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Colon cancer · Help and support

Help with understanding your bowel cancer appointment

Your colorectal team and specialist nurse can explain your results, the choices available and the next steps. Bring questions and ask them to show you what they mean.

Open the explorer Read the guide

Questions to ask your team

  1. Which part of my bowel is the tumour in, and how big is it?
  2. How deep has it grown, and has it spread anywhere else?
  3. What are my treatment choices, and what are the benefits and likely effects of each?
  4. If I have an operation, which part of the bowel would be removed? Will it be keyhole surgery?
  5. Might I need a stoma, and would it be for a short time or permanent?
  6. How will my bowel work afterwards?
  7. Will I need chemotherapy after surgery?
  8. Who do I call if I’m worried, and what number do I use out of hours?

Someone to talk to

Words you may hear

Colon
The large bowel, from the caecum on the right to the sigmoid colon on the left, before the rectum.
T stage
How far the tumour has grown through the layers of the bowel wall, from T1 (inner lining) to T4 (through the outer lining or into a nearby organ).
N and M
N is whether lymph nodes are affected; M is whether it has spread elsewhere (metastases).
Hemicolectomy
An operation to remove the right or left side of the colon.
Anastomosis
The join made between two ends of bowel after a section is removed.
Stoma
An opening of the bowel on the tummy, with a bag to collect poo.
MDT
The multidisciplinary team of specialists who meet to agree the best options for you.
CNS
Clinical nurse specialist: an experienced nurse who supports you through diagnosis and treatment.

Trusted information

The explorer is a simplified illustration for a conversation with your team. It cannot interpret your report, diagnose cancer, stage it or tell you which treatment is right.