My oncologist has cut me loose! :D Colonoscopy was clean, with no polyps; 5 years before I need another one. CT scans look good, too. Bloodwork also clean. I'm hovering at 1.4 CEA. Everything looks great. I'm still on no other medications other than calcium+D supplements, and my weight is unchanged ...
I actually stopped losing my hair even a normal amount when I was on Folfox, and my hair quit getting dirty, too. Like, there was no hair in the drain in the shower, no hair in my hairbrush after brushing my hair. And I could be on day 5 or 6 without washing my hair and not be able to tell that I ha...
I got my first Shingrix vaccine right before COVID hit. I delayed getting the second one until a little late, because pandemic -- I think I was at 7 months. Both my parents experienced shingles well before retiring, and I would very much like to avoid that. I turn 52 next month.
Everything did look good on the scans, whew. Next appointment is in 6 months, for bloodwork only. CT scan and colonoscopy next summer - that will be 4 years after surgery, 3 years after my last colonoscopy.
I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd updated my thread! Today was my annual CT scan and bloodwork. CEA is 1.3; that's the lowest it's gotten so far. The rest of the bloodwork looks fine. Already got the chest scan results back; that looks good. Still waiting on the abdomen/pelvis results. ...
That is great news! For what it is worth, the side effects do vary over time. I had first bite really bad at first, but by the end of chemo I stopped having that side effect entirely. The cold sensitivity was a constant. I also had some weird side effects, like my hair actually stopped falling out a...
My scans continue to be clean, and I've graduated to annual. My next CT scan is in August and my next colonoscopy (3-year) should be in 6 months or so. I started getting regular UTIs after chemo, which I think just happened to coincide with menopause for me; I was already on my way there before star...
I don't think there's a tumor classification for necrotic, so I'm not sure that it's a super important distinction from a clinical standpoint. My colon cancer tumor was necrotic, but I only know that because I read the full surgeon's report; it was buried in the body of the report. It hasn't been me...
Hi all, Three years ago yesterday I went into the hospital with a fever... and came out minus 10" of my colon a week later. It's easy to remember the date because I spent all day in the ER on day two, half-watching all the Star Wars movies. This place helped me get through the aftermath. I stil...
Not cancer related, but I have to share this anyway... I suffer from tinnitus, which I've had for a good 20+ years (I am 51 now). It has at times been bad enough that I have lost sleep over it. It did not get worse during chemo, but over time I ended up wearing earplugs whenever I was in a loud envi...
Great news, Mike!! I know I haven't been very active around here but I do still come back to check on peeps. :) I'm relieved to see that you've got a process that's working for you. I got Visbiome through the mail when I was trying to get rid of my third c diff flareup; it's another probiotic that r...
My sister is a medical lab tech in a hospital, and she just got her second shot of the Pfizer vaccine in the past week. My parents are in their late 70s and they got their first dose this past week (in North Carolina). I'm in Maryland and we are behind North Carolina, schedule-wise. It sounds like t...