I'm so sorry that you are in such pain. Sending you strong thoughts.

SBL

I don't think it is standard protocol for pathology to test KRAS status for a Stage 3 or lower patient. It is used to determine whether one of the drugs available for Stage 4 or recurrent cancer patients is a viable option. It IS standard practice for pathology to keep the samples for something like...

Hi Lara, The ups and downs of the emotions are tough - and consulting Dr. Google does seem to feed those emotions for most of us. One way I dealt with it was to ONLY use a few select reputable sites for information. I used this site for the discussion forum, http://www.cancer.org (the American Cance...

Bev,

I am so sorry and my heart goes out to you as you both face this. Sending you lots of strength.

SBL

Xeloda (the pill) is an alternative to the combo of 5FU/leucovorin

So sorry to hear you had a stroke - scary. Glad it was minor and I hope you heal and rehab quickly.

SBL

KarMel wrote:Stable is a fabulous word. Yeah, gone or shrunk is better, but I' d take stable any day. Thanks for update.

Another ditto.

Your treatment intrigues me - I'll have to PM you to learn a little more.

SCCA is an NCI Comprehensive Cancer facility so it really is one of the best of the best. You're in a good place and their survival statistics for colorectal cancer outperform the standard - that is main focus - best outcomes.......

Hang in there. I hope you husband is feeling OK.

The epidural was great for my husband. It was no picnic as far as pain, but was well controlled by common drugs after the epidural came out. This sums up my experience as well. The epidural was a great pain killer (no significant pain) and I wasn't as sleepy/woozy/etc. from the other types of pain ...

Thinking of you Lara and I hope you are feeling better and that the inlaws have at least helped a little more. I'm so sorry you are going through this. Here are some tips for hubby so you don't have to be a continuous "reminder" - if he uses a smartphone he can set alarms for the times he ...

Yes toxins too - I forgot to add that one.

I totally agree with you. I almost feel like i need to go get a colonoscopy now even though I have no issues (except for occassional lactose intolerance)...but I am so paranoid now. I am 40 and I think people should get one at 40 and not wait until they are 50. I echo the comments about the pestici...

WONDERFUL news Belle - so glad to hear it and I bet you're doing the happy dance.

SBL

Here is a thread of my experience AND it includes some words of warning/advice because the techs/schedulers don't always understand temporary ileostomies and I received completely incorrect prep instructions. Thankfully my surgeon had warned me ahead of time. http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/...

Hi Lara, There are still mysteries with the "why" - factors that could impact it include the following - but for everyone of these you'll also see people who did all the right things and still got colorectal cancer and at "younger" ages than the typical screening. The typical scr...