Do I have a better chance for cure because I am young?

[shel28]

Hi. I was just diagnosed with rectal cancer on Dec. 27. I had heavy rectal bleeding that caused me to go to the emergency room on Christmas. I am only 28 and don't know what to think. I just had an ultrasound and it is T2N1 and I think that means it is stage 3. I just realized an hour ago that it was stage 3 and not stage 2 because it is in 3 of my lymph nodes and now I am really worried. Especially as I read about survival rates for T3. Everyone has been telling me I'll beat this and I have such a good chance because I am young but is that really the case? And that I will respond better to chemo and radiation because I am young and healthy. My doctors have been extremely optimistic and say this is curable and I can go back to having a normal life but the more I read on the internet the more worried I get that what they aren't telling me everything. And I read about so many young people that weren't able to beat this.

[Sweet Peg]

Welcome to the Colon Club! We have all been where you are right now Shel28. Fear is one of them and very normal. One of the first things I learned was not to read a lot on the internet! Don't get me wrong, there IS some good information out there but there is also a lot of things that just aren't true in the world of Cancer or Colon Cancer anymore. Take a deep breath and take one step at a time.

I, and MANY others here have Stage III or IV Colon Cancer and are 2,3,4,5.....10....20 year survivors!!! This is just my advice to you now, be Pro-Active with your body working with your doctors, ATTITUDE...POSITIVE, glass half full type ATTITUDE, have faith that the Lord is with you in all this and prayer is the best advice I can give you!! Will you have bad days? Sure.....will you have good days?? You BET!! Can you beat this thing called Cancer? You DARN RIGHT YOU CAN!! Come here for support, love, friendship, information, to vent, for hugs and you are going to make it. One thing I CAN tell you that will only make things harder is this....... Anger at the world for having Cancer. You WILL be angry for a time, that is all normal, but re-channel that anger towards the Cancer when you have it, smack it up the side of the head (in your mind), then let it go and put a smile on your face because YOU are in control again and keep taking one more step at a time until you are better!!

Ok, that's my pep talk and my "Get out there and kick some Cancer butt" talk!! LOL Now get angry at this Cancer, smile, lift up some prayers and take one step at a time. I hope you have a little smile on your face now and the HOPE of being fine now!! We will all be here to help you along if you need us.

Oh, and BTW, I was Stage IIIa, am 52 and 2 years cancer free right now!!

BIG HUGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Peg

[wdt]

Shel, sweetpeg has given you some WONDERFUL advice. Especially about not focusing on the 'statistics". Treatment for colon cancer has come a long way recently and everything she has said I agree with whole-heartedly.

My husband was recently diagnosed with rectal cancer and his is 43. While 28 is young, as you can see from others who are on this post, it is not unheard of by any means.

You MUST fight! There is another girl who posts on here from chicago who is 30 with rectal cancer and she posts under the name cynical and has a webpage (blog) of her own. Go to it and read about her experiences. maybe even do a private message or email to her to get in touch with her directly.

Have Faith.

[northern lights]

Your diagnosis at 28 must be such a shock to you. Especially when most of what you read is about people 50 years and older. I was diagnosed last January at 34 and I am disease free!! I was stage 3 with 2/20 lymph nodes involved. I had a resection and 12 rounds of chemo.

Being young definately has its advantages. You don't (I assume) have any other health issues that would make chemo more difficult. You should be in better shape and have abundant energy to fight with. And you will have a long time post-treatment to enjoy life and savour moments like only a survivor can.

The first thing you need to to is stay positive and the second thing you need to do is stop reading statistics. Not only do they not reflect your situation, they have a way of discouraging you.

This will be a long battle with many ups and downs, but don't for a minute think that you can't do this.

Sharon

[klryder02]

Shel28-

I will be 27 next month, and was diagnosed back in Oct. I am here to tell you, our age IS working in our advantage. I am currently taking Folfox, and I have only really had one major side effect (and my side effect goes away after about 6 days). I know this doesn't answer the cure question, but you have to go through chemo to get to the cure part.

I also know it may just depend on the person, but I still have my hair, have not gotten sick once since I started chemo, and have no problem teaching high school freshmen every day except infusion day.

I know you are thinking, why in the he*$ do I have to deal with this at my age, but I bet you can take alot more today than 40 or 50 years from now!!!

Good luck to you.

[cynnycal]

Aahh...I see I have been summoned from the deep dark depths of the message board.
Firstly i MUST correct something. I'm only 26!!! i'm not 30 yet, don't age me!
Anywho, Shel, the absolute best advice ever is to be VERY careful what you read online.
in fact...stick to sites like these...And of course remember that you are not a statistic. Fact is, you're younger than most of the statistics you read, and yes, it does help in handling treatment.
My first six rounds, i barely got any side effects besides being a little tired. my hair thinned a bit, but not so much that anyone but me noticed.
My doc's would refer to me as the chemo poster child. i worked and excersized, and socialized all while on chemo.
Radiation sucks, but it's more of a residual thing. if you have it, well, the first two weeks or so, maybe even three, you don't feel a thing.

