Inspiring! Thanks for the update!

Terri

Congratulations!

Hope you are still feeling optimistic and on the upswing! "The bubbles were pretty uncomfortable post op.. walking and massage help." Questions: What did you do/have while you were hospitalized, for pain? Looks like you had a very short stay - Friday to Sunday WOW! Can you explain the bubb...

Pedialyte is also good for hydration and might make you feel better. My GP had me get on B12 afterward - found a liquid at CVS and that seemed to help a lot. This week found a product called Recticare - it's a lidocaine butt cream and I wish I had known about it back when I was doing the radiation a...

My two weeks after completion were pretty bad. Energy levels bounced back slowly in the weeks that followed. Stay hydrated, take your multis and eat healthy as much as you can. It gets better.

Susan, congratulations on a successful journey! I am about three weeks behind you, anticipate Stanford surgery Feb. 20. Have been following your story and it has been very helpful - although I do feel like I am cheating someone's homework over their shoulder, as your questions and Stoma Mio's answer...

Thank-you! Was able to get an insurance auth for Stanford second opinion. In addition to skipping the rectal ultrasound for initial staging, seems we also skipped post radiation/xeloda pictures. (Sure there are good reasons for skipping the diagnostics, but it's my body and cancer, want to "go ...

Still working on getting that Stanford second opinion; I am now in their system, have been contacted by an intake nurse before making an appt. w/surgeon. They are wanting a PET and CT with contrast and are going to try to get that scheduled at their facility; failing that, I would have the imaging d...

Thank-you for the responses! Spent most of a day reading every entry NHMike - wow - wish I had come here first. Extremely helpful. Also the Stanford stats. I worked backing up my husband's cancer Dx TWICE over the last thirteen years and wass a pretty effective caregiver and advocate, but less compe...

Hi. Just completed 5 wks neoadjuvant Xeloda/rad. After initially feeling very optimistic about my drs. and the local hospital am now having some reservations, but unsure if justified. First two weeks went smoothly. Last three weeks extreme diarrhea and dehydration. Rec'd 2 liters IV H2O nearly daily...