Husband diagnosed with T1 colon cancer. Need advice.... Update 4/5

[rcraw45425]

Last week we were thrown for a loop when the biopsy on a colon polyp came back as T1. I had had a trip planned for this week (arriving on Friday) with our younger college student daughter. Naturally I said that I was cancelling. We've been told that it's in the very early stage and should have a high (>95%) cure rate. He told me to not cancel, but bump it forward, he's supposed to be out four to six weeks. His thought is that while he probably won't feel like going to the parks and riding rides he might feel like being at the resort and doing dinners (not in parks probably as there's so much walking required to get to most restaurants). I've never dealt with anything like this before. How realistic is this planned trip? the plan now is to do the surgery laparoscopically, resecting the colon and taking lymph nodes. My thought has been that it will give him a semblance of normalcy, we generally have a vacation planned...... Right now I'm looking at BWI 4/23-4/27

 

[BabyFu18]

So sorry to hear about your husband, I think at this point it'll be hard to tell how he will be doing in April especially if it's post surgery or post chemo/radiation. I'm a cancer survivor and we did one trip durning that time and it was harder than I anticipated at the time, I suggest either pushing your trip back to give your husband time to really get his barrings and focus on getting well before he travels or if he wants to go you can modify the trip to help him enjoy the trip. If stamnia becomes an issue rent an ECV so he can do the parks if he'd like to or if he doesn't want that then take multiple breaks throughout the day, things like that. Spending time at the resorts is nice and relaxing and sometimes that can be a great thing to lift spirits, support healing, etc. the most important thing is to not push it to far and just try to take things slowly if he decides he wants to keep the trip. If all else fails, postpone the trip until he's feeling more up to speed (after surgery/treatments) and that'll give you all something to look forward to in the future.

Best of luck with your trip planning and prayers for your husband and family.

 

[Marlyn]

Hello, I'm sorry to hear about this. I'm an endoscopy nurse, so this is my field. Where is the cancerous polyp? Is he having a sigmoid resection or a right hemicolectomy? Laparoscopic surgery has a quicker recovery time than open which is good. You havent said when his surgery is booked. To reassure you, finding a cancerous polyp early is one of the best reasons to have a colonoscopy. There is a high success rate when found early, which it sounds like is the case for your DH. That is good news. If lymph nodes are negative then there is no chemo etc. My father had negative Lymph nodes, no chemo required.

Recovering from bowel resection surgery can be tough though. Planning a trip in April might be too much for him. I don't know what his general health is, whether he has any cardiac/lung issues etc, diabetic...anything can affect length of recovery. Your safest bet would be to ask the surgeon. Maybe a fall visit to WDW would be better? September?

I had surgery to remove a salivary gland tumor and went to WDW just over a month later. That surgery is much easier recovery wise than a bowel resection. I did fine on the trip but I got very sick with a cold, sore throat illness. I am sure my immune system was compromised post surgery....so don't rush it.

All the best to your DH as he heads into surgery....

 

[rcraw45425]

Hello, I'm sorry to hear about this. I'm an endoscopy nurse, so this is my field. Where is the cancerous polyp? Is he having a sigmoid resection or a right hemicolectomy? Laparoscopic surgery has a quicker recovery time than open which is good. You havent said when his surgery is booked. To reassure you, finding a cancerous polyp early is one of the best reasons to have a colonoscopy. There is a high success rate when found early, which it sounds like is the case for your DH. That is good news. If lymph nodes are negative then there is no chemo etc. My father had negative Lymph nodes, no chemo required.

Recovering from bowel resection surgery can be tough though. Planning a trip in April might be too much for him. I don't know what his general health is, whether he has any cardiac/lung issues etc, diabetic...anything can affect length of recovery. Your safest bet would be to ask the surgeon. Maybe a fall visit to WDW would be better? September?

I had surgery to remove a salivary gland tumor and went to WDW just over a month later. That surgery is much easier recovery wise than a bowel resection. I did fine on the trip but I got very sick with a cold, sore throat illness. I am sure my immune system was compromised post surgery....so don't rush it.

All the best to your DH as he heads into surgery....

