Unfortunately I look like I crawled over a landmine ,I couldn't get tatts i'd have to get screen printed. Ps I also love your alternate posts cynn(((((((ron))))))

Hi Kelly, I was waking up in hospital on this day in 1998 having been operated on the night before to remove a stage 3 colon tumor ,13 regional nodes were removed ,6 were cancerous, after 3 weeks I went on to 5fu and leucovorin but could not tolerate it. I had 48 sessions of 5fu and levamisole and h...

Hi Brigette, I'm from the Sunshine coast in Queensland . I was dx with stage 3 colon ca back in 98. Obviously I'm still going but support was a major problem. I found most of my support and info through American survivor groups. The local groups like Qld cancer fund were very frustating to deal with...

Hi Tom, My surgeon considered thefirst 18 mos as the critical period usually for a recurrence in the same area . The remainder of the 5 years is where they worry about mets appearing at distant sites . There is one school of thought that mets are embryotic in nature and that at least three to five c...

There was a special on TV in Australia a couple of years ago called surviving survival. The quote that sticks in my mind is"Despite what you would imagine ,people who have survived cancer are amongst the most unhappy and depressed in the community often becomming alienated from friends and family an...

My surgeon and oncologist both regard the date of my operation as the start of my survival. It is the 22nd of this month .On the 23rd I start my tenth year as a survivor of stage three colon cancer. I did it one year at a time just like you are doing,best wishes Ron.

I had my second of 8 scopes three days after a dose of chemo,it has given me mystical abilities. Any prep you wish to give me ,I can projectile vomit it thru the eye of a needle at 50 paces. I kid you not as the first drop hits my throat it begins to bounce . On more than one ocassion my sinuses hav...

Hi wdt, I would love to tell you that there will be no side effects to your husbands sex life but there may well be. It seems to vary greatly for individuals , some do not suffer problems others lose an important part of their life. I was st3 with 6/13 nodes involved . It was at the bend where the t...

Hi Seeker, I agree you should be concerned ,if it is three inches ,that is very large. There is an old saying amongst survivors"don't panic until you are sure you have something to panic about". At this point it is even money that the polyp is benign (non cancerous). Hold onto that thought and wait ...

Hi Michelle, It is quite amazing to stay awake during a scope ,our large bowel is like a piece of agricultural pipe,all corrugated. That is what can make the polyps easy to miss ,they hide in the valleys and on the slopes . The ones on the ridges are easier to see. Melissa took note of the ones she ...

Hi holly, Giant hugs mate. I wonder how many cancer survivors become victims of statistics. I clearly remember my oncologist telling me that all of my scopes were to monitor for recurrence. I asked him about new polyps. He said that nothing serious was likely to occur with a polyp for at least three...

A sobering note, I had my scope two weeks ago and they removed two polyps,both were only two mm. I got the biopsy results this week. One of the polyps showed signs of changes within the cells.Not yet cancer but definitely pre-cancerous. With scopes two years apart it sure leaves you with the chillin...

Hi Jan, Because your mum has lymph node involvement it will more than likely be a stage 3 tumor. When they discover lymph nodes involved her doctors should put her through a rigourous testing program including x-rays ,ultrasounds and scans to make sure that the cancer has not spread to distant sites...

Hi,
I had a major bout of pancreatitis and lost my gallbladder a few years after chemo. The surgeon said that in his opinion it was fairly common for people who had been on chemo to suffer from pancreatitis and also to require gall bladder surgery,Cheers Ron.

Big hugs,hope your recovery stays on track,have a happy and healthy Christmas .Ron.