Waiting for my results. Scared, in disbelief, but hopeful.

[eve]

This is such great news! I'm so happy for you.

[tallyho]

That is awesome news. Hopefully they'll be able to schedule you for a surgery date now...there is a thread somewhere in the archives with information about what to bring to the hospital that was helpful for me when I was preparing for surgery and recovery. Glad to hear the update and still hoping and praying for the very best for you.

[horizon]

That is awesome news. Hopefully they'll be able to schedule you for a surgery date now...there is a thread somewhere in the archives with information about what to bring to the hospital that was helpful for me when I was preparing for surgery and recovery. Glad to hear the update and still hoping and praying for the very best for you.

I found that thread and already got some ideas for items I would have not thought of (such as earplugs). Thanks!

[tamifaye11]

Your story is very similar to mine - however, I am a few years older (45 at diagnosis). I had a colon resection and did great and my tumor was cancer but stage 3b, so i am getting chemo right now. I know you are scared and I know you are thinking, how could this be, I did the same thing, but know this - it will be okay, no matter what the diagnosis is, it will be okay. Lean on your friends and family and take care of yourself. The hardest part for me was not knowing, once I knew what i had and what i needed to do I could set a plan in place and just do it. Chemo is not easy, I do have side effects BUT, each treatment is one less and I am confident I will get through it and be a stronger person than I was before.

I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Tami

[horizon]

I had my surgery. It was done laprascopically, thank goodness. It was a painful, scary experience BUT every day I am healing more and more, which I am thankful for. Out of the 22 lymph nodes they tested on me they found 1 bad one so I'm going to have to have chemo. I was in a VERY bad mood about this for a few days. It seems so unfair that after all of this when I'm healed and back to "normal" I'm going to have this knocking me down again. Of course I was looking at this the wrong way. Lots of people have had to go through much, much worse than me. Also, instead of being upset that I had 1 lymph node that was bad I should be happy that 21 weren't.

I had the consultation with my doctor and his nurse about the upcoming chemo. It would be an understatement to say that it scared me senseless when they listed off all of the side effects that I could be looking at. I'm going to be on Xeloda and Oxaliplatin. Instead of getting a port installed I'm going to try taking a bunch of pills instead. They're taking the stance that this is what's needed to cure me and obviously that's what I want too. I just want to get it over with.

[Arkyjayray]

Hi there , reading your story really helped me calm down on a lot of things! Thank you heaps for sharing. I'm going in soon for the same procedure and being able to read yours was really helpful. Would love an update on how your going

[Marylandmaniac]

I have cancer.

I have a 'moderately differentiated colonic adenocarcinoma extending to the margin'.

The CT Scan shows that it does not appear to have spread.

• No lymphadenopathy
• Probable wall thickening at the rectosigmoid junction but it is hard to define a definitive colonic mass
• I've got what they think is a benign hemangioma in my liver but they want to be sure because I was just diagnosed with cancer. I'm getting a nuclear red blood cell scan to confirm.

Blood work is normal.

• CEA levels are normal.
• He said I didn't have any of the markers they look for for cancer.

I met with the general surgeon who was really nice. He did make a comment about how young I was. He said he does colon operations 'all the time'. He seemed to give the impression that the surgery for removal wouldn't be out of the ordinary for him. He would try to laparoscopic surgery but there was no guarantee he wouldn't have to do open surgery to remove the cancer once he got underway. They won't know my stage or if I need chemo until after the surgery.

I meet with the colorectal surgeon early next week.

Strangely I am mostly at peace. Obviously it's not what I wanted to hear but I have to take the attitude that it could have been much, much worse. Not knowing anything was the worst for me because I kept imagining so many bad scenarios. I still am to an extent, but must of the time I'm ok.

The phrase I keep repeating in my head is, "I just want my old life back." Maybe one day I will get my wish.

I am so sorry to hear it is cancer. However you are so lucky to have caught it early. I am also glad you are going to see a colorectal surgeon. My surgeon told me you have 6 feet of colon so cutting out 10 inches (in my case) isn't going to affect that much. This site is a great resource. Your liver spot is probably nothing but if it were there are many things they can do. I had a spot that was removed with microwave ablation. It was an outpatient procedure.

There a definite outbreak of colorectal cancer affecting younger people. I went to Dr. John Marshall at the Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Clinic to get a second opinion and just talk to someone who is an expert in this field. He said he had a 17 year old come in the other day! They have no idea what is causing this. He did say there is a theory gaining traction that our environment has become so sterile that we are missing the good bacteria we need.

I was in Florida a few weekends ago and met a woman who had colon cancer 20 years ago and she is doing great. I also personally know a man who is 10 year from being dx with stage IV colorectal cancer and is cured. There are plenty of stories out there of people doing well after this dx. Hopefully this will be a brief blip in what will be a long life for you.

[Marylandmaniac]

Okay I feel like a dork. I just realized this post was from a few years back!! I didn't notice the date. Sorry about that.

[Maia]

The good thing, for Arkyjayray, who bring back to front page this old post, and for you, Marylandmaniac, is that our dear fellow horizon is here in 2017, doing well

[horizon]

Hi there , reading your story really helped me calm down on a lot of things! Thank you heaps for sharing. I'm going in soon for the same procedure and being able to read yours was really helpful. Would love an update on how your going

It makes me quite happy that my thread was able to help you. As you can see there's great support in this community. I have some lengthy threads about getting through chemo and deciding on whether to get a port not (I did, no regrets).

As for an update I'm doing great. The life I'm living now is the one I had before this nightmare. I've got some physical and emotional scars. I don't know if I'll ever get over the fear of it coming back. But I recognize and am thankful for how fortunate I am.

[horizon]

Okay I feel like a dork. I just realized this post was from a few years back!! I didn't notice the date. Sorry about that.

Thank you for the helpful words anyway.

[horizon]

The good thing, for Arkyjayray, who bring back to front page this old post, and for you, Marylandmaniac, is that our dear fellow horizon is here in 2017, doing well