Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

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vancouver eve
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Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby vancouver eve » Wed Nov 05, 2008 9:00 pm

It is great to read all these inspiring stories. I hope more people come forth and tell their stories.

Annaleisa
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Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby Annaleisa » Wed Nov 05, 2008 11:26 pm

I was diagnosed in May,'07. Stage IV with mets to the liver. I had surgery, colon and liver resections, the following June. I went through 6 months of chemo, finishing up last January. I've scanned completely clear every 3 months since surgery. My onc. says I'm off the charts! He doesn't know how to classify me other than to call me NED! I'm still singing "Won't Back Down", but I'm dancing to this now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJe57FQy ... re=related
Diagnosed 5/24/07 Lobular Breast Cancer; 5/25/07 Stage IV Colon Cancer
Colon/Liver Resection 6/21/07. Folfox/Avastin/5FU July 07-Feb.08.
NERD Oct. '07; NED since Feb. '08
http://theboggsfamily.blogspot.com/

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jenhopesprays
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Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby jenhopesprays » Thu Nov 06, 2008 1:19 am

I met two ladies who were at the CCA meeting in Los Angeles. One was out 11 years with mets to her female organs and liver. She had a liver resection, and a full hysterectomy.

The other was out 5 years and still taking Xeloda???? They were both in their sixties and not very computer savvy so I'm posting for them.

Oh yeah.....another was out three years and still clear. She had mets to her liver and did chemo with a resection. She is in her forties.


Also on the CCA blog mycrcconnections.com there are others who have achieved cure.


Thought I might share...
Stage IV: dx 8/07 at 39.. colon & liver resection & rt ovary
17 rounds of folfox.
12/08 ovary tumor removed with HIPEC & folfiri w/Avastin
9/11 liver resection # 2 followed by chemo
NED

Have Hope with Capitol H

vancouver eve
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Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby vancouver eve » Tue Dec 02, 2008 2:10 pm

What wonderful uplifting stories for people to read. They are inspiring and uplifting at the same time. I know it was a hard battle for all of the people who posted, but they are still here to tell their stories. Some of the people are in the Colondar.

I, for one, love to read the stories as it helps as one is preparing mentally and emotionally for the next test that is coming. To me the emotioal side is harder than the treatments. I find it stressful waiting for tests.

Thanks for all who posted and inspired others to keep on fighting. I do hope more will post.

mom_2_3
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Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby mom_2_3 » Thu Dec 04, 2008 11:12 am

CC discovered during c-section (11/4/08)
Diagnosed Stage IV 11/10/08 -- Happy 39th Birthday! 5 bilobar liver mets
02/09: Colectomy, liver resection, HAI pump implanted, 7 of 42 nodes
7 months of FUDR and 5FU ended 11/2/09
10 years NED.

Still Smiling1971

Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby Still Smiling1971 » Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:52 pm

I was DX 4/08 with mets to liver and nodes...going through chemo treatment and cea level is 3.6 and no progression at last CAT scan, going on Dec 16 for next CAT. Trying hard to make 10 or more years, they say that my age is a good factor for quality of life...i have very little chemo side effect except for the numbing fingers...hoping for liver rect...and colon rect...any advise on questions to ask... my doctor???

missjv
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Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby missjv » Tue Dec 09, 2008 3:45 pm

hi,
well stillsmiling one thing is do not ask for a prognosis. another thing do your research on doctors, hospitals and drugs. if you want a liver resection with a better outcome then go to a liver surgeon who specializes in removing mets from the liver sloan kettering, md anderson, fox chase, upmc, and johns hopkins all have excellent liver surgeons who do the most of these types of surgeries. i was diagnosed stage 4 almost 3 years ago and am currently ned and i learned the hard way. i was told by docs here in florida i was hopeless once cancer has spread thats it your toast. i went to a colon cancer specialist at sloan and saw a oncologist and liver surgeon who both told me the opposite. i went to new york thinking i was going to die and left feeling a hell of alot better which changed my attitude and now im doing great as of my last scan and bloodwork. it is a hard battle and you have to fight like hell but you have to have the right docs behind you and the right ammo. stage 4 can nowdays in some cases can be cured and if it can't be cured people can live for years with the disease. the more knowledge and know how your doctor has about colon cancer the better your odds and kicking it's ass.

missjv

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cptmac
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Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby cptmac » Tue Dec 09, 2008 3:57 pm

I concur with missjv. I too was originally given no hope. I went to a top hospital. I had colon surgery, liver surgery and chemo. I have been disease free since Sept of '04.

Let us know how we can help you.
Last edited by cptmac on Wed May 30, 2012 7:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
cptmac
As long as you're alive, there is hope.
dx 7/04 stage IV
colon resection 8/04
liver resection 9/04 with HAI pump installed
Stage II trial w irinotecan as systemic and FUDR for direct chemo to liver via HAI pump
Cured since 9/04

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CBR600319
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Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby CBR600319 » Wed Dec 10, 2008 1:56 pm

missjv + cptmac,

Your information/insight and cptmac's signature help me everytime I log on to the forum. Everyone can hope right ?

