I decided not to tell most people because of my personal choice to want to deal with this with close family and friends. Once I was half way through chemo, I was totally open about it. At work, I found so much extra support. So it worked for me.

I am not sure I understand the difference in polyps and tumors as indicated in this post. It was my understanding colon polyps grow into tumors (abnormal tissue), so they are basically one and the same. One question to ask would be what her CEA number is? CEA is a blood test marker for colon cancer....

My biggest issue with 'pooping' is that my brain and colon didn't seem to be connected after surgery. I would get the urge to go just all of a sudden. I definitely was constipated and it took almost a year before I was really regular again. I still take a half dosage of Miralax every day.

Can you post your experiences about post-colon resection, especially on when you started pooping again. A friend is getting a resection next week and this was one of her concerns. For me, it took about 6 days. I was released from the hospital on day 3, but her surgeon said she would stay in the hosp...

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders ... umors.aspx - here was something I found online, but I am sure there is more than that one statement

Good to hear the first round is over and you're doing well. I would explicitly ask the oncologist about the report and what tests, if any, for now he'd recommend. As I understand it, they only take out some lymph nodes. So although the ones they took out are clean, doesn't mean that all were. I'm no...

My CEA levels went up during the chemo and stayed high for almost a year post-chemo. My onc tested me through-out chemo process, but he and what I read at the time, an up-CEA often happens. Usually post-chemo, it goes back down after about 3-6 months, so that was concerning at the time. I'm been und...

There was a good thread on discussion of chemo - by Augustine - Should i have chemo for colon cancer at T3N0M0? Some highlights from that thread: Two stats calculatorsthat indicate the upside for chemo: http://nomograms.mskcc.org/Gastric/ROResection.aspx http://www.adjuvantonline.com/colonstandard.j...

My oncologist also prescribed Celebrex, while I was taking Xeloda. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12520638 - this is a 2002 study indicating Celebrex seems to have positive effects. When I checked online for other references, saw there were field trials later, but no results. My insurance compan...

http://nomograms.mskcc.org/Gastric/ROResection.aspx - this is the calculator I found on the web. Is this the one you are referring to from Sloan Kettering? Thanks.

I did Xeloda only and found my weeks off were often more difficult with symptons. My main issues were feet and hands - always red and hurting.

One other thing to consider when looking at stats is the "aging" of the information. Many of the treatments have not been around that long. So, surgery and 5FU - the stats and database is large, but for some other treatments - like Avastin - are newer, so the stats could really be much bet...

Also, CEA rising. Mine did not go up after surgery, but did when I was taking chemo. It took almost a year after chemo for the CEA to go totally down.

Adjunctiveonline - although it indicates it is for healthcare professionals, I just signed up. The way I look at it, as I have gone through this journey - I AM a defacto healthcare professional.

I hope your surgery goes well. Some thoughts: One study (can't find the reference) indicated that chewing gum immediately after surgery will help get things going better. I was given an epidural after surgery and was walking within a few hours. There are risks, of course. My husband and family was w...