Wanted to post an update that today's colonoscopy went well -- results showed no polyps, no active Crohn's and inflammation. He is biopsing a few areas to make sure there's no microscopic inflammation. Phew. Before the procedure, the GI doc said he didn't think the cancer was due to my Crohn's, sinc...

40 minutes -- yikes! I did it at the hospital/infusion center. Only 10-15 minutes away. Another good thing about that is I got IV fluids every day after disconnect. I think 1 liter each time. Made a huge difference with managing side effects (nausea!), which usually hit worst day after disconnect.

I did the pump with the fanny pack and port, also. Though I stayed home during my connected days, I could see having been able to disguise it well in public. My oncologist had said with my history of Crohn's, I shouldn't risk the GI side effects of Xeloda. I was very squeamish about the port and nee...

I had my one-year anniversary colonoscopy today and yesterday was REALLY tough for me. Worse than in the past. I couldn't tolerate jello, chicken broth, coconut water, apple juice -- everything made me gag. I got really low blood sugar and headache-y and threw up BEFORE I even started the Gavilyte. ...

Not sure of the difference between Xelox and Folfox nausea-related side effects, but I found that snacking helped a lot during my "on" weeks. Always having something in my stomach staved off the nausea. I forced myself to eat a handful of Cheerios, popcorn or walnuts/almonds when awake, ev...

The waiting for appointments and test results is always hard. Try not to worry prematurely. It is good that he's been tested yearly and that the low hemoglobin level is not too low. Mine was at 7 when I found out I had anemia in November 2016. That was my only symptom, and when I was diagnosed with ...

Thank you, Everyone, for your support and stories and links. You GUYS! You're so amazing. Some of the info seems so obvious but yet I needed to read it again to remember or absorb it. Also, it is clear that we have shared -- and yet so varied -- experiences. One of us with IBD (or anything, for that...

Hi, I've posted this on other threads. I'm fairly certain my cancer is a result of having Crohn's Disease, even though it was in remission with a very low dose of Asacol/Lialda for 20 years. It would be too coincidental that I got this and not my identical twin (no Crohn's). That's my unprofessional...

Beccaschocked, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Emotional roller coaster over here. Not a train wreck today. Tomorrow, who knows? Today, I took a bike ride with my husband and girls. Looked out over the bay as we rode over and thought, "How beautiful is this life! And no chemo today or the next day or the ne...

Hi Menreeq, First off, congrats on finishing up your chemo! I was reading to the girls from Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, and the first sentence about one of the women was about how she was saddened by the death of her nanny from cancer. (I would have skipped that sentence, but my seven-year-o...

Yup. Totally get it. I think I had a post back in Sept or Oct about finishing chemo and "not walking on sunshine". People would say, "I'm so glad this is behind you." HA HA HA! And you don't want to bring them down, or let them know you're constantly doing math in your head to se...

Do you think your platelets are back up now? I never had to postpone, as I never had a problem with low platelets. I can say that IF the chair situation is the only reason you're having to wait those extra few days, I would ABSOLUTELY be a squeaky wheel and call to get in sooner. My chemo nurses wer...

Done. Thanks for the bump and the nudge.

Oh -- PHEW! Thanks for this update. I've appreciated your post comments of support (for me and others on here) and am SOOOOO happy to read this today.

Mine was 8 out of 64. When you use the Mayo Clinic nom... there's some word for calculator that they use that's eluding me right now (anyone?) -- it does make a difference when the tested number is larger. However, I have had some oncologists who feel it doesn't make that much of a difference when y...