Bowel blockage

[Holdingontohope]

Hello ladies, I'm so scared right now, my mum is having a reoccurance after 6 years in remission, she has been quite unwell since March, this last month her ca125 shot up to 600, she has been hardly able to eat, she has constant bowel problems which have finally reached to her being admitted to hospital, she is very ill, her consultant gave a very vague over the phone diagnosis of peritoneal cancer, All her organs are functioning well, she has no visable tumours, she has had a lot of ct scans and they have struggled to find anything wrong, finally yesterday they think they can see a bowel blockage, it has been missed on previous scans, after watching my mum decline I was actually excited to know she has a blockage, this explains everything, we can fix this, give her an operation, when do we start, but a surgeon has just ruined any hope I had, he has been to see my mum tonight and said he needs to talk to her oncologist on Monday as an operation may not be suitable, he then said the worse case scenario maybe palliative care, they have put a tube down her nose and I'm not sure how but will try and remove the blockage, i can't visit her, neither can my dad, she is 62 years old, I'm gutted, I don't understand, why aren't they talking about a stoma, she re started chemo 2 weeks ago, her oncologist has never even suggested that this could be the end, he had so much trouble finding any evidence of cancer he was actually reluctant to offer chemo, surely they can't just make that decision, I know the doctor is a general one on the ward treating her, my sister has tried to reassure me that his words were that he needed to discuss with her oncology doctor on if an operation was the best choice, I feel like they aren't even giving her a chance, they haven't said your bowel is perforated or twisted, they just said they can see fecal impactment, everyone on here seems to have a very detailed report on their cancer and possible treatment plans, my mum has gone from we can't see anything on scans to a doctor saying an operation may not be possible, surely they need to explain what exactly they can see on the scan, the exact area and if it's not a tumour why isn't my mums bowel working correctly, please can anyone help me, kerrie xxx ps my mum was stage 3c 6 years ago ovarian

[Lindaura]

Dear HTH,

[Edited by moderator]

If you can’t speak to the doctors yourself, can you call her CNS?

Also, you are allowed to deliver things she might need to the hospital ward.

Why don’t you give her a list of questions and suggestions for her to discuss with her doctor?

I know from experience that when you are admitted to hospital by the general admit team, you see a variety of doctors, most of whom are unfamiliar with your case and who you want and need, is the Oncology team.

Try everything you can think of to get your mother some proper care and useful treatment.

Best wishes,

Laura

[Holdingontohope in reply to Lindaura]

Thank you, that does sound reassuring, I think because she is so weak and tired from the lack of food she is almost giving up and that doctors words may have been taken out of context slightly xx

[Lindaura in reply to Holdingontohope]

[Edited by moderator]

Do you have any doctors you can talk to directly?

What about her original Oncologist?

Can you speak to them?

Everything is so much more difficult during this pandemic, when you cannot visit or attend appointments with your mother.

But somehow, you must convince her team to include you.

Wishing you the best of luck,

Laura

[Holdingontohope in reply to Lindaura]

Thank you xx for reply, she was only given a fluid drip yesterday, apparently her oncologist will speak with her Monday or liase with the doctors that are seeing her, I have just said to my sister that I would like to have a brief chat with her oncology team, so many ladies on here seem to have such detail in their treatment plans, we are based in Kent and it sometimes feels like our area is left behind when it comes to treatment suggestions, the ladies describe in complete detail how many milletmetres their tumours are and they seem to be examined so throughly, I cant help but worry my mums team is letting her down a bit, I know she isn't the only patient x

[Lyndy]

In my experience doctors who are not oncology specialists can be a lot more down beat about your disease than those who deal with cancer and it’s symptoms all the time. I am tempted to say don’t listen to the general ward medics and go straight to her consultant... if you don’t know who that is ring the ward and ask. If you are her next of kin you should be able to speak to the doctor with your Mum’s permission or you can ask to phone in during her consultation so that you and she can both hear what they have to say and ask questions.

Very best of luck xx

[LittleSan]

I had a partial bowel blockage in January and when the NG tube was fitted it helped to drain off excess bile and air in the stomach and small bowel and shift the blockage. I was nil by mouth for a week and they gradually introduced soft food and the bowel started working again. Hope your Mum does well. Big hug for you too, I know how much my daughters struggle with all my problems. 💐😘

[Holdingontohope in reply to LittleSan]

Thank you it really does give me hope hearing your experience xx

[Flamingobeef18]

So sorry you are in this situation but it is very similar to my general surgeons response to my first partial bowel obstruction in February this year.

He was also very negative about my prognosis. Talking about being non operable, could not sustain life etc. All of which was extremely scary as I had been relatively fit and well up to that point. But also he was clear that he was not an expert and needed to liaise with my Oncologist.

He did liaise with her and from that point I was successfully conservatively managed by pain control, diet and a laxative regime.

So my message is that I fully understand how frightening this is but be aware that this may all change once the oncologist is on board with the treatment plan.

Juliax

PS and nothing ever happens over the weekend!

[Holdingontohope]

Julia I have sent my your reply to my mum, it gives me so much hope and she is actually feeling much better, they hope she can come tomorrow, and what you said have makes so much sense to her situation, thank u xx