Colorectal Cancer Surgery

Question: how many types of surgery are there for the treatment of colorectal cancer? what are the types of surgery avaiable?

Answer: There are many different types of surgery and different names for the operations. However the two main procedures are: partial removal of the large bowel with rejoining of the two ends of bowel so that bowel function is normal partial removal of the large bowel without rejoining of the two ends of bowel. This leaves a stoma (opening) on the abdominal wall that is fitted with a bag to collect waste and the lower end of the bowel is just sewn over leaving a stump at the rectum. This sort of operation is sometimes done initially and then the two ends are rejoined at a later date. Hope this helps!

Question: any ideas other than government where i can obtain financial asistance while going thru cancer surgery? i have been diagnosed with colorectal cancer . i will start chemo next week and then surgery to remove a mass in my colon. i have got the medical bills covered but i will need assistance with my house rent and utilities until i can get back on my feet. Does anyone have any ideas where to go other than government programs. A deferred loan would even help

Answer: Check with your local Cancer Society. They can often lend a helping hand or guide you to where you can get assistance. Also, perhaps your friends and family can hold fund-raisers. Don't let pride hold you back from the last suggestion. My husband and I had to resort to accepting help from family and friends. My thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. Stay positive and keep your belief in recovery. My husband is living proof of what great doctors, prayers and positive thought can do. You are NEVER alone.

Question: I have a question about colorectal surgery? My husband is having colorectal surgery next week due to cancer. He will have a temporary iliostomy to be reversed at a later date. How difficult is it to return to normal function after the reattachment?

Answer: It shouldn't be too extremely difficult. However, if it is incesantly difficult your doctor may have done something wrong or unnecessary.

Question: my husband had colon cancer surgery now he has a leakage. Is this normal? In September last year my husband had surgery to remove the cancer that was in his colon. He has had a really bad discharge from the rectum, sometimes it has a very fowl odor. Is this normal after colorectal surgery? In Sept. last year my husband has colorectal surgery to remove cancer.He had a discharge from the rectum and it had a fowl odor to it. At that time he had an infection and was immediately put on an antibiotic. Since then, the discharge went away but about three months ago he had a back surgery where they found that he had a bacterial infection in his spine with came from the bowel. He's been on an IV antibiotic (cefepime) for the last 12 weeks. All of a sudden he's having severe cramping and the discharge is back along with the fowl odor. I called the colon and rectal surgeon that did his cancer surgery and he said the it was normal not to worry about it (that's all he ever tells us). Is this normal???? I'm so afraid something is seriously wrong here and no one has any answers for me :(

Answer: No. call his doctor now. When I read this question, I thought he just had the surgery but it was last Sept. He shouldn't be having any leakage. Is he on antibiotics for something? That's important to know. If he didn't have this leakage right after surgery, he shouldn't have it now. Please, call his DR.

Question: What is the guide for determining the amount of xeloda PILLS that are given during chemo for colorectal cancer? Microscopic cells that technology could not "see" three years ago were found in 3 out of 34 lymph nodes after surgery removed the entire stage 1 tumor...I know it is directed by body weight ; but I can find no guidelines...

Answer: If you have a T1 tumor and 3 of 34 lymph nodes positive you have a stage 3A cancer, assuming there are no mets. Xeloda is chemotherapy and I’m not sure the dosage is determined by body weight. I believe it is determined by the disease. Prescribing drugs is not part of my job or something I need to know, but if you have questions about any prescribed to you, you should speak to the doctor who prescribed it. If you need to know right now you can ask your pharmacist.

Question: what can I do to help my mil who has just gotten a coloectomy? my mother in law just had colorectal cancer surgery and she has to have a colectomy bag now. What are some ways to support a person who is going through something like this?

Answer: So sorry about your M-I-L. I had a close friend go through this aobut 7 years ago. Here is what I learned: 1) There is a period of time getting used to "the bag." If you bring food, don't bring anything that would cause excess gas (chili, beans, corn, sauerkraut, cabbage, cauliflower, peppers, etc.). It's harder to deal with, with the bag. 2) They have to "vent" the bag now and then. It smells horrible. If they're visiting you, get some Oust in advance and don't comment on it - be aware the restroom will be noxious for awhile. Turn on the vents, and if you have a "guest" bathroom, direct her that way, if you can do so tactfully. 3) You can feel the bag if you do a "low hug" -- hug around the shoulders instead. Don't buy gifts that could bind her around the waist/hips (pants, skirts, belts, etc.). 4) Your father-in-law, if he's in the picture, needs your support as much as your mother-in-law. Consider getting them some couples' gifts - fandango passes, dinners at home for two -- it might be hard for her to be in public places/situations for more than 2-3 hours, so gauge your gifts accordingly. A four-hour Broadway extravaganza might be uncomfortable, but a DVD with a Broadway show might be well-received. 5) When your spouse feels comfortable discussing it, s/he can find out what Mom's comfortable with. Once someone's had that surgery, not much is off-limits in discussion!! Does she want to go out? Does she want sexy nighties? What does she need most? 6) Consider your spouse's feelings. Lots of us want to continue to entertain the illusion our parents are invincible. Having a parent "go in a bag" runs counter to that in a frightening way. Your husband or wife may need your support, too. 7) Last, but not least, you and your spouse can love her as much as you did before the surgery. She might be feeling a little weird with her "new plumbing," but it hasn't changed who she is at heart.

