Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
The first week after being told you have colon cancer | CION Cancer Clinics
Very little has to be decided in the first week. These days are for finishing the staging tests, gathering your reports and seeing the team who will plan treatment. This page sets out a sensible order for the week, the worries that hit hardest, including the fear of a bag and of accidents, and the few signs that mean you should go to hospital today. At CION Cancer Clinics, our team supports patients and families with diet, bowel changes and life during and after treatment.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Naresh GunduConsultant Medical Oncologist · MBBS, DNB (Internal Medicine), DM (Medical Oncology, AIIMS) · last reviewed October 2026, next review due October 2027
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On this page
- What should I do in the first week after a colon cancer diagnosis?
- What are the worries that hit hardest in the first week?
- What should happen this week, and in what order?
- Four things families believe in the first week, and what is true
- What this page cannot tell you
- Common questions about the first week
The short answer
What should I do in the first week after a colon cancer diagnosis?
Gather the reports, finish the staging tests and get in front of the team who will plan treatment. Those three things are the whole job of this week. Nobody expects you to choose a treatment before the stage is known.
Why the week feels so slow
The colonoscopy found a growth and the biopsy said what it is. Before anyone can plan, the team needs a CT scan and some blood tests to see whether the cancer has spread. That waiting is where most of the fear lives. A short wait to finish staging is normal, and the right plan matters more than a fast one.
Who this page is not for
If you were diagnosed during an emergency admission, with a blocked or torn bowel, the order is different and surgery often comes first. Read being diagnosed in an emergency instead. If your report says rectal cancer, the plan is different again, and the rectal cancer pages are the right place.
If you are reading this for a parent, the same order applies. Your job this week is the folder and the questions. The decision comes later.What keeps people awake
What are the worries that hit hardest in the first week?
Most people expect to fear the cancer. Many fear the bag, the toilet and what the family will say even more.
Will I have a bag?
This is often the first question, and often asked silently. Most operations for colon cancer join the bowel back together, and a permanent bag is uncommon. When a stoma is needed it is often temporary. The page on whether you will need a stoma explains who needs one.
An accident on the way to hospital
A tumour can make the bowels loose, urgent or unpredictable, and the fear of soiling yourself in an auto or a waiting room is real. Carry spare clothes, wipes and a pad. Ask the team before taking medicine to stop loose stools, because looseness can come from a narrowing.
Guilt and blame
Families look for a reason: the food, the drinking, the piles that were ignored. Most colon cancers have no single cause anyone can point to, and nobody earns this. Blame in either direction uses energy the week needs for other things.
Shame about bowel talk
Many people, elders especially, cannot say the word stool in front of a son or a daughter-in-law. Doctors talk about bowels all day. Describing exactly what is happening, in plain words or in Telugu, gets you better help faster.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistA sensible order
What should happen this week, and in what order?
Put every report in one folder
The colonoscopy report, the biopsy report, blood tests and any scan films or CD. Keep the originals and take clear phone photos of every page. Every doctor you see will ask for them.
Finish the staging tests
Usually a CT scan of the chest, abdomen and pelvis, a blood count and a CEA test, a marker some colon cancers release into the blood. CION arranges these through its diagnostic partners, so you are not chasing several centres.
See the team that will plan treatment
The doctor who did the colonoscopy found the tumour. The plan comes from a surgical oncologist and a medical oncologist, and at CION from the tumour board, where they review your scans together.
Write down your questions
Fear wipes the memory clean in the consultation room. Bring a written list and a family member with a notebook. The page on what to ask at diagnosis gives you a starting list.
Decide who answers the phone
News travels fast in a joint family. Choose one person to update relatives, so you are not repeating the hardest sentence twenty times a day.
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Go to an emergency department today if
you cannot pass wind or stool and your belly is swelling or you are vomiting, because the bowel may be blocked. Go the same day for heavy bleeding or clots, fainting, sudden severe belly pain with fever, or breathlessness at rest. Do not wait for your appointment, and take your reports with you.
Commonly believed
Four things families believe in the first week, and what is true
"If treatment does not start this week, it will spread everywhere."
Most colon cancers grew slowly, over years, before they were found. Finishing the staging first is normal, and treating without knowing the stage risks the wrong plan. A blocked bowel or heavy bleeding is different, which is why the box above matters.
