bring me home....Good Luck!
57/F
DX:(CC) 10/19/16
11/4/16- Lap right hemi(cecum)
CEA- Pre Op (1.9), Pre Chemo (2.5)
Type: Adenocarcinoma
Tumor size:3.5 cm x 2.5 x 0.7 cm
Grade: G3
TNM: T3N0M0/IIA
LN: 0/24
LVI present
Surgical margins: clear
MSS
12/27/2016 - Capeox, anaphylactic
1/2/17 to 6/9/17- Xeloda
6/17,12/17,6/18,12/18,6/19,12/19,12/20,12/21 CT Scan NED :D
CEA- 6/17- 3.6, 9/17- 2.8 12/17-2.8, 3/18-3.1, 6/18-3.0, 9/18 2.8, 12/18 2.5 3/19 3.1 6/19 3.1 9/19 2.6 12/19 2.8 6/20 3.0 12/20 2.7 6/21 2.9,[color=#000000]12/21 2.7[/color]
Clear Colonoscopy 10/17, 11/19,11/21 :D

jmn
Posts: 48
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 8:20 pm
Location: New York/Philadelphia

Re: New Member Having Surgery on Friday

Postby jmn » Wed Jul 17, 2019 7:56 pm

Welcome to our neck of the woods! I, too, had a lap-assisted right hemicolectomy a year ago yesterday to remove a golf ball-sized tumor in my cecum. My experience was very similar to Beckster’s. The surgery went well—I walked around the hospital the next day, was discharged two days later, and didn’t need any painkillers. I wore an abdominal binder for about six weeks. Whenever I would feel a cough or sneeze coming on (I had a cold at the time), I hugged a pillow for dear life to support my abdomen and reduce pain.

Good luck on Friday. Let us know how everything works out for you.
DX: CC, 7-9-18 @ age 61, male
Severe anemia (4.5 g/dl), 5-11-18; colonoscopy, 6-29-18
Lap-assisted right hemicolectomy, 7-16-18
G2, cecal adenocarcinoma, 4.2 x 3.7 x 0.7 cm
Stage IIB, pT4aN0 (first pathology DX: pT3N0)
0/24 lymph nodes, LVI present, PNI present, surgical margins clear, MSS
CEA: 3.0 (pre-op, 7-10-18); 0.7 (post-op, 8-8-18)
TX: Xeloda (capecitabine), 10-16-18 to 4-21-19
5 years of clear scans and colonoscopies :D
Released from MSK surveillance, 7-20-23 - NED :D

camicom
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 1:39 pm
Facebook Username: david galloway

Re: New Member Having Surgery on Friday

Postby camicom » Wed Jul 17, 2019 8:38 pm

Thanks to both of you for the info. This surgery is supposed to take about as half as long as my TT did, so I am happy for that.
6/17 Colonoscopy 5cm Malignant Neoplasm in Transverse Colon
CEA 1.2
Stage 3A
BRAF Neg
11/23 CT scan showed multiple Liver Mets
12/03 MRI showed 35 Liver mets largest being 2cm many very small Not resectable
12/10 CEA 4.5nl
12/11 Port Placement
12/12 Liver Biopsy confirming tumor same type as before
12/17 Started FolFox with Avastin
3/21 MRI Showed average 40% shrinkage and tumor inactive or dead
4/15 Started 4000mg daily of Xeloda as Maintenance
6/24 CT scan showed no growth, everything stable

boxhill
Posts: 789
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:40 am

Re: New Member Having Surgery on Friday

Postby boxhill » Thu Jul 18, 2019 11:11 am

I gather they are pretty certain that there is no sign of lymph node involvement or mets? I'd ask your surgeon how much s/he can look around for things that might not appear on a CT while they're in there. Or maybe ask about the advisability of a pre-op MRI.

Good Luck!
F, 64 at DX CRC Stage IV
3/17/18 blockage, r hemi
11 of 25 LN,5 mesentery nodes
5mm liver met
pT3 pN2b pM1
BRAF wild, KRAS G12D
dMMR, MSI-H
5/18 FOLFOX
7/18 and 11/18 CT NED
12/18 MRI 5mm liver mass, 2 LNs in porta hepatis
12/31/18 Keytruda
6/19 Multiphasic CT LNs normal, Liver stable
6/28/19 Pause Key, predisone for joint pain
7/31/19 Restart Key
9/19 CT stable
Pain: all fails but Celebrex
12/23/19 CT stable
5/20 MRI stable/NED
6/20 Stop Key
All MRIs NED

camicom
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 1:39 pm
Facebook Username: david galloway

Re: New Member Having Surgery on Friday

Postby camicom » Thu Jul 18, 2019 2:13 pm

boxhill wrote:I gather they are pretty certain that there is no sign of lymph node involvement or mets? I'd ask your surgeon how much s/he can look around for things that might not appear on a CT while they're in there. Or maybe ask about the advisability of a pre-op MRI.

Good Luck!


I had the Pelvic/Abdomen CT with contrast done in Mid may and a chest one done late June. Also bloodwork is normal along with CEA. I'm assuming they will still look at the Liver, Panc, etc.

