34y colon metatstatic peritoneal with signet cells

[cdnmomof4girls]

I don't even really know what that means. I had some bloating early January so I went to Dr/ER for gas pills. Within 48 hrs I had xrays, ultrasounds and a ct scan. They found some irritation in my sigmoid so they referred me too GI thinking I had IBS or Crohns. Feb 6th I had a sigmoid scope which showed a lesion which was biospsied and Feb 14th I was diagnosed with Colon Cancer. I had a few more ct scans more area specific and such. They saw nothing of concern so was scheduled for surgery on March 18th, after coming out of surgery I was told they didn't do the bowel resection. I got a colostomy and a mesh sling to hold my small intestine up because the cancer has spread to my spine and tailbone. Now I'm waiting on my incision to heal so they can start chemo and radiation..... Im in a state of bafflement I guess... I went from thinking I had bad gas or a food allergy to oh there is a 'thickening of the bowel wall' to the thickening is cancer you need surgery to you need full blown cancer treatments this is serious.
I'm 34, I have 4 daughters (6-15yrs) and their dad and I just got married on the 15th...
I copied the above subject line words from my hospital discharge papers and don't really know what it means.

[ANDRETEXAS]

I am just having my second chemo treatment today, so I am really a novice as far as colon cancer is concerned. But in the brief time I have been posting here, I can tell you there are people here who can help you and give as much direction and advice as you want and/or need. My only advice is to stay positive. When I found out I had colon cancer, I was thrown for a loop, but with a bit of time, the doctors gave me a game plan, and I'm on it. Don't dwell on the unknown or believe everything you read online, especially as far as survival rates and the like. Make a plan with your doctors and stay postive for you and your family, and everyone will be here to listen and help.

[LKGower]

Hi there,

Welcome and sorry you had to join for this reason.

I'm also hoping someone will give you some more information that has had experience with peritoneal mets.

Have you been appointed an oncologist yet? I would honestly get him/her to explain the extent of the disease.

Signet ring cell commonly spreads to the peritoneal area and is a form of an aggressive cancer unfortunately. It's only a small percentage of colon cancer patients get but it tends to the young patients that have it. I know there is a surgery procedure called hipec that they perform for certain types of cancer that have spread to the abdominal cavity.

I would speak to the dr and get them to explain the spine mets etc.

I know it's scary, and at first all the information is very overwhelming. I was also diagnosed a year and half about with metastatic colon cancer. Metastatic also known as stage Iv is the last stage which means the disease has spread outside the bowel wall and gone through the lymph nodes or blood stream and travelling to other organs.

You just have to remain positive! I don't mean to scare you in any way at all, and I apologise if I have. My only suggestion would be to educate yourself on the disease and advanced stage. Get as many opinions from surgeons and oncologists if you're not happy with their answers. Don't sit back and let the dr's take over your life. Surgeons vs surgeons always have different opinions on what is and isn't possible. Same as oncologist vs surgeons. I was told by an oncologist I would never be a candidate for liver surgery and I seen a top surgeon and he said he would not hesitate in operating cause of my age. Age is definitely on your side cause you are young and healthy and can recover from surgeries.

I wish you all the best

Lisa

[janklo]

My daughter had signet ring cell. It's called that because under the microscope, the cells look like signet ring insignia. It's rare and very aggressive. You need to educate yourself and become an advocate for your treatment. I would recommend going to a university cancer center if possible for this type of cancer. You do need to start treatment ASAP as its fast growing. There is a procedure called HIPEC which works against peritoneal mets, ask about that.

You can research on here by looking for signet ring cell or src. Ask us when you have questions.

[Laurettas]

Hi! First I want to say how very sorry I am that you have to be here. However, since you have been diagnosed with colon cancer, this is a wonderful place for support and information. My husband was diagnosed with signet ring cell cancer when he was 58. He had very similar symptoms to you and we looked for over the counter solutions for a few weeks before going to the doctor. From the time he first began to have any symptoms to diagnosis was two months and he, like you was Stage 4. This shows you how very aggressive this type of cancer is and how quickly one needs to treat it.

Some suggestions I would make from having gone through this: First find an oncologist who KNOWS about SRC cancer. It is not the same as other colon cancers and the normal protocols are not adequate for this type of cancer. Since you have mets to the spine, I am not sure that the HIPEC procedure would be appropriate for you, especially with SRC. But be sure to talk with someone very knowledgeable about this. I would recommend talking also with your doctor about having molecular profiling done on your cancer. SRC often has different mutations than regular colon cancer, possibly making the choice of drugs for treatment different.

My heart hurts for you having to go through this at such a young age with four children and a new spouse. If you think that I can help in any way, feel free to PM me and we can talk.

[shmurciakova]

I just wanted to say HI and to let you know that there are a lot of young people here on this forum, and many of them have kids. I unfortunately don't, but I can relate to your story in some ways because I was 31 when I was diagnosed and I had also just gotten married a couple of months before I got the dreaded news.
You are lucky though to have your husband by your side throughout all of this! I don't know where you live, but I agree that if you are not already being seen at a top hospital, I recommend you ask your doctor for a referral. Being that you are Stage IV and had the surgery you described in which they did not perform the colon resection, I would say that you need the best team of doctors you can get.
There are other people here with stories more similar to yours that I am sure will chime in and answer more of your questions, I just wanted to welcome you and let you know that you have support here from people who can relate!
-Susan H.

[cdnmomof4girls]

Thanks everyone... I'm very fortunate that I live in Canada.. I'm actually about 10 mins away from Queens University and the Cancer Center for Eastern Ontario. So I will have the best Drs and oncologists in the area, also because Queens is attached to our hospital and Cancer Clinic they do many trials from what I'm told.
Google is not a friend when Drs give out diagnoses, so Ive tried to avoid that. My incision is healing well so I'm hoping that I can start treatments quickly as I understood that was what they were waiting on before radiation could begin.

[LKGower]

Totally understand about not wanting to google, you may stubble across useful information but unfortunately you also come across not so great ones :/

All the best, please let us all know how you are going once you start treatment.

Lisa

[horizon]

Google is not a friend when Drs give out diagnoses, so Ive tried to avoid that.

Very wise decision. I upset myself by looking at a lot of things that turned out not to apply to my case.

[jscho]

I'm very sorry to hear your news. I agree with others that you should consult with a specialist in signet cell cancers, which I believe most commonly start in the Appendix. The good news is that there are specialists in Ontario in HIPEC (see http://www.mshfoundation.ca/Page.aspx?pid=1575) as well as in Montreal (Dr. Pierre Dubé, (514) 252-3400 ext. 4672, pdube.hmr@ssss.gouv.qc.ca). There are important researchers in the US like Dr. Garrett Nash at MSK in New York that are running trials for this type of cancer, and you may be able to participate in these. It is important to be your own advocate and not defer entirely to the opinion of a single specialist.

Best of luck,
Jeremy