Small Bowel Cancer

[Brad P]

Hello all...

Newbie to the forum. I've had CD for 21 years since I was 13. This past September I learned I had a growth in my bowel, ie cancer of some sort. I had surgery to remove it on Oct 1st and it was small bowel cancer (not lymphoma as initially thought), specifically undifferentiated carcinoma with poorly undifferentiated adenocarcinoma....something like that. It was 25cm long and 10cm wide at its widest point. It grew fairly fast. They removed 4ft of bowel all together where the extra bowel they removed had chronic Crohn's. They also removed 14 enlarged lymph nodes where 12 were affected by cancer. I am seeing an oncologist in a few weeks to discuss precautionary treatment as there may be microscopic disease left. I must say though, I haven't felt better but still have some more recovering to do. I am able to eat more over the course of a day and the bloating/gut noises/slow emptying of my stomach is practically gone.

I did a search in this forum for cancer and didn't really find anything. Small bowel cancer is in fact rare so that doesn't surprise me. If anyone has any experiences with cancer in the small bowel, I'd be anxious to hear it.

It seems that the cancer started due to many years of inflammation and healing. They say someone with CD for 20+ years is at higher risk for this, but the risk is still really low.

My symptoms were a mass in my abdominal area, sudden exhaustion/fatigue and drop in blood iron that lasted for weeks. I wasn't vomiting and my only change in BM habits was a change in color, ie, dark stool. One day I felt fine, the next I didn't. Literally. This was early August when it all started. I suspect I lost alot of blood suddenly and it didn't stop. Now my stool looks better than ever!

If anyone has any questions about SBC, feel free to drop me a line on the forum.

Cheers

 

[Brad P]

Welcome Brad! I am not sure, but so far here no one has had it, but has been a concern for some. Cancer does run in my family and my Uncle who was 49 died of intestinal cancer, but didnt find it til it spread to his lungs. Bowel cancer is 90% treatable if you catch it early. Alot of men dont like having the tests for it so they leave it too long. I am sorry that this happened to you, you must of been scared. If you ever need support and to join in our experiences and fun please do, we are hear to hear what every you need to say. Take care, glad for your improvement!

Thanks for your reply. I was scared, but not surprised really as I so happened to have had asked my GI over a year ago what my odds were for getting small bowel cancer. So it has always been in the back of my mind. I have no immediate family members who have had cancer minus a cousin who had cancer in her ovaries but she is fine and had a baby thereafter..

Lucky for me I am thin so I could easily feel the tumor down there. Otherwise I probably would have continued to think I was having a bad flareup.

Did your uncle have large or small bowel cancer? Large bowel cancer is what older folks are encouraged to get tested for.

Either way, I wish I had that section of bowel removed a long time ago. The surgery itself and recovery wasn't as bad as I thought and having that removed earlier would have improved my quality of life and more than likely removed the chance of getting cancer this time around. Oh well...could be worse!

 

[Guest]

hi Brad, and welcome to the forum.

i am so pleased that this nasty complication of Crohns was caught early enough for surgery to intervene successfully, for you. you're right - it could have been a lot worse.

i suspect you have touched on a topic that many of us here fear - certainly i have been told by my specialist that if my current active Crohns isn't calmed down with meds, i will be facing more surgery, simply because of the cancer risk. (i was actually told 10 years of active Crohns is the line they draw).

good luck with the remainder of your treatment - i hope you continue in good health from now on. and i want to thank you for maybe helping some of us cross the line of thinking about this.

 

[GoJohnnyGo]

I'm a little bit concerned myself. My father passed away in July from bowel cancer which spread to his bones (although he did not have IBD). Seeing him go through a lot of similar symptoms (and pain) that I myself have experienced with Crohn's has understandably freaked me out.

Thanks for sharing, Brad.