New here... Husband is 29 with stage IIIc and I'm pregnant.

[awags]

I have been lurking ever since December but finally decided to post for the first time. My husband is 29 and was diagnosed with stage IIIC colon cancer in December, just a week after we learned we are expecting our first child.

He had no symptoms up until six weeks prior to being diagnosed and his only symptoms were abdominal pain and vomiting. Our doctor thought it was his gall bladder and sent him to the ER for a work-up after a third episode of vomiting and abdominal pain. One test after another came back fine - blood work fine, ultrasound fine, upper endoscopy fine. Finally they did a CT scan and found an 8cm x 5cm tumor in his colon that was nearly causing a blockage and had perforated the colon wall and was getting close to his appendix. Shocked is an understatement. He is young, healthy, worked out every day, never smoked, rarely drank. How was this possible?

Off he went for emergency surgery....

Once he recovered from surgery and had two feet of his colon removed, we met with the surgeon who went over the pathology report - Stage 3C - T4 N2a Mx with perforation in the cecum. 4 out of 19 lymph nodes tested positive. He ordered a CT of his lungs just to be sure everything looked good there which is when we learned he had 3 nodules on his lungs (only 1 large enough to biopsy) and 2 lesions on his liver. The spot they biopsied on his liver turned out to be a hemangioma and the spot they biopsied on the lung came back negative as well. We were shocked and relieved.

So now here we are... he has had 6 rounds of modified Folfox (he got off to a rough start .... WBC's didn't bounce back for a month so they eliminated the bolus of 5fu) with 6 more to go.

This Friday he goes for a follow-up scan. The oncologist said it's possible that they missed the right spot during the lung biopsy and I'm nervous, just because there were two additional very small lung nodules that the CT detected (3mm and 4mm). I fully understand "Scanxiety" now, and I'm not even the one going through all of this. I can't imagine what it's like for him!

So I guess I just wanted to say hi. I'm so thankful to have found the Colon Club the very day he was diagnosed. Our little boy is due in August, just a few weeks after he is scheduled to be done with treatment as long as everything goes as planned. I am still so nervous, especially because of the perforation and the questionable spots on his liver and lungs. In all of my research, I haven't been able to find many people with a perforated colon. I know it's out of our control though, so we do lots of praying and deep breathing around here!

[elise]

Hi,

Sorry you're joining the crappy club I know, bad joke.

There are quite a few of us here in our late 20s and early 30s. I'm one of them, saying hi.

Reach out by PM if you need anything

Elise

[KWT]

Sorry to hear your news and that you guys have to deal with this b.s.. Hopefully those little suckers aren't mets,but if they are maybe they'll melt away with chemo. My doctors pretty much insisted on a vats biopsie because they wouldn't trust the needle biopsie . Best of luck to you guys

[nitebreez]

Hello awags!

I also had a perforated colon. ( I'm not exactly a youngster, though). Anyhow,...I was rushed to the ER (by my daughter's insistance)...and they thought it was diverticulitus with perforated colon. Unfortunately, the biopsy showed cancer.
I went through all the 12 rounds of Folfox,...and was NED (No Evidence of Disease) on my first scan. My recent blood test showed very low CEA...so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I hope your hubby has the same results, and will be "clean and clear" of this horrible disease for ever.....
Congradulations on your coming little one!

[awags]

My doctors pretty much insisted on a vats biopsie because they wouldn't trust the needle biopsie . Best of luck to you guys

I didn't realize there was another way to biopsy the lungs. We'll have to ask about that next week when we see the oncologist again to get the results of his scan, thanks!

[Oneeyeddog]

Hi awags, first, congrats on your pregnancy and sorry about your husband. The worst time is near the beginning, when things are up in the air, before you have a full treatment plan.

My wife became pregnant (with our second) shortly after my diagnosis in March 2013 and before my resection in April. I'm also 3c. I just wanted to write to give you some hope. I am now over a year out from dx and currently NED (although have a scan in a week's time). The last few months were hard, going through chemo, my wife being pregnant. But it has all been worth it. Our beautiful boy Danny was born in January and he has made us both so incredibly happy.