Question: This is very serious... please... does anyone know anything about colorectal cancer? Is there a doctor out there who could give me some information about colorectal cancer, or anyone who may have had it already? My 35 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with this, and the entire family is stunned. None of us can believe it. She begins her treatment on the 19th... chemo will be a constant infusion except on weekends, and the radiation will be 5 days a week. This will go on for 5 weeks in order to shrink the tumor, and then they will do surgery and remove it. She was told that her lymph nodes in her abdomen are enlarged too, so she will receive radiation to that area as well. She already can't have kids, and has no children, so compromising her fertility is not an issue. We just are scared silly at this point, and I am searching for answers or for someone who has been through it to "shine a light" for me. Any help at all would be appreciated. Thank you.

Answer: I know that you must be terrified at this point, but this is almost identical to what my friend went through at nearly the same age. It was frightening and difficult, but with surgery, chemo and radiation, she is now healthy, happy and cancer-free eight years later. She was very good about following doctor's orders and maintaining good nutrition (as much as possible), but attributes a great deal of her success to prayer and maintaining as positive an attitude as she possibly could. She truly believes that maintaining a positive outlook and eliminating as much stress as possible (don't sweat the small stuff, and, placed in it's proper perspective, most of it is small stuff) improves your body's ability to battle disease. She has made some life-style changes (eats very little beef, more chicken, drinks green tea daily, has regular medical check-ups) and is a very active, busy, healthy and happy person who makes the world a better place just by being in it. Good luck. My thoughts and prayers will be with all of you.

Question: plz. help stage 4 colorectal recurrence cancer? If anyone knows any info. on anything that I can possible do to prolong my life! I am on chemo & have already had surgery. The cancer is in the liver, lymph nodes & abd. walls. I have been told that most people only live about 2yrs from diagnosis. I just had pt/cat scan & 1 of the tumors in the liver is growing & a lot of activity is going on! I have been treated with avastin & erbitux. I was going to have clinical study done, but medicaid turned me down on having this study.

Answer: Oh Sunday, I’m so sorry about your condition. People like me can only imagine what you must be going through, but we really don’t know. I am a cancer registrar near Los Angeles I deal with cancer cases all day long. Your doctors are doing the best they can with what we know about cancer so far. We just don’t know anything else that will help. There are only two things I can think of that may help you. If you have a teaching hospital near you, you may want to go there for a second opinion and to see if there are any clinical trials you may try, your oncologist can hep you with this. You may also want to call your local chapter of the American Cancer Society. I believe they answer their phones 24/7 and they know every available resource for cancer patients. Best wishes.

Question: where can i get financial assistance due to cancer? i was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in september 07. I have since gone through chemo and radiation treatment and had surgery on the 28th of february 08. I developed problems after the surgery and have not been able to work but three weeks since september 07. I am a military retiree and most of the hospital bills have been taken care of but money for everyday living expenses such as rent,utilities.groceries has also ran out. Due to being a military retiree I am not eligible for any government programs and i was just wondering if someone had any information on any other programs that i could check into. I am not asking for a handout as i fully intend on paying any money i might receive for assistance back in full. thank you for any assistance in this matter

Answer: are you from the US or the UK? in the UK there is a cancer Charity called Mcmillan Cancer care and they work with families affected by cancer, offering both emotional and financial support. i don't know how much you would be eligible for, but give it a go! if you're in the US maybe look online for similer schemes in your area.

Question: I have Ulcerative Colitis. Does this mean that I will get Colon Cancer? Hello. I was diagnosed with mild-moderate Ulcerative Colitis just two days ago. Being diagnosed and told that there is no cure (except maybe with surgery) really bummed me out. But as I read on about Ulcerative Colitis, I see that I am at higher risk of getting Colorectal Cancer. To my knowledge, there is no family history of Colon Cancer but I'm sure that that makes little to no difference. So is it likely that I will get colorectal cancer? And what can I do to prevent this? Thanks in advance.~ ;-)

Answer: Hi there - I have UC and I'm not sure what the%'s are of increase but there is an increased risk. From what I remember it is not a dramatic increase unless of course you leave your UC untreated. The best thing you can do is to check out Elaine Gottschall's book Breaking the Vicious Cycle and also look up the Specific Carbohydrate Diet on the internet. The diet while pretty restrictive, has healed me once. I strayed away from it though when I became symptom free and it has now returned. I am going back on the diet immediately. Please consider how important diet is to your condition. Not very many gastros want to talk about this for some reason, they just start prescribing medicine. Please please check out this diet. It is hard - I'm not going to lie to you, but it did fix things for me. I just didn't stick with it. Good luck and feel free to email me if you want any further information!

Question: Help! Has anyone had this done? MY husband is going to have colorectal surgery for cancer next week. We are trying to decide if he should have a reversable iliostomy or a permanent colostomy. We understand it is very difficult to retrain the muscles after reconnection. Can anyone help?

