Hi Catherine, I was 40 when I was diagnosed with bowel cancer, and I had a total colectomy. At the time my boys were the same age as yours. About 12 months ago I started having similar pains in my stomach area again. I got quite anxious about it. I went and saw my GP who organised a CT scan. And guess what they found? Nothing. I think it's expected to be anxious about it. Good luck and many hugs!   -sch   ... View more

Hi Nicko, I am so sorry to hear this. Do you have family and friends with you? It sounds like you are receiving FOLFOX chemo (this is the same as I had). How much of a difference will the chemo make, or is that unknown? Did you do chemo 2 years ago too?   -sch ... View more

Hi neddyrum, I'm sorry to hear about your Dad. It's difficult news to digest and it will take time to accept. My Dad was diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas in his early 50's. It had spread to, I think, 3 organs by that stage. He lived for about 10 years after diagnosis and eventually succumbed to the cancer. Hopefully if it has just spread to the liver, it is curable. You never know. Spend as much time with your Dad as you can. Talk to him. Do you have many family photos you can look through together?   -sch   ... View more

Hi Malikshaz, I'm sorry to hear about your Mum. I wouldn't think that stopping the capecitabine tablets would extreme pain in her leg, but I'm no doctor. I think that it would be a good idea for your Mum or yourself to talk to her Oncologist about her leg, if you haven't already. @PhilPepper might be able to say if anything helped him?   I had a port installed (my chemo treatment was FOLFOX - a bit different) and there was no issues there. I would have another installed if I need to.     ... View more

Hi Mk, I'm sorry to hear about your cancer as well as your experience with family and friends.  It must be very difficult. I am glad to hear about the surgery. Look, the chemo sucks. I've seen some really sick looking people  and been that person myself. But it goes away. You get over it,  even if you have long term side effects. But I can also understand why you made that decision.  We make decisions based upon what we think we can handle and what we think we can deal with. How long have your been receiving treatment for? How have you been responding?   -sch ... View more

Hi Picara14,   I'm very sorry to hear of your diagnosis. It's a tough time of year to get a diagnosis. Lots of people are away on holidays and people are usually celebrating, and don't really want to hear this sort of news. I hope you are finding support.   The diagnosis can be quite a shock, especially if you haven't had to worry about health issues before. You'll find a few of us on here are about 40, with quite a few some what younger than that. I try not to worry too much about the statistics. I've had one or two major health issues before. That doesn't make the shock of cancer any less, but it does mean I'm a bit more wizened when it comes to emotionally dealing with shock.   Sounds like things are happening quickly. Has your treatment team helped you understand what stage the cancer might be yet? Don't stress out too much about the statistics. They are just that. Numbers. I can't promise you that everything will be OK. But I can promise you that if you fight with everything you've got, you won't regret it. The human spirit can achieve amazing things, including proving statistics wrong some times. You can do this.   -sch   ... View more

Good luck. Make sure you check in and let us know how it goes. ... View more

Hi JB729, We're just a bunch of folks who have been in similar situations to you and therefore have some idea of what you are going through and what you need. You're more than welcome.   ... View more

Great. Glad to hear it. Please let me know how it goes.   -sch ... View more

Hi JB729,   I am very sorry to hear about the diagnosis. I haven't had prostate cancer, but I've posted up some links to some information on prostate cancer. Perhaps these might help prepare you for questions to ask.   https://www.cancer.org.au/about-cancer/types-of-cancer/prostate-cancer/ https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/prostate-cancer/questions-ask-health-care-team   Best of luck! -sch ... View more