Chemo is no picnic, but we got through it and had many, many happy moments. I had a lot of dark feelings when we found out my wife was pregnant, worrying about the future, about not being around for my kids, but, as it often does, that darkness lifted and our baby became the biggest source of hope, something to keep fighting for. I wanted to get better for him.

And cancer gives me the best excuse to try to get out changing the dirty diapers.

Anyway, I wish you both all the best. Please feel free to PM me if you'd like to chat or I could be of help in any way.

[kcwickham7]

I can relate. My husband was diagnosed with stage IV last year and I had only known I was pregnant for 3 weeks. He was 31 at the time, and similiarly he was in great health - excercised regularly, ate healthy, no concerning symptoms - had an emergency blocakge that changed our world. To quote our oncologist, just a case of really bad luck. I agree with the previous posters that just after diagnosis is the hardest part. However, your new baby will get you through the tough times. Seeing your new baby smile, laugh and interact with your husband will give you strength to get through the toughest days. Although this is not how you planned to bring baby into the world, you just have to move forward. Make every day count and leave nothing unsaid.

There will be days that you don't think you will survive this but you will. There will be days when you want to cry all day but then you will have a day where you are able to live in the moment and appreciate the time you have now. No one's fate is certain, be your husband's cheerleader on good days and bad.

Best of luck with your husband's treatments. I pray for shrinkage and effective therapies for your husband and your strength to be his support system.

Best wishes, Casey

[awags]

Thanks for the support guys!

Oneeyeddog - You are so right, the beginning was definitely the hardest. We were just trying to wrap our heads around the fact that we were pregnant, and not even a week later we had to try to digest a cancer diagnosis. A serious one at that... Once we met with the oncologist and got treatment going life started to feel a little more "normal" although it's far from normal. I'm so happy to hear you are NED and doing well.

Casey - So sorry you dealing with a stage IV diagnosis. Really bad luck about sums it all up. Thanks for the support and advice. I know we both definitely appreciate the little things a lot more thanks to cancer. In an instant, life changes.

[disco nap]

Hello, I had a similar diagnosis to your husband but I had 11/18 lymph nodes positive. The rest of your tale is very similar to mine including tumour size and location. Mine had reached out for my appendix and had almost fused to a major blood vessel.

My doctor phoned today and my 4 year scan is clean so....there is a lot of hope for your husband.

[awags]

@disco nap --- thanks so much for reaching out. It gives me hope when I hear of others in similar situations that are NED. Congrats on another clean scan!

[pukalania]

Hi!
Welcome and congrats on little one !
Just wanted to say you are not alone,
We were 3 months preggo and hubby was 34 at the time of diagnosis ... Looking forward to all the baby things along with chemo made life much easier... I was kinda crazy and brought baby tLadies I have a friend who is going to a wedding in Kailua Kona can you recommend a decent but not stupid expensive hotel? o all the appointments and Chemo infusions ... She was only 3 days old when he had to get a numerous infusion but she was his best cheerleader and mine too... It all sounds comicated and it is quite exhausting but all amazing at the same time!
Hope things are getting a bit back to normal and that you can start planning some of the fun baby stuff
Pm me if I can help
Hugs

[awags]

Happy to hear I'm not alone Pukalania. If all goes as planned, he will be done with treatment a few weeks before the baby arrives. Just hoping and praying the CT he had today comes back normal!

[pfCml73183]

Best wishes to you Awags. I pray you get good test results and congratulations on your new addition.
Peace to you, Celeste

[Peabody5422]

Sorry you are here. It is a great place. Learn as much as you can. Ask as many questions - here and at the dr office. Don't believe everything you hear. Make lots of new friends. Share yourselves! Great news about the baby. That's the greatest of all. New life and love make all this "crap" worth living.

65 Female: T1 N1c MX DX'd 11/11 RC
Surgery 12/12/11
Xeloda and Rad: 1 -4/12
Clear scan but now rising CEA as of 4/14

[awags]

Well... not the news we were hoping for. DH just had a CT of his lungs. Back in January they found a few nodules but the biopsy came back negative. The latest CT showed growth, so now they are doing another biopsy. This roller coaster ride can sure be exhausting....