Colon Tumor - Please Help!

[kjellstrom]

I am very sad to be here posting this. My mother turned 60 yesterday and had her colonoscopy this morning - the doctor found a tumor that was too big to remove during the procedure. He took a few samples and sent it off for biopsy. He told us that just by looking at it, he is unable to tell us whether it is benign or malignant. He said it is about 4cm x 4cm (1.5 inches) and a fairly large size. Other than that, he said we'd have to wait a week for the results, and, whether they be malignant or benign, the mass would need to be removed anyway. Of course, I was crying my eyes out and my mom was so calm but I just am so scared. The doctor did not seem very optimistic - at least in my opinion.

So, her background. She has had diverticulitis off and on in her 50's and suffered with constipation her whole life. She has also had hemorrhoids but nothing too major. She has never been a drinker or a smoker and cancer does not run in our family at all that we know of. She is a just a tad overweight - maybe 10-20 pounds at most? Also, she has never had a colonoscopy before.

She has no pain, no weight loss and had a chest x-ray about two months ago for an elective cosmetic procedure - it was negative. However, she did tell me that she has had a tinge of bright red blood after a BM while wiping about three times in the past three years? So, this concerns me a bit.

Oh, and about two years ago, when she had severe pain in her left side, she went to the ER and they did a CT scan with iodine - they discovered that she had diverticulitis. Would they have seen the tumor at this point?

So, would mind helping my mom and me out with these questions? We would appreciate it so much. We would just like to know about the sizing and the real chances of this tumor being benign? Every place I look on the internet seems to have very little chance of it actually being non-malignant - why did the doctor not tell us the truth? Why can't he give us a better idea by just looking at it? If it is 4cm round, does this most likely mean that it has gone into her lymph nodes and metastasized to her liver?  The fact that the findings were fungating and friable - does this point toward it being malignant more than benign?  Why in the world was the doctor not frank with us about this - he wouldn't explain any of it!  

I am so scared for my mom - I can't even function, she is my very best friend and I'm a complete wreck - I never thought this could happen to her in a million years - please give us any information and advice you have - we thank you so, so much!

*** Findings: In the rectum, a non obstructing, large size, fungating, friable 4cm. by 4cm. mass was seen. The mass was not bleeding.

[brickgirl22]

My mom is 80. Diagnosed with a mass in her colon in September, had 8-10 inches of colon removed Stage II (it takes about 10-14 days to get the staging information), she is doing well.  The oncologist has not recommended any follow-up protocol.  He said that chemo would be life threatening for her as she has high BP and various other maladies.  God Bless and really stay positive!

[Jaybay]

The reason your doctor couldn't explain anything is because he doesn't know.  Anything he could say right now would be a guess, I'm sure he wants to make sure you get solid facts.  He won't know exactly what the tumor is until a pathologist sections, stains and evaluates what exactly it is.  Simply looking at the mass doesn't tell you much about it.  Fungating is a descriptive term of what the doctor saw, meaning it is an exuberant growth - kind of like a fungus - not usually a good sign.  Friable is also a descriptive term meaning the tissue is delicate and falls apart easily.  

Right now you're kind of stuck in the waiting mode to find out exactly what the mass is.  If it is localized to the rectum, it may be able to be easily resected with surgery.  As small as this tumor is right now, it's doubtful it was even present when she had her CT scan 2 years ago, or was too small to detect.  

It sounds like your mom takes good care to see a doctor when she has problems, so if this tumor is malignant, there is every chance it was caught early enough that it can be treated and she will recover.  Colon cancer does not necessarily mean a death sentence any more.  A friend of mine had a colon resection and chemo 7 years ago for colon cancer, and her tumor was very much larger than your mom's.  In all these years, there has been no recurrence of the cancer.  I know cancer is such a horribly scary word, but try not to picture the worst case yet.  It's far too soon.  Hang in there.  Your mom is lucky to have such a wonderful daughter.  :-)

[kim11]

I'm sorry your going  through this. I'm almost in the identical situation although my mother is older,
in her 80's. Her tumor is of moderate size and needs to removed with surgery called colon resection.
Her doctor was able to tell us that is did look like cancer, they did biopsy it and expected
an early stage cancer but until they do surgery will not know if it has spread. That is the
hard part, all of the unknowns. Her results should be back in a few days.

I have been told by doctors and many in the medical field that this surgery is successful
if the cancer is caught early.

I hope all goes well for your mom and stay positive.