Answer: I would suggest reversable iliostomy because you definately don't want to have a permanent incident that may have cause some malicious effects happen. Make sure your husband goes through a lot of therapy though.

Question: I have been diagnosed with high tryglicerides.? I don't have high cholesterol (5.1) but have high tryglicerides (3.7). How do I change my diet to fix this problem.? I am on a low fibre diet at the moment as I just had colorectal surgery for colon cancer.

Answer: Eat a very low carbohydrate diet, and your triglycerides will start falling in just a day or two. Totally normal in a month or two. Saturated fat is not your enemy. Trans fats and poly unsaturated fats are the real problem.

Question: How to deal? I have so much on my plate right now. I am moving 2500 miles away from my family, I'm starting Grad School, and on top of that, my mother recently had surgery for colorectal cancer. Thankfully she's doing quite well, but I have been doing A LOT (basically everything) for my family. I'm so stressed about how things are going to go when I leave and the care she will get with me being gone. I just feel so overwhelmed right now. How do you deal with stress like this? I can't sleep, I haven't been eating much and I feel like I have constant anxiety.

Answer: man when it rains it pours. I hope everything works out for your mom. Lots of stuff in a row makes it impossible to deal with anything. There are anxiety medications your doctor can prescribe, but make sure you try them out before school starts so you can be on a proper dosage that won't interrupt with your studies. If you think it's just a time factor to get over stuff, try other techniques. Journal about it, even if it's just scribbling, get the stress and worry out of your system. Take deep breaths and meditate regularly. Maintain a healthy regimen of diet and exercise. Good luck!!

Question: Why Does It Take So Long???? My daughter who was recently diagnosed with Colorectal Cancer a week ago, won't actually begin her chemo until the 19th of March (today is the 10th). She had her "port" put in on the 8th (Friday). Why does it take so long before they can start the treatments??? This is so incredibly scary!!! To whomever answered my other questions regarding her cancer... God Bless you.... you told me that colorectal cancer was easily treated (which is what she said her Oncologist told her) because so far, the cat scan (done last Sunday on the 4th) showed that her other vital organs were clear so far. We are praying so hard that she comes through this... but why is it they can't "stage" her cancer until the surgery... and why is it taking so long to start her treatment??? Aren't these cells spreading in the meantime???? (I'm freaking out, I'm sorry!!) Thanks for any insight and for whomever sent me all those links... God Bless you.... I will be checking each one out.

Answer: I understand exactly how you feel. My 11 year old son was diagnosed with cancer this past summer. The waiting and not knowing was by far the worst of it all. I thought I would die with fear and worry. It did seem an eternity before they started anything but don't worry, the type of cancer she has is easily manageable, and if they are doing surgery to remove the affected part then that is better, less cancer to have to beat back with chemo. My guess is until they do the surgery they won't know if it's spread from the original source (which is stage 1) elsewhere in the body (stage 2 or higher). Usually the longer you've had it the more likely it's metastesized (spread) and when it has there is no telling if it's affected surrounding tissue or lymph nodes. With colorectal cancer, the stages depend on many factors because the colon has many layers so until they view them microscopically and see how many layers it's penetrated, they won't be able to stage it. I know it's a frightful ordeal but have faith that it will all turn out well in the end. You need to be strong and don't show her your fear. She needs to believe that YOU believe she will be ok. I used to run out in the middle of the night and cry in the street so my kids wouldn't see my fear. Thank God it turned out ok and he is well now. One thing this teaches you is that life is precious and you really need to live each day to the fullest and not take anything for granted. Will send a prayer your way. Have faith and it will be ok.

Question: Is She Telling The Truth? My daughter who was recently diagnosed with colorectal cancer and is scheduled to undergo chemo and radiation shortly, is saying that until they do the surgery to remove the tumor (following shrinking the tumor from chemo and radiation) they will not be able to tell what "stage" she is in. Is this true? I thought they could tell the stage from the biopsies they took from her when she had her colonscopy. Is there a doctor out there that could shed light on this for me? I have done a search about colorectal cancer, but cannot find the answers I'm seeking. Please help. Thanks.

Answer: Yes, the doctor is telling you the truth. The biopsy can tell you if it is cancer and what kind of cancer it is but they will not know how extensive the cancer is until surgery. Best wishes!!

Question: where can i get financial assistance due to cancer? i was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in september 07. I have since gone through chemo and radiation treatment and had surgery on the 28th of february 08. I developed problems after the surgery and have not been able to work but three weeks since september 07. I am a military retiree and most of the hospital bills have been taken care of but money for everyday living expenses such as rent,utilities.groceries has also ran out. Due to being a military retiree I am not eligible for any government programs and i was just wondering if someone had any information on any other programs that i could check into. I am not asking for a handout as i fully intend on paying any money i might receive for assistance back in full. thank you for any assistance in this matter

Answer: You could try using Fastweb, Its a website that you feel out tons of information about yourself(literally) and based on the information you give them, they will start returning a list of possible scholarship options. Some of them suck and some of them are good, but highly competitive. Have you already used your GI Bill? you'll get around $1100 a month with it.