Stage IIIb Rectal Cancer. Husband clean for over two years now (dx 11/09). Lots of post treatment complications, but cancer hasn't been on our radar for a while. Best wishes to everyone!

The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) awarded MrPleistocene's surgeon their Research Foundation Mentor Award. The write up in the award announcement is very accurate from our experience. He is the best doctor we've interacted with during this whole cancer journey and the reason M...

They don't have IV, but they do have oral liquid form by rx you can ask your doc about. It can be hard to take pills post resection depending on the invasiveness of the surgery. Again, look at studies. I did this research about a year and a half ago, but I remember coming to the conclusion that the ...

I should read down a little before posting. I sent out the link because it is one of the few studies tracking this time period for these stages. And, it is using different inflammatory markers to monitor recurrence. Reluctance to take more (and possibly dangerous) drugs after treatment is over is de...

Exercise, metformin effects on colon cancer

http://m.examiner.com/examiner/pm_60935 ... d=obcTXESv

Jules, is Dr. Lenz at City of Hope now? I thought he was USC...

Dr. Lenz for pure oncology seems to be everyone's go-to. I would switch to him if MrP had a recurrence. I don't know anything about how well the USC system runs though.

Mr.Pleistocene had his resection for rectal cancer (along with temp. ileostomy and removal of seminal vesicles) and then the ileo. reversal 9 months later performed at City of Hope. Also had a few cycles of pre-sugery chemo there. I can't recommended Dr. Garcia-Aguilar for surgery highly enough. He ...

Mr.P's surgeon, Dr. Julio Garcia-Aguilar, will be presenting data on the trials he's run that have provided a few cycles of chemo prior to Rectal Cancer surgery. Looks like good news.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/ ... 060211.php

So sorry for your irreplaceable loss. If it is any comfort, know that the depth of your sadness is an expression of how much love you have for her.

Thanks, Eric. You've provided me some measure of assurance. I've started second guessing my decision not to get home care just because I want to make sure I am doing all I can (and doing it the right way). MrP keeps asking if the amount of gauze is less. And, it hasn't changed yet....1 week postop. ...

So, MrP is doing pretty good. I'm changing the packing and dressing on his wound 2x a day. The docs didn't ask for anything other than that. However, I've been reading about open wound care and there seems to be a lot more you can do to help it along. The most common thing is to clean the wound out ...

Back home and so relieved. The consistency of MrP's output has progressed from liquid to mucous to mud. Frequency hasn't hit yet. Maybe he hasn't been on solids long enough. Will start adding fiber after breakfast tomorrow.

MrP was started on full liquids this morning. He did lots of walking during the day, which ended up being very productive at "moving" things along. The Docs then allowed him to upgrade to solid foods this evening. Depending on how his system reacts to that, MrP may be discharged tomorrow. ...

Nausea gone. Pain managed. MrP's walking so much that we are finding ghost town sections of the hospital. Really weird. The sleeping giant has just barely stirred (some gas). Pain meds don't help with that though. Need to take less of those, walk even more and wait.

Cross fingers. But, MrP seems to be doing a lot better on the pain/nausea front. He even seems eager to start walking. I learned how to pack his wound this morning. The funny thing is that this type of wound is exactly what would totally gross MrP out. I'm pretty sure he won't be looking at it until...