The Colon Club

jswife,

Your post gave me SO much hope, that I copied it to read over and over! Thank you SO much!

I am SO sorry for all of you wonderful ladies (and husbands) for what you are and have endured with the BEAST of colon cancer!!

JS wife- thanks for talking me off the ledge. at 3 am when I am awake worrying, it seems so crazy that my husband even has cancer - And then every am the reality hits. Again. But I know we are more than this. Cancer does not define us, it's just part of the journey.

Amfa, I am so sorry.

Just checking in, hope everyone is hanging in there.

amfa wrote:My fiance and I have been together for 9 years he is currently 44 years old.
In January of 2015 he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. After a sigmoudectimy, a microwave ablation of the tumor in the liver, and 6 months of chemo, additional tumors were found in the pelvic area. A surgery in November 2015 to remove the new tumors discovered peritoneal carsinomatosis. At that point he was given 1.5-2 years expectancy, maybe an additional year with more chemo. After 4 rounds of the new chemo we stopped due to his severe reaction to it - quality over quantity. Hospice was started in February of this year.
In mid-March the severe stomach pain started. In trying to manage the pain we discovered that he had a reaction to morphine which completely stopped his gut functions. Stopping the morphine got things moving again and him able to drink and eat again.
Now his stomach has become so distended that he looks pregnant and he has lost most of the muscle mass in his arms so they look like sticks with flesh hanging on them. He sleeps a lot now but still gets up, moves around the house occasionally and hangs out on the couch.
I'm trying to find info on what to expect in the last 6 months of life because I feel that we are not getting the 1.5-2 years we were told about in November.
I know every case is different but can anyone tell me what stage we may be at and what I can expect moving forward?
Thank you

I am SO, SO sorry amfa! Strong prayers going up now!

Dear Mojo & other caregivers,

I feel it is long due that I post A Big Big Big Thank You to everyone who has posted here!!!

March 18 2016 my hubby had an emergency surgery due to total block of his colon. And he got a colostomy. They said a tumor was blocking. That was his 1st symptom.

From then on I searched info all over.. and a couple of days later I found Colon Club and this thread, "Wife's of.."

I read & read. And read. For some reason I remember I was on page 63 when we for sure knew hubby had a malignant tumor. (You do hope for a miracle.. that it is benign). Do not remember which page I was on when we were told it was stage IV. Anyway I read all 223 pages, that this thread included at the time. I felt everyone's worry & hope & I felt joy when reading good news & Big Sadness when bad things happened...

Thank You All so much for sharing,
For making me feel prepared/for knowledge regarding what might happen, for making me feel prepared for a bad outcome and yet still keeping my hope for a good!

My hubby has now had his resection of the primary tumor, his stomi is gone and Sept 1st he had his surgery to remove the mets in his liver. No news yet of the surgery- & pathology report..

We are Not living in a country where our 1st language is spoken, (it is actually our 3rd language), that is an extra burden/hardship at a time like this. But we are coping & are very thankful for the care we are getting.

Sorry for many words - I just wanted to say:
THANK YOU !!!!!
Kind Regards /LPL
P.S. Sorry if I have used some wrong words, English is my 2nd language.

LPL,

No need to apologize for your many words! I am glad you are enjoying the support given on this site, as I am sure all of us are!!

Thank You ronswife

lpl, good to hear from you. Thanks for the update. Glad the pages could help. Hoping things go well. Sharon

KUDOS to you, LPL, for doing the reading to self educate. This forum has a wealth of information!

Best Wishes
BS

Hi caregivers,

I haven't read this entire thread, but today I have a great need to post as a caregiver. My DH is stage 3, but I bet you can help me. I freak out at every little thing. Once he had a bump on his leg and I thought the cancer spread. He was acting very crazy at diagnosis, and I thought it was in his brain. Now he has this strange swelling in his hands, wrists and feet. We called onc, and he said "something is going on." I took that to mean it could be back. Went to the doc's office, he makes it sound like it's nothing.

I feel like I BRACE myself in total fear, then the next day I'm told it's nothing. It leaves this horrible emotional hangover. It's a roller coaster of emotion. Then, there's this phenomenon where I don't want to get too close to him or feel too much for him out of fear of it coming back. Do I need to prepare for that? Do I need to keep up a wall to protect myself?

I'm emotionally wiped out right now. Blood work should be back this week. Then colonoscopy time, then CT. I can't do that worry thing again.

I do believe in a higher power, but this is very, very hard.

Thanks for listening.

pantufla,

Please hang in there! I know just what you are going through!!!

Prayers going up!

Thanks Ron's wife. Long walk, workout at gym, homemade soup and chamomile tea all helped a lot.

Hello pantufla.
I always felt like I was waiting for the next shoe to drop. Get worried about everything. I guess the best you can do is exactly what you did work it out and just keep on hoping. By taking time for yourself you can recharge your health. Sharon

Wow Sharon. Yes, that is exactly how I feel. Waiting for the other shoe to drop. Did your husband have a recurrence 8 years later or did I read that wrong? Wow. I'm so sorry.