Hello,

I know this may seem a bit redundant, but I guess everyone's situation is different. I am looking for any insight. I am so scared & devistated. I would appreciate any helpful advise or hearing other peoples experiences. Since we have both been believers in natural heath, all the "techical terms" are somewhat baffling. Here is the rundown.

I am 24/F, my 57 year old mother may have rectal cancer. She got a colonoscopy on Fri and the Gastrinologist (sp?) said he thinks its cancer. My first question is, how can he tell it is cancer. He never said that it may not be cancer...so maybe it was the appearance of it?? He did take a biopsy, so I guess the results have to come in for that to be absolutely sure, but the Doc never said that it may not be. She has had blood in her stool for over a year now. Went to the GP when it first started and he said it was just hemmoroids...obviously its not! So, Doc says that where the tumor lies (near her anus) that she will most likely have her entire rectum removed and get "the bag". Plus, he also mentioned radiation therapy. My question is...

Is getting her rectum removed (and getting the bag) the only way?

Since she has had the bleeding for over a year, could there be a good possibility that it may have spread quickly? I am praying that it is in the lower stages.

Any ladies out there that have the "bag" (sorry can't spell the technical term) and are still able to wear their same clothing? Also, are there noises that come with it? My mom has a tendancy to wear form fitting clothes, so she is worried it would be visible. Her and my father were divored 4 years ago, so nevertheless she is devistated with the fact that she may never be comfortable to be "intimate" with someone ever again.

Any of you had results shrinking tumors with either Essiac tea, Vitamin A, Megadoses of Vit C, Coenzyme Q10, or special diets?

She has already begun eating healthier (although she already was) with organic fruits & vegetables, brown rice & various supplements. What baffles me is that she grew up vegetarian for most of her life, exercises and would be considered a lot healthier that the average population. Must be stress related for her....that is the only conclusion I can draw.

Thanks for reading!

A healthy lifestyle certainly reduces the odds of getting any cancer but does not eliminate it. I have researched the mega dose vit. C regimen and although it has not been shown to hurt it has not been shown to have any effect on existing cancers. The clinical trial showed more response from the placebo than from the Vitamin C.

As for the cancer your Mom has.
Tumours look different than hemmerhoids. Hemmerhoids are a smooth bump while tumours are lumpy. That's the easy part of identification.
The biopsy will have to go to pathology to get a definitive identification of what the growth is before the doctors decide on a course of action. You would not want to undergo a rectal resection/chemo and radiation because of a benign growth. I had a tumour in the same place. (male, 45 at diagnoses) It was too involved in the rectal wall to remove and I had to have the entire rectum removed and I have a permanent colostomy. The stoma is located just to the left of my navel. It shows a bit through clothing but those who don't know I have one don't seem to notice it. I notice it but then I am looking down at it, not face on.

Form fitting clothing may not be in order at least at first while healing from this surgery if it comes to that. At first I wore pants one size larger and held up with suspenders. I now wear the same clothing I wore before, right sized pants with a belt. I simply have to wear the belt lower than before. Car seat belts can go over or under the stoma.

There are ostomy forums on the web for support and info. Type "ostomy forums" into google for a list.

Thanks for your reply. Another question would be whether there is a chance the cancer has spread? Was yours just secluded to your rectum, or had it gone beyond? I am not sure what is the most common, whether it has a tendency to spread quickly, or slowly. She will not get surgery if the tumor turns out to be non-cancerous, but at this point, we're waiting to see what the verdict is.

As for the next steps, I will go with her to the surgeon to talk about treatment. What would be a good example of questions I should ask? Could she not get her colon sewn to her anus? I have heard that may be possible. I guess if it is cancer, she will need to get various tests to determine if it has spread. Will this require surgery too, or do they just do some sort of scan.

Thanks again for your input!

Hi there,
Well we seem to be in the same boat. My mother too was told before the pathology came back that she had rectal cancer, and the Dr was right, the pathology confirmed it. My mom has had ulcerative colitis since she was in her 20's, however went into remission & never really bothered her after that. Because of her history she was told she must have everything removed, and she too will have to use an appliance (the bag). This is so devistating to her. I would love to chat with you about this, my mom goes for surgery tomorrow.
Talk to you soon.

luv4mom,

Yes, I would love to talk to you further. Good luck to your mom tomorrow on the surgery...keep me posted. I find this all so hard to believe since she has no past medical history, plus no one on that side of the family has ever had any kind of cancer.