I love this post (and other posts like it) !
Wife dx April/07 at age 28
R/T hemi-col. April/07
Stage IV, liver mets, T3,N2,M1
Folfox, 18 treaments
lymphadenectomy surgery, rt hemi col, liver biopsy Jul/08
Liver resection Sept 9th/08
Back on adjuvent Folfox Oct '08, 23 rounds total
Done chemo Feb 09

Cured
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Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby Cured » Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:58 pm

After my diagnosis I received a note from a friend of the family who was given 3 months to live 20 years ago as Stage IV. He is 59; healthy & Iwould call him cured

Note: He was in early Study of 5fu.
Last edited by Cured on Sun Feb 07, 2010 10:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
7-18 Stg 4
5-08:Stg 3 Rectal: 6/14 Nodes
Ace Surgn Remvd 90%Rectm,lots of Colon-Full Incision
Ileo Rev'd 6 Mos.
Radian+5fu Pre-Surg
FOLFOX 8 Cyc,1-09
Clear Scope 8-17; CEA 2-18
Glory to God! Healed by prayers of many: for 10 yrs
7-18: tumor pressing brain Remove
Met to lung. CEA 6.9
Folfiri
CEA 4.5 after 1 chemo
8rds CEA 3 1.8, 2.3,1.7 then up:32
12rd Folfiri
Avastin ev 2 wks
Seizure Anti-seiz meds work-no driving for 6m
4-20PET: Lng spots=Chemo
2-21 tumr gth =Folfiri
Radiation 7-22

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John603
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Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby John603 » Thu Dec 11, 2008 1:26 pm

Is there room on this thread for one more?

Last February my oncologist felt a lump in the lymph nodes above my collarbone. A PET Scan revealed that it was a recurrence of colon cancer. I asked what my prognosis was and he said about two years, maybe three with chemo. He prescribed a regimen of Folfiri and Avastin as palliative treatment. He told me that if nothing else showed up, we would do radiation therapy after the chemo. After about four treatments the chemo had reduced the tumors to being not palpable.
In July my CEA had dropped to 3.9 (from 11 in Jan). In Oct I showed my other signs of the disease and my CEA had dropped to 1.9 so I did 33 days of radiation therapy on my left shoulder area. This week my CEA dropped again to 1.6 and my oncologist officially declared me NED.
John

Dx Stage IIIC (14 of 36 LNs +) Jan 07, age 42
Colectomy Jan 07
Folfox + Erb'x Mar 07
Recurrence in Lymph Nodes Feb 08
Folfiri + Avastin Apr 08
NED Dec 08
Recurrence in lungs & pelvic LNs May 09
Folfiri/Avastin May 09 - Nov 09
Erb'x/Irino Dec 09

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azahar
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Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby azahar » Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:00 am

Liver resection and removal of peritoneal lesions was done three weeks ago. Yesterday I found out that the three biopsies all came back negative, which was much better news than I'd dared hope for. I know I still have a long chemo struggle ahead of me (starting next month) and I haven't even made it through one year since diagnosis, so the odds of recurrence are still quite high. But so far things have been going as well as can be expected.

I'm glad I have friends who work in nuclear medicine at my hospital and that my surgical group was keen to operate again, even though the oncologist had told me in October that I was inoperable and maybe had a year to live. I really have an awful group of oncologists. Oh well, two out of three ain't bad.
DX stage IV May / 08
colon resection May/08
Oxi & Xeloda July/Aug/08
open & close Sept/08, peritoneal mets
liver resection Nov/08
6 rounds Oxi/Xeloda Apr-July/09
NED? so far so good...
http://azahar.wordpress.com/ & http://twitter.com/azahar

dean0209
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Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby dean0209 » Sat Dec 13, 2008 10:35 pm

I have stage 4, and although I am not currently cured, my doctors say that the future prognosis is good. I have two small tumors, one in each lung and no evidence of any LN currently affected. I am scheduled for a PET scan on 12/30 and if that comes back positive then I'll have surgery to remove the tumors. My onc says that this could be curative.
Colon cancer stage III 11/06
mths chemo 2/07 - 9/07
Ileostomy revesal 12/07
Met to lung diag. 2/08, plus 1 LN
Chemo, including Xeloda thru 9/30/08
10/08 PET shows no LN pos.
1/09 ? surgery to remove tumors from lungs

mom_2_3
Posts: 361
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Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby mom_2_3 » Sun Dec 14, 2008 12:20 pm

We had dinner with some good friends last night and we discussed one of our friend's dad. He was diagnosed 6 years ago with ST4, initially unresectable. He did chemo at MSKCC for 6 months, had surgery on previously unresectable disease and had 6 months adjuvant chemo. He is now 5 years out NED. I had a call with this man (he isn't into the internet or coalitions or anything) and took away from him the fact that the road is tough but it can be done. My brother's neighbor had ST4 (not sure how many years ago but quite a few) and had liver surgery at MSK by Jarnigan/Weiser. He is also NED. Finally, when I told one of our neighbors of my diagnosis she told me of a friend of hers who had ST4 more than 15 years ago and is still going strong.

I add these to the list because I know I find it comforting that people enjoy lives after diagnosis. I have a notebook and one page is filled with names of people I have found on this board, at CSN, at CCRConnections and others I have found online that had metastatic colon cancer but are currently NED. At night when I wake up (6 week old baby...) and can't fall back asleep I recite names in my head and I find I am able to go back to sleep with the hope that I will be able to see my kids get older.
CC discovered during c-section (11/4/08)
Diagnosed Stage IV 11/10/08 -- Happy 39th Birthday! 5 bilobar liver mets
02/09: Colectomy, liver resection, HAI pump implanted, 7 of 42 nodes
7 months of FUDR and 5FU ended 11/2/09
10 years NED.

vancouver eve
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Location: Vancouver

Re: Any Stage IV's that have been cured?

Postby vancouver eve » Wed Dec 24, 2008 1:46 am

How are all the stage 4's that posted doing? Are things still the same or have there been some changes in their lives? Please let us all know.


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