Downstaging at time of surgery
Downstaging at time of surgery
I was diagnosed with stage III rectal cancer in December. MY tumor was 3 cm and had 3 lymph nodes involved. I underwent 28 days of chemo and radiation and last week had a low anterior resection and they saved my sphincter but gave me a temporary illeostomy. I am not too crazy about the illeostomy but I will get it reversed in 6-8 weeks. The great news is they took out my rectum and 20 of my lypmh nodes and they found no traces of cancer. The original tumor was completely gone and the lymph nodes were clear. So I think that would make me a stage 0 now. I am really excited about that this but think that I still have to do 6 months of chemo. Did anyone else have this experience? I am ecstatic that the cancer is gone in that area of my body but I guess I won't know if it is anywhere else in my body, especially since it spent some time in my lymph nodes.
Michelle. Stage III rectal cancer. Diagnosed Dec. 27, 2006. 28 years old. Los Angeles, CA and Denver, CO.
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la cuca
Shel,
the same thing happened to my boyfriend. only they were able to tell him before surgery that his tumor was gone. it sounds like you got the best news you could hope for. your body responded to the initial treatments and now the doctors are letting your sphinter heal and the second round of chemo will help obliterate any cells that remain.
the thing is, from what i understand, you are not stage 0. you are still stage III and the doctors are going to continue to treat your cancer that way.
this is great news though and while i am sure you still have a long road ahead of you, you should feel confident that you are responding well to the treatments and your cure rate is probably very high.
not everyone responds well to their initial treatments, i know people who have had to immeidatly start a new course of chemo and radiation after the first round wasn't successful.
if you don't mind i would be interested to hear what type of support you have needed post surgery. my boyfriend will have the same exact surgery as you on monday and i am at a loss of how to prepare.
were there gifts or things you appreciated? have you been able to eat? how has your mobility been.
if you dont mind replying to the post id be interested to hear about your experience.
cuca.
the same thing happened to my boyfriend. only they were able to tell him before surgery that his tumor was gone. it sounds like you got the best news you could hope for. your body responded to the initial treatments and now the doctors are letting your sphinter heal and the second round of chemo will help obliterate any cells that remain.
the thing is, from what i understand, you are not stage 0. you are still stage III and the doctors are going to continue to treat your cancer that way.
this is great news though and while i am sure you still have a long road ahead of you, you should feel confident that you are responding well to the treatments and your cure rate is probably very high.
not everyone responds well to their initial treatments, i know people who have had to immeidatly start a new course of chemo and radiation after the first round wasn't successful.
if you don't mind i would be interested to hear what type of support you have needed post surgery. my boyfriend will have the same exact surgery as you on monday and i am at a loss of how to prepare.
were there gifts or things you appreciated? have you been able to eat? how has your mobility been.
if you dont mind replying to the post id be interested to hear about your experience.
cuca.
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seussfan
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It would be great if it worked that way. But unfortunally you are still considered Stage 3. Your staging is done at onset and you treatment is based on that stage. But sounds like your treatment is working and your surgery went great! Congratulations!
Stage 3 Colon Cancer-6 of 15 lymph nodes positive/Surgery & Dx 3-5-07/Finished Folfox4 11-28-07
Stage 0/Grade 3 Breast Cancer/Double mastectomy 5-15-09/Undergoing reconstruction
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Stage 0/Grade 3 Breast Cancer/Double mastectomy 5-15-09/Undergoing reconstruction
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/trishlannon
2009 Colondar Model
Yeah, I know I am still stage III but my doctors made a big deal out of doing the radiation first because if the cancer is gone at the time of surgery that somehow makes a difference. I don't know why because it was there at one point but I guess it is a plus that it wasn't there so there was no way they could accidentally cut into any cancer cells and spread it further.
It has been a week and I am very sore. I had an epidural before surgery which helped block the pain when I awoke after surgery. I would recommend it. I did have numbness in my right leg and I couldn't move it for a day due to the epidural. I was able to walk after 2 or 3 days but it really hurt to get out of bed and I walked hunched over. I really didn't have much of an appetite and couldn't eat for a couple of days. I didn't get my appetite back until almost a week had passed. And having this illeostomy has been a huge inconvenience and makes me not want to eat so much.
In the hospital I had my own room and that was really nice. It made it so much better. My family came to visit and brought my flowers and I really liked that. Though I was really drowsy and would fall asleep while they were there. And they brought me magazines but I really didn't feel like doing any reading because I was really drugged and out of it. They gave me a pain pump that you push the button and administer your own pain medicine. I recommend getting that.
It has been a week and I am very sore. I had an epidural before surgery which helped block the pain when I awoke after surgery. I would recommend it. I did have numbness in my right leg and I couldn't move it for a day due to the epidural. I was able to walk after 2 or 3 days but it really hurt to get out of bed and I walked hunched over. I really didn't have much of an appetite and couldn't eat for a couple of days. I didn't get my appetite back until almost a week had passed. And having this illeostomy has been a huge inconvenience and makes me not want to eat so much.
In the hospital I had my own room and that was really nice. It made it so much better. My family came to visit and brought my flowers and I really liked that. Though I was really drowsy and would fall asleep while they were there. And they brought me magazines but I really didn't feel like doing any reading because I was really drugged and out of it. They gave me a pain pump that you push the button and administer your own pain medicine. I recommend getting that.
Michelle. Stage III rectal cancer. Diagnosed Dec. 27, 2006. 28 years old. Los Angeles, CA and Denver, CO.
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