We recieved bad news on Sunday

[baldie]

Yesterday I took my wife for pre booked tests at the hospital. And after having an Endoscopy and Colonoscopy the Doctors discovered my wife has Bowel Cancer.

At the moment we are just numb and trying to get our heads round it, Donna is a woman who has never smoked or drank to excess (the odd glass of wine) and teaches PE at school. So she has always been fit and healthy. And in ten years has only been off work twice due to illness it just makes no sense.

We have now told all the family which has been very hard on everyone. This woman is my rock for over 22 years we have only ever been apart 3 times in all those years. I find myself having to be the strong one telling everyone its alright mum will be fine, while cracking jokes and keeping a smile on my face when in reality I just want to scream. 

It is now a waiting game for more tests and the results from the Biopsy. We have a full body CT scan booked for the 4th of next month to see if it has spread and only after those results will the Doctors decide the next step.

I do not claim to be a religeous man but I prayed for the first time in a lot of years. Not for me but for my wife who is the most wonderfull kind and gentle woman you could ever wish to meet.

I only post this to remind everyone, hug the special people in your life , tell them you love them today. Because you never know what tomorrow brings.

Wishing everyone the best

 Baldie (Rob) 

[Timmah!]

I'm so sorry, Baldie.

Life really sucks sometimes. 

I sincerely hope for the best for you & your better half.

[StormCrow]

Fuckin hell Baldie, thoughts and good vibes to you and yours, stay strong, fight hard beside her, and love her harder bro. Thinking of you and your fam

[TBB]

Sorry to hear this - thoughts and prayers to you and the family

[blackwidow]

So sorry to hear this Baldie. We will be keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers.

[ALanHim]

I'm very sorry to hear that Baldie, that's devastating news. She has done everything right and still the big C take over. 

Praying you can find some answer. Nonetheless hand in there man, she needs you more than ever. Take care of yourself during this Baldie. Stay strong brother. 

[Icequeen]

Baldie, I am so very sorry to hear this. My heart sunk from my chest. My thoughts and prayers for you and your family at this time. I am sure the hardest part is trying to be strong and for that I hope you both can remain so and big hugs. 

[Dot80]

Prayers for you and your family.  God Bless.

[BUDMAN]

Sorry to hear this baldie, positive thoughts for you and your family.

[Smeggie]

So sorry to hear this @baldie.  Positive vibes coming your way!

[Raven]

Mate so sorry to hear your news.... Thinking of you both..........

[Snap]

Please take care of her and tell her that a bunch of idiots would like to hug her.

[Ruggerxi]

I'm so sorry to head Baldie, praying for you both and sending hugs and love your way. 

[major-mark63]

Sorry for you Baldie and your family.

Cancer is bad but remember it could hit everyone at every age .

all my thaughts for you and your wife...

Stay strong and positive it helps..

[WeednFeed]

Sorry to hear this. Prayers for your wife, you and your family. You're so right if you love someone tell them.

[Totty]

Sorry to hear this mate.

My wife is near the end of her treatments now and all I can say is stay strong and be there for her when she needs it.

The treatments aren't pleasant and the overall experience is very unpleasant,  which in turn affects emotions and mental well being. 

If you need any advice or just someone to talk to then give me a shout.

In the meantime my thoughts and positive vibes are with you

[rexbowan]

Sorry to hear the bad news. Thoughts and prayers for you both. 
Think positive thoughts. Hopefully they can remove the infected part of the bowel and it has not spread.

[ANGUS]

I'm sorry to hear my friend, I can understand your hurt and pain of this news o so very well.. My prayers and thoughts are with you and your family as you go through this. We are here for you.

[Bamm]

I had so hoped you guys would get better news than this, this is just awful..

And I am hoping you can find a place where you yourself can be the one who is unsure, sad, maybe angry or whatever emotion might lead at that moment. If we can have a place in that, I'm sure all of us would want to give that space.

For now, I'm thinking of you guys and hoping for good following up results in all this uncertainty

[YACCster]

Praying for you all, hoping for the best buddy.

[Themadman]

Sorry to hear this baldie,  praying for you both. 

[BlackRose]

so sorry to hear this,,yes life deals us bad blows sometimes,,hopefully everything eill be ok!

[Majbasil]

YIKES!  OK so, you all are in shock and rightly so, but nowadays there are wonderful treatments to kick cancer's butt!  My father in law (stubborn man who never went to doctors)  had all the symptoms of colon cancer and only went to dr when he literally could not poop anymore.  Initial doctor said "Oh, too far advanced, you have about 3 months, say your goodbyes."  Flash forward 5 years, he was still alive and walking and living his life, yes, it had altered and had to have a bag at that point attached to his side (eww) but he waited till way longer than normal nowadays.  They did surgery and some radiation in strategic areas, it had metastasized to everywhere by the time he went to any doctor about it, so sad but he could have prevented his situation imho.   That was hmmm 20 or so years ago.  THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE THEN.  Immunotherapies, better targeted radiation equipment and techniques...

I met a lovely women in her early 40's who was healthy and ate well enough, who much to her surprise was diagnosed with colon cancer stage 4!  By the time I met her, she had undergone all the necessary treatments and such and was back to living a normal life!  So do not despair!  Be sympathetic and helpful, but be very positive and hopeful!    

 

A biopsy will help them determine how to treat this.

PD-1 inhibitors

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda), nivolumab (Opdivo), and Dostarlimb (Jemperli) are drugs that target PD-1, a protein on immune system cells called T cells that normally help keep these cells from attacking other cells in the body. By blocking PD-1, these drugs boost the immune response against colorectal cancer cells. They are only given if the tumor has had findings of dMMR or MSI-H.

Pembrolizumab can be given alone. It is given as an intravenous (IV) infusion every 3 or 6 weeks.

Nivolumab can be given alone or with ipilimumab (see below). It is typically given by itself as an IV infusion every 2 or 4 weeks. If it is used along with ipilimumab, then it is typically given every 3 weeks.

Dostarlimab can be given alone. It is given as an intravenous (IV) infusion every 3 weeks for 4 treatments, and then given at a higher dose every 6 weeks. This drug is not approved specifically to treat colorectal cancer at this time. It is approved to treat other types of cancer, but doctors can prescribe it off-label for colorectal cancer. Still, it’s important to check with your insurance provider before getting this drug to make sure it is covered.

CTLA-4 inhibitor

Ipilimumab (Yervoy) is another drug that boosts the immune response, but it has a different target. It blocks CTLA-4, another protein on T cells that normally helps keep them in check.

This drug can be used along with nivolumab (Opdivo) to treat colorectal cancer, but it’s not used alone. It is given as an intravenous (IV) infusion, usually once every 3 weeks for 4 treatments.

For people with either early- or advanced-stage colorectal cancer, immunotherapy is now a cornerstone of treatment if the tumor has findings of dMMR (deficient mismatch repair) or MSI-H (microsatellite instability-high).

 

[Wardogs411]

be strong baldie and pray that it will all get better.

[CrazyGirl]

So sorry to hear this... sending lots of prayers and hugs your way