information for colon cancer patients in australia

[brigitte in australia]

I live in Melbourne, Australia, and i have been dxd with stage iv colon cancer with mets to liver and lungs......
the cancer council here in melbourne is interested in providing more solid information to colorectal cancer sufferers....
any advice or issues which people think are important would be most welcome....
im interested in where people get their support and information - support groups or internet chat rooms/list serves or broschures or from their doctors......and of course, which support was the best for you.
thanks,
and i hope i get some responses..

[Ron50]

Hi Brigette,
I'm from the Sunshine coast in Queensland . I was dx with stage 3 colon ca back in 98. Obviously I'm still going but support was a major problem. I found most of my support and info through American survivor groups. The local groups like Qld cancer fund were very frustating to deal with and one of the problems with going offshore for help is that often treatments being used in the states are not yet approved in Aust. I finnished up on 12 mos of a very old regime of 5fu and levamisole. It is rarely used anymore and I suspect one of the reasons to be long term side effects. It is an area that I can get little of no info about. All the best with your treatment,cheers Ron.