Thank you.
6/17 Colonoscopy 5cm Malignant Neoplasm in Transverse Colon
CEA 1.2
Stage 3A
BRAF Neg
11/23 CT scan showed multiple Liver Mets
12/03 MRI showed 35 Liver mets largest being 2cm many very small Not resectable
12/10 CEA 4.5nl
12/11 Port Placement
12/12 Liver Biopsy confirming tumor same type as before
12/17 Started FolFox with Avastin
3/21 MRI Showed average 40% shrinkage and tumor inactive or dead
4/15 Started 4000mg daily of Xeloda as Maintenance
6/24 CT scan showed no growth, everything stable

AmyG
Posts: 371
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2018 8:08 pm

Re: New Member Having Surgery on Friday

Postby AmyG » Thu Jul 18, 2019 8:26 pm

Hey!

I had a different bowel resection than you're going to get, but it was laparoscopic. I was also pregnant and had nothing but tylenol for pain relief.

For me, I was up walking a few hours after recovery. It really wasn't too awful. I did have some vomiting that was unpleasant but overall I'd call it an easy surgery.

Good luck with yours! Chewing gum will help wake up your guts, your nurses should offer it to you.
42 dx @ 9wks pregnant w/baby #8 8/18
Sigmoid colon resection 9/18
Adenocarcinoma, G2, T3N0M0..or so we thought
KRAS/BRAF wild
Liver biopsy is malignant, stage iv now boys!
Delivered healthy baby 3/19
FOLFOX + Avastin 5/19
CEA 167 to 24 after 4 rounds
Liver resection 8/28/19
NED!! CEA 2.3
CEA 5.8 idk wtf is up with that, but everything else is clear!
CEA 3.7 make up your damn mind...
CEA 1.5 that's a new low!

natelaugh
Posts: 95
Joined: Wed Apr 03, 2019 11:40 pm

Re: New Member Having Surgery on Friday

Postby natelaugh » Thu Jul 18, 2019 10:20 pm

Hi,

I was told and my dad had a tough time recovering after surgery. My dad had issues with small intestine ileus (not waking up).
My suggestion
1.) Only take pain med if needed because it can slow down recovery.
2.) Ask for an xray of your intestines to see if it wake up. If your intestine is swollen with gas, then it is not wake up.
3.) Don't rush to eat solid food if you are not ready because it can cause stomach to bloat up and might need a ng tube to suck the food out.
4.) Make sure the surgeon doesn't use one single loop stitches because it can fail easy. Use multiple stitches when closing the abdominal.
4.) Walk, walk and walk.

Good Luck,
Nate.
Caregiver to 80M
DX:CC,RC,desc
11/2018 rightPain
1/19/19 scopy,path
1/23 CTscan
2/19 surgery
2/26-2/28 NGTube
2/28-3/14 TPN bc ileus
3/2 2nd surgeryCloseOpenWound
3/4-3/28 woundVac
size: 6cm Adenocarcinoma
grade Poorly
Stage IIIC T3N2aMx
PositiveLymph:5of28
BaselineCEA:68
LVI:Y
PNI:N
Surgical margins:clear
MSI:MMR (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS2) Intact nuclear expression
Lynch status:N
Laparascopic, partial colectomy
CEA:3/28/19 2.8
Chemo:4/16/19-9/17/19 5FU,12cycles,every 14days,leucoverin,zofran,Dexamethasone

jep
Posts: 260
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2017 7:45 pm
Location: New England, USA

Re: New Member Having Surgery on Friday

Postby jep » Fri Jul 19, 2019 11:03 am

natelaugh wrote:Hi,

I was told and my dad had a tough time recovering after surgery. My dad had issues with small intestine ileus (not waking up).
My suggestion
1.) Only take pain med if needed because it can slow down recovery.
2.) Ask for an xray of your intestines to see if it wake up. If your intestine is swollen with gas, then it is not wake up.
3.) Don't rush to eat solid food if you are not ready because it can cause stomach to bloat up and might need a ng tube to suck the food out.
4.) Make sure the surgeon doesn't use one single loop stitches because it can fail easy. Use multiple stitches when closing the abdominal.
4.) Walk, walk and walk.

Good Luck,
Nate.


Great advice Nate! My husband dealt with ileus after his first surgery in 2017.....as we approach his 2nd surgery in August, I am going to share these tips with him....he did end up with the NG tube and I think it’s because he started eating solid foods too quickly....also, the pain meds were flowing....obviously you need to control the pain, but my husband had to ask them to give him less, and his pain was controlled with a much lower dose....
Stage IV CC 5/16/17
Loc: recto-sig
Type: Adenocarcinoma
Size: 7.4 cm
Grade: G3
TNM: T3N2M1
LNs: 8/20
BL CEA: .9
LVI: present
Perineural invasion: present
LAR margins: clear (w/in microns)
Folfox (8/17-1/18)
Scope 6/18 - CLEAR! - 2 polyps
PET 10/17/18: 3 pos LNs
Irino + Vecti (11/18)
CEA: 1.7 (2/19)
Xel + rad (5/19)
Surgery: 8/21/19 (aborted)
P1 Trial 10/19 - 12/19
Bypass 12/6/19
Folfox + vecti 1/2/19 - 4/3/20
Kid Fail 5/1/20
Folfiri + Avastin 5/20 - 6/20
bypass 6/29/20
Stivarga 7/18/20 -
Home 9/10/20

camicom
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 1:39 pm
Facebook Username: david galloway

Re: New Member Having Surgery on Friday

Postby camicom » Fri Jul 19, 2019 6:59 pm

Hello all. Had the surgery this morning. Goood news and bad news. Bad news is they had to convert to open because of the tumor location. They thought it was mid transverse but it was actually right around the Splenic flexture. The good news is the tumor was quite a bit smaller than they thought. Instead of a 5cm golf ball, its a 2cm quarter size.

