My husband newly diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer....

[gizzyluv]

Hello everyone, my name is Kris. My husband Jason was just diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. He goes in for surgery (right hemicolectomy) on Friday. All this is so new to me, I'm still kind of in shock I guess. The surgeon told us that his tumor is the size of a football (yes, a football) however, my husbands stomach isn't at all distended. He also said the CT Scan showed some involvement in the stomach, even though the week before he had an endoscopy done with a biopsy of his stomach, & it came back fine, no signs of cancer. We were told by the nurse who did his pre-op stuff today that there may be involvement to the outer layer of the stomach, which wouldn't show up with the endoscopy. I guess what I'm really hoping to hear are some "good outcome" stories, because the doctor wasn't very optimistic at all & said that even with the best case scenario, he shouldn't expect any longer than 2 yrs.....PLEASE help me out here if you can. Thank you in advance. Kris

[SkiFletch]

Welcome to the board Kris, sorry you have to be here but glad you found us. It's going to be a challenge for us to help you with the information provided. It sounds like his tumor has grown extensively outside of the wall of the colon if they are talking about involvement with the stomach. How have your husbands doctors made those determinations? Are there other metastases or suspected metastases? If the tumor seen is all one gigantic thing, it's actually not stage IV but IIC or some variety of III. When the tumor is all one single continuous growth it's not stage IV, even if it does escape the bounds of the colon itself. Clarification on this point is very important as it determines how to best move forward with treatment.

For now, may I suggest starting a notebook and writing down questions for your husband's Drs and then also write down their answers. The early days move ludicrously fast and the notebook really helps you both remember things.

[WorriedWife]

Dear Kris,

Welcome to the forum. I am so sorry about your hubby's dx. You will know so much more after the surgery. They will send it out to the pathologist and then the stage and prognosis and treatment will be determined when you get the results from that. I wouldn't read too much into what they said right now. Gosh, it seems pretty brutal that they said 2 yrs to you guys before the surgery even took place. (shaking my head at Dr's and nurses these days) I am hoping for a much better outcome for you so please keep us posted. Good luck with the surgery. My hubby had a right hemi too. Lots of low residue food after he gets home and water. When he feels up to it...LOTS of walking to get the bowels moving. If you have any other questions or you just want to vent, please stop by and someone will always try and help. I know how you feel, I'm actually still in shock 6 months later Huggs for you.

[americangrl]

Hi,

sorry you had to come here... You will know more after the surgery- for now I would just focus on getting through that. I knew nothing when my husband had to go in for surgery or when all this started with my husband- he was dx in June. The surgery although the hospital stay is sort of short (if no complications) is pretty serious - meaning I did not realize how much pain my husband would be in - they give meds of course- it is just that you have no idea if you haven't been through this- so I was surprised when I first saw my husband after surgery.

A few suggestions that friends gave me that helped
1. make a note book- have sections, test results, questions you want to ask, notes during appointments THIS PART IS IMPORTANT - - so much is said during appts and your often in a bit of shock it is good to have notes to go back and refer to- there will be a million appointments at least.
2 . Be sure to get a second opinion
3. Here the hospital let me stay all night after my husbands surgery - I didn't know they would do that - they brought me cot and all - if I had known I would have made different arrangements- like I would have had my pet sitter stay overnight
4. If people offer to come - let them- even if you think you don't want them there - having someone to give you a break is nice - what i mean is when my husband was in the hospital I didn't want to leave but if someone else was there I felt better about it.
5. Breath! - nothing is going to change between today and tomorrow- one minute at a time
6. this board is GREAT- so many great people with great stories and so much support!

I wish you the best outcome- good luck- try your best to take it one step at a time- and sorry this totally sucks!

[gizzyluv]

Thank you all for your replies. Well, the surgery didn't go as well as planned, actually it didn't
"go" at all. Once the dr. was in there & could actually see what he was dealing with, he made the
determination that the tumor is even larger than he had originally thought. And due to the proximity
to several vital blood vessels & arteries he didn't feel it would have been safe to try & remove it at
this time, so the plan now is to let my husbands incision heal for a couple of weeks, then at that
time they will begin chemo to hopefully shrink the tumor enough to remove it at that time. We spoke to
the Oncologist yesterday & he was very optimistic. He said the chemo they will start him on has a
success rate of 80-85%, so that sounds promising. (I guess that's the best news we've heard since this
nightmare began....) I don't remember now who posted the question about whether or not the tumor is
one big thing or if it's a number of tumors. From what I understood, the tumor is one big thing (one
enormous thing) & he has 1 met (I hope that's the right term?) on his liver, but he also said that the
big tumor has grown outside the colon (obviously) & has attached itself to the back outer layer of his
stomach, so it's not actually inside the stomach, but it IS just one big thing, then the 1 separate
spot on his liver, which the Oncologist said is what makes it Stage 4 instead of Stage 3. So, I'm
hoping that is kinda the best "bad" news we could have gotten. Please correct me if I'm wrong about
that though. I truly appreciate everyone's help because I am ignorant when it comes to this stuff.
I've dealt with a lot of diseases while taking care of my mother for almost 18 years, but I thank God
cancer was never one of the diseases I had to deal with with her. So, any help I can get from you all
will be greatly appreciated! (and very much needed.... ) Well, I'm off to try & get some
sleep....3rd night in the hospital, so needless to say I don't expect to get much. Take care & God
Bless, & please remember Jason in your prayers. Kris

[Lisahopes]

Kris, thinking of you and Jason. I am glad to hear that the doctors are more positive having "gone in". An 85% chance sounds good to me.

Keep us updated.

[Yellowbird]

Hi Kris,

RUN...don't walk ... to a HIPEC doctor. If there is involvement elsewhere in the abdomen he has a better chance of survival if he does HIPEC before any other surgery.

Don't know where you live but I went to Dr. Armando Sardi, Mercy medical Center in Baltimore, MD. He and his staff do more HIPECs than most doctors. I really can't impress upon you enough how important it is for you to call a HIPEC doctor right away...one who specializes in this type surgery. I traveled from Texas to Baltimore because I wanted to go to the best doctor I could find. Find one who is in the top of his field. Paul Sugarbaker pioneered the surgery.

My very very best to you. Sardi also takes cases other doctors don't take. He will recommend you do this surgery before any colon resection to increase your husbands survival rates.

Take care...yellowbird

[gizzyluv]

Yellowbird, I will definitely ask my husbands doctor about the HIPEC tomorrow. I'm not sure what kind of chemo the team is planning on starting him on, I know I need to start asking those kinds of questions, & I will before we leave to go home from the hospital. Does the HIPEC help to shrink the tumor? That is the main goal at this point, they just want to shrink it enough so it can be safely removed at a later date. The tumor he has is one big one, & he only has one met to his liver, which the oncologist is confident the chemo will take care of. From what I understand, the one met to his liver is what makes it Stage 4, otherwise it would be Stage 3. And apparently the tumor being one large thing as opposed to a bunch of smaller ones makes it better.....? I'm still trying to understand all this, it's all so new to me, but I'm trying & I certainly do thank you & others on this site for your help & opinions....we need all the help we can get! Please pray for Jason & please pray that whatever treatment he receives will do what the dr's are hoping it will do to make the outcome the best possible. Take care & God Bless, Kris