stage III ers

[debzak]

Ok simple question:

Anyone diagnosed stage III NED more than 3 years without ANY recurance at all? I had chemo, chemo/rad, surgery and some extra Xeloda for good measure. What are my real odds of recurrance?

I know alot of stage III ers are out there, but from everyone bio, it seems that it always comes back to lungs or liver.

Debbi

[cashmere]

Hi Debbi,

I am a stage III'er and I have been NED for over 5 years and hope to stay that way for a long time to come!!!

I am sure there are many of us out there!!

Pearl

[Redtexa5]

I too am a stage III and had Chemo, Chemo/Rad, and Surgery I just had my three year checkup and still NED. Also, what you find on this board as far as reassurance rate is not really representative for a number of reasons, try to relax it will most likely not come back.

[Staci's team]

Staci's just over three years out from surgery, just about four from diagnosis, and there hasn't been any sign of cancer on any of her scans since her surgery. CEA hasn't been reliable for her, so we just go with the CT/MRI/PET/colonoscopy results that say there's no sign of anything.

Her butt pain is another story....during a recent pain management session, the new intern said to her "So when did you break your tailbone?" She replied, "I've never broken my tailbone," to which he said, "So I'll ask again, when did you break your tailbone?" Helps to explain why she's got so much pain, but they also think it's some nerve damage that occurred during surgery along with a ton of adhesions. So other than the pain, she's in great shape!


Chris

[Bob_Weiss]

In two months, I'll have been finished with treatment for 3 years. So far, no recurrances and oncologist recently said probability of recurrance for me is down to about 10%.

[nicola smith]

see my signature for details. Surgery was in Feb 2010 so I am just over 3 years with no recurrence (cross fingers)

[JAZZToo]

I was Stage IIIa 2+ nodes, had a right hemicolectomy and 6 mos of bolus 5FU with Leucovorin infusion. Diagnosis was in May 2003 and treatment ended February 2004 and have been NED since.
Leslie
Lynch Syndrome
2003 Colon Cancer
1995 Endometrial Cancer

[RayGirl]

I have another scan in two weeks and I'm hoping its still clear (knock on wood, swing a chicken)

Remember that after awhile of being NED a lot of people stop posting where as ones in ongoing treatments tend to be more active. So it just seems like a lot of reoccurances.

[Bob Bones]

7 years post surgery. Stage 3 IS curable

[debzak]

Thanks guys. I am only 5 months post surgery and about 14 months post diagnosis. I know it is hard to get stats from reading what is posted. As much as I try not to think about my illness, it always finds a way to creep into my thoughts. This month my daughter is raising money for her Relay for Life team, so cancer is on my mind

Debbi

[Rob in PA]

I agree with RayGirl. Once you are NED for a couple years, this board becomes a memory for a lot of former posters. Can't blame them, but it is nice for some to stick around for reassurance to those currently going through what they went through such as yourself. And if it does come back, I'm sure you are being poked and prodded enough that it won't have time to get out of control before you can treat it.

Keep the faith!

Rob

[Jimswife]

I tend to think the same ... But the other posters are correct , people who are ned for a long period of time tend not to post / visit ..... So it's mainly the ones that do have reccurances that post , hence why it's looks like a lot do go on to have reccurances , in the real world the stats for stage 3 a/b reccurannce is about 20 to 25 percent , so the odds are most definatly in your favour , I'm connected to literally tons and tons of stage 3 survivors mainly through Facebook and other sites , longest I know of is randy herringer , he's a 27 year survivor with multiple lymph involvement , had no chemo either , chemo was not the standard of care back in the early 80s for stage 3 , also others 8/10/15/20 years out .... It is curable , it's just people tend to slip back into every day life / a new normal and drift away from sites like this . What segment of stage 3 were you in ? A b or c ?

[Lee]

Hi, I'm coming up on 9 yrs since my diagnoses, and I've been NED since my surgery in August 2004. See my signature line. No I don't check in every day, but I do try to check in every so often. I know there are plenty more people out there who have moved on from here and check in only once or twice a yr.

Don't give up the hope.

Lee

[barbara jayne]

Hi Debbi
I'm a stage 111'er NED for 5 yrs last January,
I only had half the amount of Oxi originally prescribed and one round of Xeloda
due to severe toxicity.
There are plenty of us out there as everyone else has said I'm sure loads of them will
pop up when they check in.

Barbara x

[SusanNore]

Coming up on 8 years since dx'd in 2005 with Stage III rectal. Been NED since