I will let you know how everything goes with my mom after her surgery tomorrow... we are all very nervous. Colon cancer does not run in my family either. The doctor told her she has probobly had this for about 6 months or so. Anyway, I wish there was another way to communicate with you other than posting here... do you know how we can do that?

I will let you know how everything goes with my mom after her surgery tomorrow... we are all very nervous. Colon cancer does not run in my family either. The doctor told her she has probobly had this for about 6 months or so. Anyway, I wish there was another way to communicate with you other than posting here... do you know how we can do that?

I will let you know how everything goes with my mom after her surgery tomorrow... we are all very nervous. Colon cancer does not run in my family either. The doctor told her she has probobly had this for about 6 months or so. [ removed ]

Could she not get her colon sewn to her anus?

That can sometimes be done but it rarely means you have total control. It would mean wearing "Depends"type undergarments forever. In that case it comes down to wearing a diaper or having a colostomy. I am biased since I have a colostomy but I really would rather have it than be soiling a diaper with all attendant smells, everyday.

Also, if the tumour is too close to the anus itself then there are two things involved. First they always want to take material near the tumour out as well to ensure they get as much as possible or all of it. This is refered to as "margins" and if the anus falls in the margins it gets removed as well. Secondly even if the margins are kept tight and the anus is saved, the nerves that control it run right behind the rectum and if they are damaged you could have no control of those muscles. Ask the surgeon about this and how close to the anus the growth is.

A CAT scan or MRI is done to look for metastsis which is spreading to other organs and is often called mets. I had no mets that could be observed. The usual site for mets after colon cancer are the liver and the lungs. Sometimes they will also require sugery as well. Often though, they are small and are treated by chemo and/or radiation.

You can ask for a second opinion on options, you can suggest another facility from which you want a second opinion. You will have to search for that facility. Places such as Sloan-Kettering or (and I might not have this name quite right) Cancer Centers of America. However this will cost you in both time and money.

Keep posting here and I will answer what I can, so will the others.

As the moderator has said though, the rules are no e-mail addresses and no website urls are allowed here.

Jaydees,

Thanks for the info. Yes, I posted my email....admist the excitement of finding this site, I didn't read the posting rules throughly! :nono:

I think I would rather have the colostomy than having no control too. I've printed up a big list of questions to ask when we see the surgeon. I really an praying that is hasn't spread. But, on another note, would rectal cancer be considered one of the more deadly forms of cancer? I am so scared that we will go in there and he'll say something like she may only have a year to live!

With this type of cancer, is there typically a good chance of full recovery?

Also, how long would you be in the hospital after a colostomy?

Thanks again!

A lot of people die of colon cancer but that is because it is one of the more common cancers. As for deadliness, pancreatic cancer and glioblastoma(brain cancer) are much more dangerous. The greatest survival rate I believe is for skin cancer but that is likely due to the fact that the person can actually see the small changes on their skin while cancers inside of us have to cause symptoms before we see a doctor.

Part of the good news is the very fact that we can live without much of or even any of our colon and that allows surgeons to remove the tumours relatively easily. This is of course not true for the brain.

I survived!

I have had colo-rectal cancer about 3 yrs. ago. As for all your questions, I found the surgeon really covers the bases AFTER the results are in.
If it is cancerous, they will talk to your mother about all potential scenarios as I was given, including the bag. My daughter,18 at the time, sat thru the explanations and then she knew exactly what was said and what we were dealing with. They are very straightforward and don't pull any punches. They give you a worst case scenarion and then if it is better, that is the good news.
I ended up having the biopsy be cancerous, a large, aggressive, growth in the rectum. But... I only needed surgery. I didn't have to have chemo or radiation. I took that IP6 for tumor reduction, a supplement at your health store. I also prayed with the intent to shrink the tumor, and when they operated, it was shrunk some, they said. I knew what did that. I wish your mom well and my surgeon told me immediately to think positve . So, I did.
Take it step by step, there will be many procedures such as ultrasound to go thru to check if it has spread, but ultimately, they don't really know the whole picture for sure until they are operating. I really hope this helps in some way.
God Bless,
Soleil11