I had all my treatments at CTCA in Settle and was completely happy with the care I received. I took full advantage of the naturopathic care that they offered along with the chemotherapy. The chemo was a different mix than standard, and on a lower dose with more frequency. I also did not have radiati...

I've had all my scans done at Seattle Rediologists in the Nordstrom Tower. They've done a good job with great turn around times. It's a modern and clean facility that is independent of the hospital even though they are right next door. Insurance paid for the scans, so I can't say how much they charg...

I would say that my cancer treatment was both alternative and integrative. I did not have radiation. The chemo I had did not fall within standard protocols, but rather, was a low dose administered once a week for 12 weeks. It was a mix of 5 drugs, they had previously used this successfully with panc...

I was stage III anal cancer with 4 lymph nodes, penetration of the muscle wall and nodes visible in my liver and lungs. Diagnosed January 2006, I passed the tumor on 4/10/2006 and had my surgery 6/12/2006. One of those dates must be my anniversary. There was no evidence of disease in the tissue remo...

I have some news that you might appreciate hearing. While collecting donations for St Judes, I ran into a woman who works at SCCA and told her about Aetna. She said that if a person is mid treatment that Aetna will continue to pay SCCA. There are a couple of forms to fill out, signed by Drs etc. You...

Radiation is standard protocol, particularly for your stage of cancer. A while back I invited a discussion on the topic, here's the link http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8608 The largest takeaway I had from that thread was the importance of selecting a top radiologist....

Hi Sally, I'm a huge fan of Northwest Hospital and Swedish too. There's something about the focused dedication of the smaller less elite hospitals and clinics that I prefer. My surgeon was Dr Steven Medwell at Swedish, wonderful surgeon. I also had most of my imaging done at Seattle Radiology in the...

In January 2006 I was diagnosed with stage III anal cancer. By June 2006 I was declared NED. At the time I had no idea that I was traveling along a road very similar to the one that Farrah traveled. I've been very fortunate that I've remained NED. I wish I could have shared my success with her. It's...

No one mentioned Aloha Solitaire. It really helps with strategic thinking and you get to see the girl in the Hula skirt when you win. I love rewards. Free cell is another good card computer game. During and after chemo I was a manager in a busy retail store and mahjong was the one thing that prepare...

If you want interesting recipes with veggies, go for vegetarian cookbooks. My favs are "The New Vegetarian Epicure", "Greens", "Field of Greens", and "The Savory Way". Tasty can be easy too, roasting veggies for 20 minutes with a few fresh herbs and a touch of...

Hi Karma, Lots of people here lending you support. So many of us have travelled down the road you're on right now, many are still traveling down it. This cancer seems to come out of nowhere. I remember that first chemo session, I felt fine, perfectly healthy. And there I was letting them put drugs i...

Karma, learning about ostomies and everything associated with them is far worse than actually living with one. When you visit a forum like the UOAA, a wonderful site by the way, you become exposed to a tremendous variety of ostomies. There's a learning curve for everyone and a variety of things can ...

Marian, I don't know if it's time for radiation to be re-evaluated overally, but I do think it needs to be evaluated on a patient-by-patient basis for advanced disease, whether anal, rectal or colon cancer. Gaelen, I think that must be where I'd like to see us get to. The first Dr I saw after dx ha...

Radiation treatment is something that I’ve thought deeply about since my initial diagnosis. The oncologist I chose was opposed to the use of radiation in many cases even though it went against current protocols. He felt that since cancer could travel through the bloodstream that a chemotherapy regim...

Second opinions are always good. My sister is 3 years out right now, colon cancer without lymph node involvement, resection, no chemo or radiation. She's still NED.