I am a 3yr survivor of stage III

[lucky1970]

Hello to all! I am a 36 year old female diagnosed with stage III colon cancer on April 1st 2004. I am coming up on my 3 year anniversary and am feeling great. Wanted to offer support, wisdom, comfort to anyone who might need a friend to chat with. My treatment consisted of a semi-colectemy and six months of FOLFOX. Wanted to know if anyone had noticed any long term side effects from Folfox. Look forward to hearing from you guys and God Bless us all!!! Janet

[missjv]

hi,
congrats on your 3 years thats great! i am stage 4 diagnosed june 06 currently no evidence of disease after folfox, avastin, liver resection, now on 5fu and irinotecan (campostar) for 6 months. hoping surgery and 11 months total worth of chemotherapy will keep me ned for good. again congrats and welcome.

missjv

[lucky1970]

missjv---Thanks for the welcome and, by the way, I think you are awesome! Have you read about Erica Kratzer? Her situation was similar to yours and she is doing great. I remember reading her story when I was going thru treatment and it really inspired me. Good luck and I look forward to chatting with you...Janet

[Ron50]

Hi Lucky,
congrats on 3 yrs , you have done the hard bit,they say the first 18mos is the most critical, well you are double that. I don't know about folfox but I have certainly suffered l/t side effects of chem ,I had 5fu//levamisole for st3 colon ca. They suspect it is the cause of a lot of chronic problems that I have but I suspect that where ca is concerned there is always going to be a price for survival. I have just entererd by tenth year of survival and so far no recurrence ,congrats again and good luck.
Ron.

[Wendy21]

So far I am a Stage IIIA cc survivor -- dx Sept 05 at 43 with sigmoid mass. Resection Oct. 05 followed by 6 months of FOLFOX + Avastin and 6 additional months of just Avastin. It will be 18 months cancer free on April 14!

[Wendy21]

So far I am a Stage IIIA cc survivor -- dx Sept 05 at 43 with sigmoid mass. Resection Oct. 05 followed by 6 months of FOLFOX + Avastin and 6 additional months of just Avastin. It will be 18 months cancer free on April 14!

[nodo]

Janet - Congrats on your 3 year mark. I was diagnosed stage IIIC at age 36 and that was Feb. 04. I am NED and so thankful. The only long term effects that I know are chemo related are I still have numbness in my feet and I always have phlegm in my throat. Not pleasant, but a small price to pay! My port site still feels a little odd and probably always will. I consider myself very lucky that those are the only things I have to deal with at this pointl

[lucky1970]

Wendy-- 18 months is a huge milestone! Congrats!

[edinaman]

Lucky, congrats on your 3 years. I was diagnosed July, 04, stage 3 colon cancer and had a resection. This July will be 3 years for me. It was actually diagnosed during bladder surgery-the cc was found behind my bladder and did not show up on an abdominal scan. I also had Folfox and had very few problems with chemo, even continuing my aerobics during it (most of the time, but at a slower pace). One of the things that I found helpful during chemo was my wife's cousin's words-there is life after chemo. She had chemo and radiation for breast cancer about 7 years ago. To anyone going through treatment now, there really is life after chemo!

[Magnolia]

I was diagnnosed Stage IIIC a year ago in March of '06. I was treated with 6 months of Folfox and 12 months of Avastin which will finish up next month. It's great to hear all of your stories. It helps keep me thinking positive.