"Asking for a second opinion will offend the doctor."
Oncologists expect it, and a good one will hand over the reports without fuss. A review of the slides and scans can often run alongside the staging tests. See getting a second opinion on a diagnosis.
"An operation lets air in and makes the cancer spread."
Air does not make cancer spread. For most colon cancers that have not spread, surgery is the main treatment. Delaying it out of this fear gives the cancer time it should not have.
"A special diet or herbal medicine can shrink it while we wait."
No diet or herbal product has been shown to treat colon cancer. Some affect bleeding before surgery or clash with chemotherapy. Eat normally, and tell the team about anything you take, including ayurvedic preparations.
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Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you your stage, which treatment you will need or how things will go. Those answers come from the scans, the biopsy and the team who has seen both. Anyone who gives you an outlook before staging is guessing.
It cannot read your report
Biopsy reports carry words like adenocarcinoma, grade and MMR that mean specific things for you. Bring the report to an oncologist rather than searching each word at midnight.
Who can
CION's oncologists can review your reports, arrange the remaining staging tests through partner centres and take your case to the tumour board. If you are not sure what to do next, call the helpline with your reports in hand.
If a parent does not want to hear the details, tell the team that too. Doctors can work with it.Questions we are asked
Common questions about the first week
How long after diagnosis does treatment usually start?
It depends on the stage, and on how quickly the staging tests and the tumour board review are done. For most people it takes some weeks. If the bowel is blocked or bleeding heavily, treatment starts much sooner. Ask your team for the dates they expect, and write them down.
What tests are still to come after the biopsy?
Most people need a CT scan of the chest, abdomen and pelvis, a CEA blood test and a blood count. Some need an MRI or a PET-CT to answer a specific question. CION arranges these through partner diagnostic centres, and the tumour board reviews the results together.
Will I definitely need chemotherapy?
Not everyone does. Whether chemotherapy is added after surgery depends on the stage found in the removed bowel and the lymph nodes, the small glands that drain it. Some early cancers need surgery alone. Your oncologist can only answer this once the stage is known.
Can I eat normally before treatment starts?
Usually yes. Eat what you can manage, with enough protein from dal, curd, eggs or paneer. If you have cramps or bloating, smaller meals of softer food may be easier. Tell the team at once if you stop passing stool or start vomiting.
Is it normal to feel nothing at all?
Yes. Many people feel numb at first and fall apart later, often once treatment has a date. Others stay calm while the family falls apart around them. There is no correct way to react. If panic or low mood stops you sleeping or eating, tell the team.
Should I tell my employer straight away?
Not necessarily this week. You will need time off for tests and appointments, so telling a manager or HR that you have medical appointments is enough for now. You can decide how much to share once you know the treatment plan.
Do I need to tell my children this week?
Not necessarily, but sooner is usually better, because children notice. Some parents wait until they know the plan, so they have something concrete to say. Use simple words that fit the child's age, and keep their routine as normal as you can.
Who do I call if I have questions before my appointment?
Call the CION helpline with your reports in front of you, and say what you have been told so far. Someone will tell you what still needs doing and help you book the next step. For bleeding, vomiting or severe pain, go to an emergency department instead.
Your Specialists
Meet CION's colon cancer specialists. Bring your colonoscopy, scan or biopsy report.
Our surgical and medical oncologists plan colon cancer care together: which operation, whether chemotherapy is needed, and the follow-up that comes after.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Muralidhar Muddusetty
MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery) (AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh)
Surgical Oncologist
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Patient stories
Hear it from people we have treated
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Sources
- NHS — Tests and next steps for bowel cancer
- American Cancer Society — Colon Cancer Surgery
- National Cancer Institute — Common Cancer Myths and Misconceptions
- National Cancer Institute — Emotions and Cancer
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Coping with a colon cancer diagnosisFor the weeks after this one, when the shock wears offHow long does diagnosis take, start to finish?What a normal wait looks like, test by testTelling your family you have colon cancerWho to tell first, and how to say itThe emotional side of living with a stomaIf the bag is the fear you cannot say out loud
Talk to us
Holding a report and not sure what comes next?
Tell us what you have been told so far. We will say which tests are still needed and help you book the next step. One helpline serves every CION centre.