I was diagnosed at 25 with stage 3 rectal cancer. that was almost a year ago (march '06).
I'm finished up my last round of chemo starting tomorrow!! (yay)
and am now considered NED (no evidence of disease). Whoot!

if you have any questions/concerns, feel free to gimmie a shout.

cynnycal@yahoo.com

[LA8]

Hi, Shel - First of all if your Doctor is optimistic that is a good sign - Doctors see so much and so many that they really don't have the time or inclination to give out false hope - they mean business. Secondly there is a verry good posibility that you'll have completed your treatment and/or operation and be in pretty good shape before any of this even sinks in. Age does make a difference also (note to those hovering around 50 - that's still pretty young). I'm sure things will go well for you

[wdt]

I duffed it with the age thing, but maybe it served to get cynnical's attention and post a quick reply!

I am just glad you two are now in touch.

-wdt

[shel28]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for your replies. It helps to hear your chemo stories. I start chemo and radiation next week and am hoping I still feel good and can work from home and go the gym. I am also trying to find things to keep busy which is hard since I am staying at my Dad's place in CA instead of being home in Denver. But I will keep everything you all said in mind and will try to be more positive about all this. And my port is finally starting to feel better and I should be able to sweat soon and take a real shower

[PGLGreg]

(note to those hovering around 50 - that's still pretty young).

Hmmph! How about those of us hovering around 65? If we have a good chance to make it through radiation and chemo, that doesn't make it any the less likely that you young tykes will, also. But, hey, congratulations on your youth --- I'm sure you deserve every year of it.

[susanz]

hi shel,
of course you are overwhelmed and scared! i just wanted you to know that there's so much hope! my daughter was 22 when she was diagnosed with stage 3 rectal in april 05. she had chemo, surgery, radiation and more chemo, finishing up this past may. through it all, she managed to graduate from college on time. it was not always easy but her grit and determination got her through it. she's working full time now as an engineer and bought her first new car. you can and will get back to a "normal" life. good luck on your journey. and, by the way, you're not a statistic. be careful of what you read online. this website is the best one for young people, especially. susan

[suzannchili]

Make your own statistics and don't read those on the internet- many of which do not include the under 50 crowd. I didn't find this site until a year ago when I had a scary CT scan and feared recurrence, but I can tell you, it has helped me immensely. I had no idea "there were others like me" out there. Because you are young and healthy it will benefit you through treatment. Attitude is evrything! I am a six and a half year survivor of stage 2 colon cancer and I did very well through treatment. It sucks, but it's doable. Six 1/2 years later I am married and have a beautiful 2 yr. old son! I thank God every day and try to appreciate every day. Good luck to you. If you want to talk, please feel free to e-mail me.

Suzann

[pjpeace]

You first get hit with news there's denial...then you get angry...you'll get real with your own mortality...next you get serious on your decision to fight. one of my doc's told me 'attitude is half the battle.' and he was 100% right! my family and i have never laughed so much in our lives. i tell everyone my goal is to get kicked out of the cancer center...trying real hard make friends at chemo! i'm sooo going to miss my buddies. we were threatening conga lines with our IV poles and IV pole racing you've got to have fun with this stuff!

when i asked my onco. about recurance he said 'very high but i'm welcome to prove him wrong!' Which is EXACTLY what i needed to hear! I like that i can joke around with him but he's 100% honest with me. I've been proving people wrong my whole life and don't expect to quit now! I was 30 when dx last june at stage III (i think tech. stage II something cause i didn't have lymph node involvement). but it did spread up into the head of my pancreas. in the beginning i'd say bout half my doc's were not very hopeful but i've responded really well to treatment. i think being younger gives you a good advantage to tolerate the chemo. i've been able to complete the whole 12 cycles and yes your first cycle is ok but then fatigue really bad when i got unhooked from the 5FU grenade on Wed an then by the next monday started to get my energy back. Which an older survivor had about the same type of fatigue cycle i did. but everyone is different.

but i whole heartly believe i have faith in God first and trust in medicine second. only he or whatever your spirital beliefs are will know your path and when it's your time. i've seen and heard miricales happen...make one of your own ; )

Best wishes to you. You are going to be just fine. You will find your inner strength to fight this. You will be a much stronger person for going through this.

[jane]

I was dx in Nov 2005 with rectal cancer at the age of 42. My staging was T3, ?N1. I had 6 weeks of chemo/radiation, then surgery and more Chemo. At surgery they found that there was only 1 identifiable node as the rest had been destroyed by radiation. That node was clear. The surgeon said that the tumour had been "down staged" to a T2. Should I consider myself as a stage 2 or 3 survivor?
I had 16 weeks of trtment with 5FU and leucoverin and did not need a break. I say this for newer dx people - I didn't find the chemo too hard - still exercised, had fun and enjoyed my wine!! (I have 4 kids). The worst problem for me was"anticipatory nausea" which caused me to heave every time I thought about having chemo or just driving past the hospital. The stupid thing about that was that the chemo itself didn't make me feel too bad! Since trtment finished I feel great and my bowel movements as promised by my surgeon 1 year down the track, are getting closer to normal or at least manageable. My surgeon is very cofident of a cure and although the fear of return is never out of my mind, I am looking forward to the future. My husband and I have a great European trip planned with our kids this year. I'm from Wales originally but now live in Australia.
I'm so glad to have found this site - you are all so funny and positive! I check it out daily.
Heres to 2007!!

[jane]

I didn't make myself clear in my post! I think that age and your state of health at the time of dx has a bearing on how you handle the trtment. Physically, I didn't struggle too much but mentally I still find the concept that I've had a dx of cancer, a very difficult thing to come to terms with. Good luck and keep smiling/laughing. I believe that laughter really is the best medecine!!