Stage 3 Colon cancer stories

[Guestcolonclub]

Hello I'm new here . Can anyone here give me stories of hope for stage 3 Colon cancer . Just a couple of lymph glands infected , 6 months of chemo to follow . Any long term cancer free survivors here or people who have beaten this ? Thankyou all in advance for your time .

[BrownBagger]

Hi. Welcome to the Colon Club.

We have a whole boatload of Stage 3ers here. Plenty of them are long-term survivors.

But, of course, Stage is only one factor in the equation. There are no guarantees.

[karenM]

I just had my three year CT scan and it is still clear. Blood tests are good and after my next colonoscopy in April I will not have to go back for a couple to three years. As you can see below, I was stage three also, had about 20 nodes removed and I believe about 6 had cells in them. Good luck to you, you found a great place to get view points and encouragement. BUT like BB said above there is no guarantee that all threes will react the same or have the same outcome.

[Laurettas]

My father was diagnosed Stage 3, with over half of his nodes testing positive, at Thanksgiving 2000. Had surgery, radiation and chemo, which I presume at the time was only 5FU. He has had to have one surgery in 2008 to remove scar tissue, probably from the radiation, that wrapped itself throughout the intestines. He is now 84 and doing fine.

[Jimswife]

My husband is stage, had the op , 2 nodes positive , his outlook is very good say the oncologist , we are going for complete cure after treatment but are well aware there are no guarantees , from what I've read / heard Recurrances in stage 3 are in the minority rather than the majority . People can and do go on to live cancer free lives after surgery and treatment .

[Phuong]

I've had a mixed bag of chemo, radiation and surgeries, but I'm 4 1/2 years out from dx. Last surgery was over a year ago.

[GreenLakeGirl]

The good news is that Stage IIIers tend to move on as they become long term cancer free survivors and cancer isn't at the fore of the brains. The bad news is that they move on.

You'll probably get more out of revisiting this thread: http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10574&start=270&hilit=stage+III. It's probably time to bump it up again.

[Bob_Weiss]

I've past the 2 years NED mark, but (as Brownbagger above suggests) there are no guarantees. Some research data (possibly outdated now) suggest that a Stage 3 without adjuvant chemo has a 50% chance of avoiding recurrances, and with chemo the percentage is about 75-80%. But there are many other factors beyond stage level that affect long-term prognosis: CEA level at diagnosis; response to pre-surgical radiation (for rectal cancers); degree of cell differentiation and others. I'm at the point where I am not under great stress worrying about the future, but I remain vigilant and show up for my oncologist appointments and occasional scans.

[lydia123]

Can't call my husband "long term" yet, but he's still here and getting stronger daily.

Chemo is hard (understatement) but this site is a terrific source of info to help you through it.

L

[CaliforniaBagMan]

I was dx as Stage III in July 2007. Two suspicious nodes lit up during the ultrasound. Tissue invasion was deep- T4.

I'm presently NED and am in my 5th year since surgery. November will mark the official 5-year mark for me.

[Bruce In Buffalo]

I just received the results of my 3 year tests, Colonoscopy, CT Scan and CEA. All were clear.

You wil experience anxiety like you never have over the next few months and years. What got me through was being strong mentally (positive attitude), physically(exersise), and spiritually (Faith that God has the controls).

My good wishes for you in your jouney.

[Guestcolonclub]

Thanks everyone , please keep the stories coming to keep my hopes and spirits up that I can beat this thing .

[barbara jayne]

Hi and welcome
I am about to reach my 4 year point the day after tomorrow 3rd Jan, feel very lucky and hope it continues.
This forum is a fab place there are some truly inspirational people on here sharing information.
I wish you all the luck in the world and hope your treatment goes well !!!

Barbara x

[Surroundedbylove]

Thanks everyone , please keep the stories coming to keep my hopes and spirits up that I can beat this thing .

Hello again and welcome.

Most people who are stage 3 post their survival stories/successes on this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10574&start=270&hilit=stage+III

YOu may want to register for this site and then you can subscribe to that thread so that you get updates.

SBL

[Tarsal69]

Just finished my 6 the an last treatment of folfox I just WANs thank everyone here in the colon club for post an pearls on how to get through this ordeal of scans surgery and chemo I'm hoping for a positive future an hope the same for all of us lets beat this beast t3 n1 mo bring on the scans in 3 months