Yeah, I had that surgery. It's a piece of cake. The problem is CANCER!! I mean, c'mon people, what are you going to do? not have the surgery. I mean you're losing half your colon, it's not like spending a day at the beach; but, for me, compared to the chemo, the worry of recurrence, the lasting chem...

Can't read a thread like this and not post. I too have suffered as much in "victory" as I did during the "battle." The day the chemo ended, family and friends considered me "normal" or "cured." Sorry to say that has never been the case. Have not been able to h...

I'm not sure there is a "reason" they don't work. I had lots of trouble with mine. I think it was installed wrong. The chemo nurses had lots of trouble getting it to work. they would "flush" it with thinners and make me sit. My chemo was always delayed because it wouldn't work ri...

This board can create a twisted sense of "survivor's guilt" in me.

Thank you for such a thoughtful and informative answer. I hope you get some useful responses to your question about whether to pursue chemo with your current regime. And of course, as I wish for all on this board--better days to come!!

Just curious, do you still follow the ketogenic diet, and if so, about how many carbs do you eat per day. It seems that for it to "work" (I know it's highly theoretical) you need to limit carbs to under 20grams a day in order to stay in the best possible state of ketosis.

I had a port but it kept acting up, so I finally ended up with the IV. My arm really burned. But I thought a big part of the port was that it got the oxi right to where the blood was flowing fast and dispersed it around quicker. Because of my bad port, I had a "test" where they inserted dy...

Just paying the medical staff is probably $1,000 for the 15 min procedure.

That just feeling "off" doesn't fly amongst the general populus. But BOY do I know what you mean. Obviously, one of those deals where you have to go through it to know. But, I felt that way a good year before dx and just kept making excuses to myself. Oh well.

I am 100% in the "knew something was wrong" camp. But my question is, "How can people not be aware of recurrence?" We've had cancer, the doctors HAVE NOT. We know how it feels to just not want to get up--when all our lives we (may) have been brimming with energy. Steve Jobs (acco...

That is crazy!! I'm very, very far from being an expert (even after reading this forum for 8 months.) But, it seems to me, NED is almost a state of mind. It is not, CURED. If a Dr. says there is NED, live it up. However, that doesn't mean you won't have a recurrence. It just means, "enjoy the n...

As crazy as it sounds, I think listening to non-onc drs about cancer is foolish. I have been told some real nonsense. They all seem to want to be cancer experts. Hey it is the "greatest" disease, the "Emperor of all Maladies.". The best thing you have going for you is you are ver...

Weren't you supposed to get a colonoscopy?

This topic seems to come up fairly often (I read about the brothers bringing exercise equipment back in June. There was also a husband who coaxed his wife onto a treadmill just 2 weeks before she passed.) If I had to do it over again I would NEVER SPEAK OF DEATH until I had a "doctor's note.&qu...

I think the problem is most people just think cancer is cancer and some people beat it and others don't. They don't know about mets and stages and elements that can radically change a person's prognosis. Of course when "the doctor" says, "get your affairs in order" then they'll c...