Oh good! We were told it was normal for it to go up during treatment but that it should "go down after chemo ends" but I was never given a time window to expect. So when I saw it went up my brain was going "Wait, isn't that supposed to be a smaller number??". The oncologist said ...

Oh geez, your experience sounds a lot like my husband's: In the ER for dehydration and severe constipation, baffled the doctors so they sent in a GI specialist who ordered a colonoscopy who then found the tumor blocking his intestines. He will hopefully have his stoma reversed next week, so you're s...

It is hard to believe that it has been a little over a month since my DH last Folfox infusion and he was given a thumbs up and clear CT Scan. The only thing the doctor was concerned about was his alkaline phosphatase levels which had risen during treatment, but it looked like they were coming down. ...

My husband has the same staging except he's N2a since it was just 6 out of 22 affected. I remember sitting in the hospital room the evening after he was diagnosed and thinking I would feel better with facts, I'm generally calmer if I know what's going on and feel in control. I'll never forget openin...

How do caregivers respond when asked, "How are you?" My honest thought is "How the bleep do you think I am?" How do you respond to "How many more chemo treatments?" or "How much more chemo is required?" when the answer is forever? I once responded "Til i...

Hello! So we are finally in NEDville, insert happy dance here! We talked a little bit with our Oncologist on where we go from here, and she mentioned that no new CT scans would be needed until August of next year. I thought that was odd because most of the threads I've read here mentioned every 6 mo...

OK so my DH just finished his last chemo treatment, CT scan was clear, CEA levels dropped back into normal range, only thing to watch right now are some elevated liver enzymes. Here is what our Oncologist has planned: No need to do another CT Scan until next year unless something weird pops up. We’r...

My favorite thing (not) is when I get back to work from a doctor’s appointment and my coworkers ask “is everything okay?” No, everything has not been okay for some time now! Yes, thank you! Or the generic "Let me know if you need anything", what I need is for my husband to not have cancer...

That's wonderful, congrats! I hope it's a beautiful wedding!!

That is such great news, congratulations!!

I am thrilled to say the CT scan came back normal, no signs of metastatic disease! My DH has his last round of Folfox 6 today and if his CEA levels are normal then the PICC line goes next week! If his CEA level is still elevated she wants to do a PET scan in a month to make sure there is no funny bu...

I think any cancer patient/caregiver can relate as like many people have said in this thread, no one thinks before they speak. The thing I hate the most is when people pipe up with "Oh my friend had cancer, they only lived for two years after" or "My mother-in-law had lung cancer, she...

Ahh, I know what you mean! We had our pre-last-chemo-treatment scan on Wednesday day and will receive the results tomorrow. Scanxiety is awful but I've found keeping busy helps, especially if you can hang out with friends/family. The worst of the anxiety hits me when I'm alone and my brain has the o...

Good luck! I have my CT scan on Friday :D Claudia Haha, scan buddies! Good luck to you too! Praying for you this morning. No doubt about it, the days leading up to the next scan are the worst. Early on in this journey I used to get worked up about them - couldn't sleep, eating was difficult, felt o...

Hello! Goodness, that list of symptoms is awful! I'm sorry you've been feeling so bad, and hope that your tests on Friday go well. I am familiar with this line on your CT Scan: "Mild circumferential thickening of small bowel loop in the descending colon suggestive of colitis." It's what sh...