I got through radiation pretty scot free but for me, one of the late side effects was intense rectal pain and tenesmus, the sort of horrid cramping I'd had as a sign of cancer before diagnosis. Yet I'd had a full response to chemoradiation so there was no tumour to be seen at all. It went away after...

Hello! I've been struggling through something very similar. Just finished 5 tough rounds of SBRT Radiation which took a toll on me. Got hit hard with fatigue and the nausea got so bad. Back on chemo (5FU+Erbitux) currently till my bilirubin stabilizes (long story). Anyhow, in the last 4 years of wh...

It's how I've felt for the five years since treatment finished and sadly my fitness and health has declined as a result. I've found no cure for it other than to adjust lifestyle to place less demands on your energy - I'm considering working part time as so far it's socialising and spending time with...

Interestingly, I was determined to have had a complete pathological response after surgery - one would assume that I therefore also had a complete clinical response - but they never gave me any indication of that, therefore never giving me the opportunity to opt out of surgery. Not that I would have...

I was very fit going in and hadn't gotten sick because of the cancer (T2N0M0 just like you) so I found a very tolerable procedure. The only difference is mine was ultra low. I actually went for a short jog about 3 weeks later. The day I came home from surgery my hubby dragged me out looking for a ne...

Also pouches can and do scar, stiffen and/or prolapse. That's what happened to me. I was almost completely obstructed. Diagnosed with a defecating proctogram.

How are your iron levels? sometime after chemo finished, I was utterly freezing all the time, I thought it was because I was still too skinny. I could barely move from in front of a heater. I had normal haemoglobin but my ferritin had tanked at 8. Most gps will tell you you cant be symptomatic if yo...

I hear you! I'm sitting here nursing a nasty head cold - caused by going for a short jog with the doggie for 3 days in a row. EVERY time I try to build up to a decent level of exercise, I am knocked over by a cold. It is so fricking frustrating. For pete's sake, during chemo itself I was running 10k...

Interestingly, I had my gut flora tested two years ago due to chronic fatigue and depression and a whole raft of other factors of just not being well. I was overrun with streptococcus gallolyticus - and had NO lactobacillus or several others of the goodies measurable at all. Three weeks on a strong ...

I wear lower rise pants too, I prefer them anyway. But as you will find if you visit that other board - maternity pants are brilliant! You can either go with the full belly panel and a lower rise, without feeling like your whole butt crack is on display or if you do like low rise jeans in general, j...

My diagnosis was similar, getting on for six years ago now, but I was stage 2 - T3N0M0 - no node involvement out of the 23 they took out. I had the standard chemoradiation, surgery and then chemo (5FU) treatment and I have never had any sign of recurrence in the six years since. I quit seeing my onc...

Yep, its sounding like a bowel obstruction now. I'd say its time to go to the hospital.

For me, the osmotic laxatives have always worked better - you can stimulate your bowel with a laxative like Dulcolax but if its full of concrete, it may only cause pain and cramping. Try a big dose of lactulose (sorry, I don't know what names it goes by in the States, but any pharmacy will know what...

Mine didn't recover - what with chemo and I think my diet is probably not high in iron and I suspect now that I don't absorb iron well - my surgery was at the end of 2010 and although my haemoglobin rose to 11.5 from 10.5, my ferritin levels plummeted and I had an iron infusion at the beginning of 2...

I felt exactly like you do, and I honestly didn't want to reverse my temporary ileostomy. As it is, I'm glad I tried it and don't have to wonder, but I feel I was bullied into it by my surgeon, my oncologist and even my family who wouldn't accept that a 44 year old could choose an ostomy volunataril...