I am desperately looking for info on colon cancer spread to the pelvis - which I am told is rare...
I am 16 months out from diagnosis of stage 3B colon cancer of the descending colon that was resected with a colostomy. I had 1 of 14 lymph nodes test positive and I underwent 11 cycles of FOLFOX and 24 cycles of erbitux (cetuximab). I stopped treatment in June '06 one cycle short of finishing due to toxic reactions...
I also have a CEA tumor marker that was initially 120 but has been between 0.4 and 0.5 for the past few months.
A PET scan just showed hyperactive metabolic activity in the right side of the pelvis that is "consistent with metastatic tumor..."
What does this mean? What have survivors done? Have you been able to preserve fertility? What does this do to statistics rates of overall five year survival? Are surgery and/or radiation and/or chemo options? In what order.
As a young mother of very young ones I appreciate the feedback.