How soon after OPEN should I be walking/ The pain right now is tolerable. I'm thinking first tomorrow morning walk.

Thanks again to all
6/17 Colonoscopy 5cm Malignant Neoplasm in Transverse Colon
CEA 1.2
Stage 3A
BRAF Neg
11/23 CT scan showed multiple Liver Mets
12/03 MRI showed 35 Liver mets largest being 2cm many very small Not resectable
12/10 CEA 4.5nl
12/11 Port Placement
12/12 Liver Biopsy confirming tumor same type as before
12/17 Started FolFox with Avastin
3/21 MRI Showed average 40% shrinkage and tumor inactive or dead
4/15 Started 4000mg daily of Xeloda as Maintenance
6/24 CT scan showed no growth, everything stable

Eleda
Posts: 328
Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2017 2:28 am
Facebook Username: adele Morgan
Location: Ireland

Re: New Member Having Surgery on Friday

Postby Eleda » Sat Jul 20, 2019 4:06 am

Wow, ur alert prety quick lol
Well done,,
I was up and about the next day,
First few days were difficult because of all the machines and cathater,( once that was out, I was like Zola bud lol)
I was late to the party with the reply, and read about ur tummy tuck,,
I also have had one 5 years ago but caused problems during my surgery,,,,
I had some skin necrosis at my public bone site and caused , tissue damage underneath so when they went to do my TATME, my stomach wouldn't blow up so he basacily did the surgery blind ,,,, 10.5hours later ( success)
Its nothing like the pain of a tummy tuck NOTHING!!!! LOL

GOOD LUCK WITH UR RECOVERY

Adele x
SWF, 47
Mom to 3 sons 6/8/12
Dec4th 2017 colonoscopy for minor intermittent rectal bleeding during Summer
CEA 4.4
DX T3 L3C M0 2.5/3 cm above AV.
JAN 3RD started 1650mg Zelda 2xday, with 28 radiation
Did tagamet 800mg daily and 75mg IV VIT C WEEKLY UNTIL SURGERY and
Tumor reduce by 80% 1 LN still remaining
TATME May10th, temp illeostomy
10/07/2018 CEA 3
MMR INTACT
Began FOLFOX July 10th
24/08/2018 Allergic reaction so next infusion lucovorin and 5fu
CEA 4
Second attempt with oxi aug 12th

Utwo
Posts: 285
Joined: Mon May 23, 2016 10:14 am
Location: T.O.

Re: New Member Having Surgery on Friday

Postby Utwo » Sat Jul 20, 2019 8:55 am

camicom wrote:... it was actually right around the Splenic flexture.
It's the best possible location for a colon cancer, beause it allows to save both ile-secal valve and rectum during surgery.

Just wait for histology report, but for now it looks like you had the best possible outcome (location + tumor size).
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

DarknessEmbraced
Posts: 3816
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2014 4:54 pm
Facebook Username: Riann Fletcher
Location: New Brunswick, Canada

Re: New Member Having Surgery on Friday

Postby DarknessEmbraced » Sat Jul 20, 2019 10:43 am

I hope your surgery goes well!*hugs* I had an open left hemicolectomy so I can't offer much advice except to walk as much as possible following surgery because it helps to get the bowels moving again. Also I found hugging a pillow when I coughed or sneezed helped it not pull as much on my incision. I had 23 staples.
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! :)

camicom
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 1:39 pm
Facebook Username: david galloway

Re: New Member Having Surgery on Friday

Postby camicom » Sun Jul 28, 2019 7:45 pm

Went home on day 3. It is know day 9 and am doing well. The only issue that really bugged me beside the incision was urinary irriation. I guess this is pretty normal after the catheter. It comes and goes, and I am sure it will go away completly the more active I become. Have first firm BM yesterday.
6/17 Colonoscopy 5cm Malignant Neoplasm in Transverse Colon
CEA 1.2
Stage 3A
BRAF Neg
11/23 CT scan showed multiple Liver Mets
12/03 MRI showed 35 Liver mets largest being 2cm many very small Not resectable
12/10 CEA 4.5nl
12/11 Port Placement
12/12 Liver Biopsy confirming tumor same type as before
12/17 Started FolFox with Avastin
3/21 MRI Showed average 40% shrinkage and tumor inactive or dead
4/15 Started 4000mg daily of Xeloda as Maintenance
6/24 CT scan showed no growth, everything stable


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