The University of Pennsylvania has a brand new protocol for re-radiation using their Proton Therapy Machine. There are only about 7 of these machines in the country. It's able to deliver the radiation in a much more precise way, protecting the close by tissue that does not need to be radiated. If yo...

Polarprincess, My daughter was treated at a Comprehensive Cancer Center by a top gastro onc and was disconnected from her pump every friday and reconnected every monday. During that time she had about 28 radiation treatments. She was dx stage 3c with 6/13 nodes positive. That was in 2005 when she wa...

thanks so much for responding to my "nervous mom" post. thank you also for the kind words about my daughter. i guess it's pretty obvious that i'm the one having trouble moving on. i feel better hearing from others that her ct scan schedule seems normal. we mothers spend so much time worryi...

hi everyone. i haven't posted in quite a while but i come here often to read and learn. brief history----in april 2005 my 22 year old daughter was dx with stage 3 rectal cancer. one of the first tests ordered was a trans rectal ultrasound with needle biopsy to stage the cancer. a few days after the ...

seussfan, i'm so sorry you're having so much trouble right now. my daughter was dx with stage 3 rectal cancer on april 4, 2005 when she was 22. she did not start chemo until june because she developed a huge infection around the lymph nodes near her tumor due to a trans rectal ultrasound procedure. ...

hi shel, of course you are overwhelmed and scared! i just wanted you to know that there's so much hope! my daughter was 22 when she was diagnosed with stage 3 rectal in april 05. she had chemo, surgery, radiation and more chemo, finishing up this past may. through it all, she managed to graduate fro...

my daughter's doctors said that some patients' fertility is compromised and some are fine. we were told that it takes 6-12 months after treatment ends for hormones to return to normal. my daughter was only 22 when dx last year. she had 6 folfox before her operation and actually got her period on the...

cynnycal, you remind me so much of my daughter. she hasn't had any tattoos but before her surgery last november, she was obsessed about taking out her belly button ring because she knew the hole would close up very quickly. they had already made her remove her tongue piercing before chemo and her no...

hi, my daughter was dx with stage 3 rectal cancer 1 year ago at the age of 22. during her surgery, her surgeon tucked her ovaries up and out of the way and put metal clips on them. that enabled the radiation oncologist to see exactly where they were located when she had her pre-radiation work up. th...

my daughter was diagnosed exactly one year ago today with stage 3 rectal cancer at the age of 22. she had chemo before surgery which caused her fairly long curly hair to thin out but not fall out completely. now, after surgery and radiation, she's finishing up her last 4 of 8 treatments. this time, ...

hi sarah. my daughter was dx last april with stage 3 rectal. she's 23 now and has 4 treatments left. through sheer determination, she will be graduating college with honors this may! never give up on your dreams. this is just a big bend in the road. good luck to you! susan CINDY- hope your son is do...

holly, i don't post often but i read all the time and your upbeat and caring attitude is a gift. my daughter was dx at age 22 last april with stage 3 rectal. she is being treated at the cancer institute of new jersey in new brunswick. they have genetic counselors on staff and she went through geneti...

my daughter is also 22 and was diagnosed last april with stage 3 rectal. after her first chemo treatment she had some of the same side effects. her teeth clenched so hard we were afraid she would break one of them. the muscles in her neck were so tight that her head kept being pulled first to one si...

maggie, i can't thank you enough for sharing how you felt at age 21. you have made me realize that i have to step back and let my daughter move at her own pace. i have more insight now thanks to what you wrote. lots of good luck to you! see you in the colondar! susan

eileen, you have no idea how many times i have wished that it could be me going through this rather than my daughter. i'm sorry you've gone through so much, too. sounds like you're doing pretty well now. i do live in n.j. my daughter receives treatment at the cancer institute of n.j. in new brunswic...