Hi Sarah, I don't have direct experience of FoxFire but hope some of the very knowledgeable members of this board will offer advice on these complex choices. As a UK patient I do value the input from members who have had access to treatments not routinely offered by the public health service this si...

Many congrats. Very glad to hear that you are enjoying life, your family and moving forward. I have just hit the 3 year NED mark as well but in the UK you don't get discharged from surveillance until 5 years. In fact, I will still be having 6 monthly CT scans and bloodwork until year 5. CT scans wer...

Many thanks MonaL for the links. All very useful. I am going to print the info and discuss with my Gastroenterologist. I have been on a liquid pro-biotic for the past fortnight and it has made an incremental difference to bowels movements, which is an indicator of digestion improvement. Next step is...

Hi, this topic was posted in February but am updating as my recent experience is relevant. I have been diagnosed with damage to small intestine from chemo. I had 10 rounds of Folfox from Nov 2007- June 2008. I was due to have 12 rounds of Folfox but Oxaliplatin was discontinued at 10 after I was hos...

Ivona - The supplement which worked best for me was a solution of Sodium Feredetate. I got it over the counter at my local pharamacy. It did give me side effects such as water stools and slight nausea but I would do things like reduce the dose from 3 to 2 times a day or skip a couple of days of dose...

Kim - it is my understanding that iron absorption can be impaired after bowel surgery. My resection was between small and large bowel so this possibility was raised. blood tests, however, showed that I was still able to absorb iron well when I took supplement - so haemotologist said I must be bleedi...

Ivona, I always insist on my Ferritin being checked. It is not routine for other patients, but I firmly believe it should be. What a pain your periods are, but good to hear that your hb has been steadily climbing back up. Kim T - My periods are regular but maybe one day out of five they are really h...

Thanks for your post Ivona. I never had my Ferritin tested during chemo, either. I believe it should be routine, especially for us gals as my periods were a super heavy nightmare when I was on Folfox. The lowest my Ferritin got to was 5 ( normal 20 - 200 for pre-menopausal women), so I am very low o...

I have suffered from chronic iron deficiency anaemia since my resection 2.5 years ago. I refused to take supplements after I finished chemo as I wanted to see how my body recovered naturally from the whole onslaught. But Hb would not budge above 10.5 to 11, below normal, with Ferritin really low at ...

The IUD recommended for me is the Mirena coil, a newer contraceptive which works in a slightly different way from most IUDs in that it releases a synthetic hormone at a slower rate, which often results in lighter periods. The manufacturers say you should not use the coil if you have had cervical or ...

My question is about the use of interuterine contraceptive devices and colon cancer. My Hb and Ferritin have struggled to recover since finishing chemo 12 months ago (last check Ferritin was 5 and Hb 10.6 on decreasing trend). My primary doctor thinks this is due to very irregular and heavy periods ...

This reply is for Lyn, who wasn't sure about the staging of her husband's tumour. I live in the UK and you should have been told the staging of the tumour as this is basis for any recommendation for chemo. The staging is normally done after surgery after the tumour has been examined by a pathologist...

Hello Bubby, I can really relate to your situation. I live in London was diagnosed with Stage 11 (B) colon cancer when my sons were 10 months and 3 years old. I had suffered severe abdo pain right throughout my pregnancy, and also anaemia, but the symptoms were shrugged off due to my age (too young ...

Dear Sharon, Thank you for taking the time to update us. Brady is such a fighter, he is an inspiration to all of us.
My thoughts are with you both. MJJ

Dear Sharon and Brady, My thoughts are with you both. MJJ