Gastric & colorectal cancer
12 articles shown
Surgery Went Well — So Why Recommend Chemo? Understanding Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Stage 3 Colorectal Cancer and Deciding Together When an Older Patient Hesitates
Why doctors recommend adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery for stage 3 colorectal cancer — to target unseen micrometastasis and lower recurrence risk — and how to weigh benefits and burdens together when an older patient hesitates.
When a Follow-Up Day Bundles Blood, Urine, X-Ray, and CT — Fasting by Test, Preparing for Contrast, and Getting Through the Day
A practical guide to a combined follow-up day — fasting rules that differ by test, preparing for CT contrast, the usual order of exams, what to bring, and coping while you wait for results.
Sigmoidoscopy vs. Full Colonoscopy: Why the Bowel Prep May Differ — and What to Do If You Lost Your Instructions
A sigmoidoscopy and a full colonoscopy examine different lengths of bowel, so their preparation can differ — a sigmoidoscopy is not automatically simpler. If you lose your instruction sheet, don't assume colonoscopy rules; call the hospital where you booked to reconfirm the diet, laxative, and enema requirements and get a replacement sheet.
Home or Hospital? Choosing the Place of Care When Pain Can't Be Controlled at Home
When caring for a loved one with advanced cancer at home and pain becomes hard to control, this article explains how to weigh the place of care — home, hospital, palliative care, or hospice — and how to ease caregiver guilt.
When You're Told to 'Eat Small Amounts Often, Even Without Hunger' After Total Stomach Removal — Understanding Digestion and Small, Frequent Meals After Gastrectomy
Removing the whole stomach changes digestion, making small, frequent meals important. This article explains dumping syndrome, weaker hunger cues, fat digestion after gallbladder removal, and changes in nutrient absorption such as vitamin B12 — and how the body adapts over time.
Dark or Greenish-Black Stool While Taking Iron After Colon Surgery — Telling a Harmless Color Change from Real Bleeding
Iron supplements often prescribed after colon surgery can turn stool dark green or nearly black. This is usually a harmless drug effect, but it needs to be distinguished from melena caused by gastrointestinal bleeding. Here are the warning signs to watch for and how to track and discuss them.
When the surgeon plans to remove more than half your liver: how the liver regrows and why the 'remaining liver' matters most
Explains why surgeons can often remove more than half of the liver, using the ideas of liver regeneration and the future liver remnant (FLR), and outlines what to check before surgery.
Told to Prepare Adult Absorbent Products Before Rectal Surgery — Choosing Pads and Diapers for Leakage and Protecting Your Skin
Before and after rectal or anal surgery, bowel prep and changes in stool control can cause leakage of stool or mucus, so adult absorbent products are sometimes prepared in advance. Choose by absorbency, size, and ease of changing, care for wet skin quickly to prevent incontinence-associated dermatitis, and confirm product choices with your care team.
When Colorectal Cancer Spreads to the Lungs and the Plan Starts With Chemotherapy, Not Surgery — Why Whole-Body Treatment Often Comes First and How Local Options Are Reconsidered
A plain-language look at why systemic (injectable) chemotherapy often comes first for colorectal cancer that has spread to the lungs, how local options like metastasectomy and stereotactic radiotherapy are reconsidered in oligometastasis, the role of genetic testing and PET-CT, and questions to raise with your care team.
When a Fever Rises After Coming Home From Chemo — Why It Is Not a Sign of Resistance, and How to Read a Fever That Quickly Responds to Medication
Why a fever after chemotherapy is not a sign of drug resistance, the several reasons a fever can occur, and why 'it responded to a fever reducer' is not enough to feel safe — plus how to respond wisely.
When Your Post-Surgery Chemo Ends but a CT Scan Isn't Booked — Understanding the Move from Treatment to Follow-Up Monitoring and How to Confirm Your Schedule
Why a CT scan often isn't booked right after your final round of adjuvant chemotherapy, how the first surveillance scan is timed, how colorectal cancer follow-up is structured, and how to confirm your own schedule.
When Your Belly Feels Tight and You Can't Stand Up Straight — Understanding Ascites in Peritoneal Metastasis and Why It Eases When Chemotherapy Responds
A plain-language guide to ascites in peritoneal metastasis: what it is, why the belly becomes swollen and uncomfortable, how effective chemotherapy can reduce it and how doctors confirm the response with imaging, plus the warning signs that mean you should call your care team right away.