Thank you both for the insight into this! He's an Internist so naturally he's thinking worse case scenario........ Polyp was in the mucosa, I'm assuming sigmoid at this time as the surgeon said that he wants to do a sigmoidoscope. Just had the colonoscopy on the 26th, got biopsy results on 3/1. The doc that did the colonoscopy is a colorectal surgeon so we already (now) have a relationship with him. He will sit down with us next Monday after he gets the results of the CT of the abdomen and pelvis. He said that he will be out for 4-6 weeks. With all of the trips to the "world" that we've made through the years it's not imperative that we make this trip at this time. As a family we were there in May for younger DD's graduation, then I took both of our girls and one of their friends (all three in college) for a quick weekend trip for MNSSHP in September. Younger DD and I were back down in December for MVMCP and a last Hurrah with the Osborne Lights. She and I are AP holders so this is just a bonus trip for what was to have been her spring break. If we go in April it's actually falling on her 19th birthday. We are blessed to be within driving distance so basically it's hotel and food.

 

[Marlyn]

I would wait to see what surgeon says on Monday. If you're not that far from WDW then maybe a few days of R&R would be fine for him. He could laze around resort, rest etc. I just wouldn't make any huge plans just in case. Give yourself the flexibility to change them if need be.

 

[rcraw45425]

I would wait to see what surgeon says on Monday. If you're not that far from WDW then maybe a few days of R&R would be fine for him. He could laze around resort, rest etc. I just wouldn't make any huge plans just in case. Give yourself the flexibility to change them if need be.

Exactly. We're around 400 miles. He would honestly not do much of the parks even without this. We've done enough trips that we are content with more strolling and not commando park touring

 

[Chirple]

I am sorry to hear about your husband's diagnosis, but early detection is key.

I am a stage 2 colon cancer survivor; we have a strong family history on my mother's paternal and maternal sides. I had a 5 inch tumor and 12 inches of my colon removed in early November 2004 (lymph nodes clean). My husband and I had a 3-day WDW Christmas trip planned. I did need chemo and radiation to reduce recurrence so I had a chemo port put in before our trip and started my first treatments before I left for our trip. I took it easy, but I was fine.

Recovery is different for everyone. Definitely see what the surgeon recommends. Best of luck to you all!

 

[Bete]

If you want a vacation I think I would choose somewhere else this time. You still need to do a wait and see. Sometimes, everything doesn't go as planned and you need more time.

 

[unwritten01]

God bless! Sounds like a tough cookie - betting on him and prayers your way

 

[tobikaye]

I agree to hold off on decisions until you have more guidelines of treatment. Since he really plans to just relax and take it easy, it might not be a bad trip for him.

My mom had breast cancer last year and had two rounds of chemo and a round of radiation. During the first round of chemo, she had treatments every 3 weeks and then weekly during the second round. Either towards the end of the first round or the start of the the second round, she when on trip to Tennessee with my dad, his sisters and their husbands. She basically just hung out at the cabin and went out for a few drives and meals with them.

 

[rcraw45425]

Spoke with our close friend this morning, he's a general surgeon. He advised me to keep him in our hometown for the first four to six weeks, or until the surgeon releases him. He said that travel before would be fine but best to not travel during the recovery time unless our surgeon said that it was okay. IDK how that would work out as I know that hubby will want to try to work as much as possible before the surgery time, since they will already have to find a fill in doc for while he's out.

I did book a room at Swan for May 7-11, which may be doable

 

[TheRustyScupper]

the plan now is to do the surgery laparoscopically, resecting the colon and taking lymph nodes.

1) I cannot address the lymph nodes personally, but, he should have no problem with the resection.
. . I have a dear friend with such surgery and was fine in 2-3 days
2) As for nodes, my wife had removals and was up-and-around in two days.

 

[rcraw45425]

1) I cannot address the lymph nodes personally, but, he should have no problem with the resection.
. . I have a dear friend with such surgery and was fine in 2-3 days
2) As for nodes, my wife had removals and was up-and-around in two days.

Thank you Rusty, I appreciate hearing this. Tomorrow afternoon we will meet with the surgeon to determine what the course of action is and how quickly we will move on it. He just said "what if he says he wants to do it this week?" I replied "we do it!" Right now I have two trips booked, lol. The one for late April and also one for Mother's Day weekend at the Swan.

