Share your experiences in the Bowel Cancer community

Rochelle, familyhistory is important but only about 20% of colon (bowel) cancers are family related. So it is very important for everyone to be aware of early or warning signs, especially bleeding, a change in bowel habit, unusual pains etc.   Faecal occult blood tests are a good start, but a negative result does not exclude sinister or potentially sinister things, especially if there are warning signs.

Hi Vic,

I'm Finni, welcome to Healthshare. My mum has been diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer 4 months ago. Its a pretty big shock hey, particulary when they have little to no symptoms at first. Mum's tumour was the size of a small football, and yet she didn't notice a thing, until she got sick and had a bowel obstruction (hello tumour). She struggled with getting her body back to a normal routine early on after her operation. We found this network to be very useful in getting different ideas to help us through the start of this journey, nutrition was our biggest struggle. Please post questions, no question is a silly one   or even message me about our experiences to date. I'd be only too happy to help if a can. It definately helped me cope knowing that there are others out there going through similar things.

How is your Mum coping with the Chemo so far?

I hope you are coping OK as well? It's a hard and emotional rollercoaster for our Mum's, and its hard for us family members as well i think.

I look forward to hearing more about your Mum and I hope you look after yourself as well.

Take care.

Finni.

Thank you Finni and Nicky

I’m glad to have joined this page, Im sure it will be a great support for people like mum and me. Mum is “not with the times” when it comes to internet and such so I’ll be her voice and her story here ) She has just started chemo 2 weeks ago and is doing OK considering - very tired of course plus all the other unpleasant little things associated with this treatment. I hope it isn’t going to get much worse.But she is educating herself about all possible side effects etc - it is better to be prepared. Im finding it quite hard, as I have two small kids and most of the time Im unable to come and see her and assist her much really, as she lives alone and dosn’t drive. The first month was horrid, but people adjust fast and so have we all. So far, I have received lots of support from my friends and my husband’s family, so mum and I were able to go to the most important appointments together. She is keeping quite positive, which is great. I hope her 6 months of chemo will fly by with minimum side effects and she recovers… Yes, Finni, nutrition was  and is a real big hurdle, you don’t realise how complicated a simple meal can be post-operation. But again, I have done lots of research on internet and passed on lost of info to mum, plus she got some brochures from the hospital, so she is ‘learning' he new diet now and doing well…

One thing I forgot to mention here is the unbelievable amount of support and care that cancer patients receive here in Australian public hospital system - I was just blown away. And Im not even talking about the fact that it is covered by Medicare! I know how much all of those treatment and operations cost overseas and quite frankly, most people would not be able to afford them if they had to pay for them. The amount of time the doctors and nurses spent with mum, explaining the options, helping her - I was amazed. Just another reason to be grateful to live here.

Thank ladies.

Speak soon

Vic

Hi Vic,

I know how you feel with supporting your Mum, I too have 2 small children and Mum lives 2000kms away!! So I have been flying up for appointments and using Skype every chance I get. Mum's husband has been a world of support for her, but I worry about him as well, as it must be tough.

I'm glad your Mum is adjusting to her new diet well, as well as everything else!! mum struggled with regulating her bowels, and as a result became dangerously low in her potassium levels. She was very lethargic and would “puff” alot. Thankfully her GP gave her some Cholestrol tablets, that ‘blocked her up’ a bit, which allowed her body to regulate better. Now shes gone off the tablets and hasn't had too much of a problem since. She knows now when she starts to puff, that she needs to get her potassium back up, so she's taken out a small loan to buy banana's and she has a special drink she needs to take. Its all learning along the way hey!!

Take care.

Finni

Hi Vic,



Welcome to the community. I'm glad your mums prognosis is good. In addition to people gaining support in the community it's also about generating awareness through stories like yours. A test kit can save a life and the more people who know it and dont ignore it the better! It would be great to get your mum to join Healthshare and the bowel cancer community to share her story with others.



Thanks for sharing.



Regards,



Nicky

Vic, I forgot to mention, be sure to ‘follow’ the community so you can be kept up to date with the conversations and information. Happy Healthsharing!

Hi Peter,



Welcome to the community. It's great that you are checking yourself regularly especially given you have a family history of Bowel Cancer. Be sure to look at the ‘Bowel Cancer screening’ and ‘Don’t hide your symptoms' fact sheets in the community to understand how the screening works and also what symptoms to look out for.



While no cancer is completely preventable, you can lower your risk of bowel cancer by eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly.


Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods –eat plenty of vegetables, legumes (dried beans, peas or lentils), fruits & cereals (breads, rice, pasta & noodles), preferably wholegrain.include lean meat, fish and poultry.include milks, yoghurts and cheeses.  Reduced fat varieties should be chosen where possible.drink plenty of water.
Take care to - limit saturated fat and moderate total fat intake.limit your intake of red meat and processed meat.choose foods low in salt.limit your alcohol intake if you choose to drink.consume only moderate amounts of sugars and foods containing added sugars.
And -
quit smoking.

We also have a some bowel cancer specialists in our panel with whom you can connect with and answer questions.



Happy Healthsharing,



Nicky

Hi Peter,



Thanks very much for your post and question.



Our nurse advisor will be in touch shortly with a response.



In the meantime, there is some information available on our website that you might like to have a look through, in particular the Risk Factors: Family History web page.



Kind Regards,



The team at Bowel Cancer Australia



Please Note: Bowel Cancer Australia's Nurse and Nutritionist Advisory services are subject to the following disclaimer.

Hi Peter,



Thank you for your question.  People are considered to have a greater risk of developing bowel cancer if they - are aged 50 years or over.have a family history of bowel cancer.have a personal history of cancer of the colon, rectum, ovary, endometrium, or breast. have a history of polyps in the colon. have a history of ulcerative colitis (ulcers in the lining of the large intestine) or Crohn's disease. have certain hereditary conditions, such as familial adenomatous polyposis and hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC; Lynch Syndrome).

There is now emerging evidence regarding type 2 (usually non-insulin dependent) diabetes as a potential risk factor for bowel cancer, however further research is required. 



Considering you have a family history, you are certainly doing the right thing by being screened through colonoscopy; continue to do this in coming years. Your specialist will recommend the frequency for colonoscopy given your family history and circumstances.  As a general guide, normally every 2 to 5 years is considered to be a safe time between visits.



Keeping a good diet, minimising excessive amounts of ‘bad’ fats in your diet is important & of course keeping a predominantly healthy diet with fresh fruits & vegetables on a daily basis is important in helping to keep your fibre levels up to the recommended 25 - 30 grams per day. Try to be physically active at least 30 minutes each day, whatever it is to get you out doors and moving is important for the health of your bowel let alone your entire body.



For more information on the risk factors for bowel cancer, please go to the Bowel Cancer Australia website to see more on the risk pathway.    



Keep healthy Peter & thank you again for your question.



Regards



Tammy

Bowel Cancer Australia Nurse Advisor



Please Note: Bowel Cancer Australia's Nurse and Nutritionist Advisory services are subject to the following disclaimer.

Hi Trevor,



Great to have you on board and thanks for Healthsharing. Thank you for sharing your story with us, a lot of people would benefit from hearing your story in the Bowel Cancer community . Please post your message in this community and continue to share your journey with us- after all if it can benefit others it can only do good. There are many others in the same situation as you. Please let me know if I can help you in any way in navigating around Healthshare and getting started. There are over 350 health communities.



Kind regards

Nicky

Hi Andrew,



Thank you for introducing yourself and welcome to Healthshare and the bowel cancer community. You are not alone in this community as there are other young bowel cancer patients. Please share with the community your progress. We hope that things are going well with your new doctor. Regards, Nicky

Hi Andrew - Thanks for sharing what you are going through. We have a number of younger community members who are keen discuss the issues and the process. Stay in touch Darryl

Hi Jill,

Thanks for your posting and for sharing your experiences with the Bowel Cancer Community.

Wonderful to hear things are going so well with you at the moment.

We look forward to hearing more about your bowel cancer journey and to keeping in touch.

Best Wishes,

The team at Bowel Cancer Australia

www.bowelcanceraustralia.org



Please Note: Bowel Cancer Australia's Nurse and Nutritionist Advisory services are subject to the following disclaimer.

Hi Christine



I am very sorry to read about the challenging time that you and your family are faced with. I am certain that our good friends at Bowel Cancer Australia will be in touch to offer you some suggestions to support you during this time.



The Healthshare family wishes you well. We're thinking of you.



Regards



Darryl Jackson

CEO and co-founder

Hi Christine,

Thanks for your post and for the questions about you Father and Brother's bowel cancer diagnosis, what a difficult time this must be for your family.

If you would like to send me your phone number I would be very happy to give you a call, and talk through any questions you may have.

I look forward to talking with you soon.

Kind regards

Tammy

Bowel Cancer Australia Nurse Advisor



Please Note: Bowel Cancer Australia's Nurse and Nutritionist Advisory services are subject to the following disclaimer.