Re: Carcinoid Cancer Information

I was diagnosed with a Carcinoid Tumor about 6 weeks ago. Last week I had surgery (small bowel resection;partial colonectomy). I was in the hospital for 5 1/2 days and have been at home for the last 3 days recuperating.

I'm 35 years old and decided to get a colonoscopy because of minor stomach problems (probably not related to the tumor, evidently) and also because of family history of colon/rectal cancer (my dad died at 47). Before the colonoscopy my GI doctor said she was going to go through the whole large intestine and attempt to "peek" into the small intestine. Apparently, it's difficult to do so. Well, she managed to squeeze in there and "WHAMMO"! She found a polyp which was biopsied and determined to be a carcinoid tumor.


From that point I was poked and prodded numerous times to see if it had spread elsewhere:
*PET SCAN (no sign of tumors)
*CT SCAN (no sign of tumors)
*Octreotide Scan (no sign of tumors)
*24 Hr Urine Test (no abnormal seritonin/hormone levels)
*I even went to an opthamologist to see if it had spread behind my eyes (evidently that's one place it tends to pop up if it spreads).

I had a second opinion and they said that "although the tumor is small (approx 4mm)and i'm young it is probably a good idea to have it removed." There's no certainty that this tumor would have shortened my life but it could lead to complications in the future. I also spoke to others in the medical field who concurred with the prognosis.

It's been one week since my surgery and i'm eating regular food and my energy level is good. I'm recovering quickly.

I intend to make dietary changes and to get a colonoscopy every couple years.

If anyone has any questions about my procedure or anything else regarding carcinoid tumors please don't hesitate in contacting me: mikenaylor@yahoo.com

Thrive,
-mike Tweet