 

[Shanti]

I'm so sorry to hear this. I recommend honoring his wishes & keeping the vacation, keeping plans relaxed to accomodate lots of (or all) resort time for him. If it gives him something to look forward to while he endures his treatments, I'm all for it. It will probably help your daughter cope with the stress, too. Just don't fuss about ADR's or FP's, anything that involves time or stress. Just have a room reserved, & come to enjoy whatever you are able to when the time comes. If he changes his mind after treatment, that's fine.

If you booked a package, I recommend canceling that & rebooking it for room-only, so that you'll be able to change or cancel the reservation, if needed, close to the trip. Room-only ressies are much more customer friendly- you have up until a few days before to cancel & get a refund.

 

[rcraw45425]

I'm so sorry to hear this. I recommend honoring his wishes & keeping the vacation, keeping plans relaxed to accomodate lots of (or all) resort time for him. If it gives him something to look forward to while he endures his treatments, I'm all for it. It will probably help your daughter cope with the stress, too. Just don't fuss about ADR's or FP's, anything that involves time or stress. Just have a room reserved, & come to enjoy whatever you are able to when the time comes. If he changes his mind after treatment, that's fine.

If you booked a package, I recommend canceling that & rebooking it for room-only, so that you'll be able to change or cancel the reservation, if needed, close to the trip. Room-only ressies are much more customer friendly- you have up until a few days before to cancel & get a refund.

Thanks Shanti! I never book packages, he worked ER for 16 years and we had to have the flexibility of being able to cancel closer to arrival date. A lot of our trips would actually be booked within the 45 day window (before FP+ ).

 

[TheRustyScupper]

He just said "what if he says he wants to do it this week?" I replied "we do it!"

1) I am not a doctor.
2) I don't even play a doctor on TV.
3) But, I can't imagine a 1-week delay would be drastic.
. . . when MrsRustyScupper was diagnosed, yes, they moved quickly
. . . but, it was still three weeks before surgery
4) Sure, one should take care of the issue as soon as possible, but would 1-week advance the disease that much?
5) A really good question for the doctor and for the surgeon.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I was diagnosed with breast cancer ten days before our first Disney cruise. (And I am a nurse, also.) Our twins were turning six on the ship and we were all really looking forward to it. I wasn't sure what would happen, so it was pretty tense during those days. I did have the chance to meet with the surgeon beforehand and he told me to go because a) the decisions I had to make didn't need to be made right there, in fact it was probably better to think about them for a while, and b) he said I'd be in for "a really long year", so I might as well enjoy my vacation while I could. So I went. It was bittersweet. DH, the love that he is, saw how it was for me. So he suggested I book another trip for my post-treatment period, and that's what I did. It gave me something to look forward to during the grueling days of hair loss, chemo, radiation, etc. (And it's how I wound up here!)

I agree that it's so great that this was caught in an early stage for your DH, but I understand how he feels. It's hard being a caregiver yourself and seeing so many horrible things day after day. When it hits you yourself, it can hit really hard, especially emotionally. Anyway, praying he'll get good results on his CT. If he winds up having abdominal surgery in April or so, I would not be planning a trip for May. He will need time to recover. It can take quite a while with a sugery like that. You remain tired for weeks afterward. He can also be at risk for developing a blood clot with long travel soon after surgery. I would plan a nice trip maybe for a little later, but I'd play it by ear. Booking things sort of puts a lot of pressure on him, and he doesn't need extra pressure right now, he's got enough. Just concentrate on getting through this, and know that Disney will be there when he's ready and you can all really enjoy the trip.

Oh, and please tell him it's been 12 years for me, and my twins are going to college in the fall. I always liked hearing the good stories.

 

[rcraw45425]

Thank you, trying to keep positive. He is a nervous wreck. I hope to sleep tonight, and pray for good news tomorrow!

 

[rcraw45425]

Update:

Hallelujah, the CT was clear, no metastatic disease. Surgery is scheduled for 3/31. My daughter and I will check in at the Poly on Wednesday for a quick trip. His travel is on hold indefinitely.

 

[mamabunny]

Update:

Hallelujah, the CT was clear, no metastatic disease. Surgery is scheduled for 3/31. My daughter and I will check in at the Poly on Wednesday for a quick trip. His travel is on hold indefinitely.

We will continue to hold your entire family in our prayers - travel safely, and have a wonderful getaway with your daughter!