2014 member update -- for all of us--please post!

[Kiwi Debz]

I have my last chemo next week following which my surgical team want me to take a month break before next PET. Will have PET and go for follow up with them, colorectal, hepatic and vascular (due to the damage surgery caused to my leg when they cut my femoral artery removing the tumour). This will happen February.

So .... I am going to go back to Abu Dhabi for the month and get back to my normal ..... Can't wait to have even just a little bit of escape from cancer world!

What happens after, time will tell .... Last PET was stable .... This one I hope and pray is NED.

2014 from start to finish has been awful, from waiting eight months for diagnosis to getting it and then the treatment. ( my primary Cancer was never inside the colon but outside and attached to it so they thought it was an appendix abcess)

Here is to a better 2015

Merry Xmas and my best wishes and love n hugs to all battling with this horrid disease.

Deb

[bitchslapped]

Well I just posted a litany of an update the other day re: my dear stepson:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=47935

The only thing I can add @ this point is that yesterday's CT showed some shrinkage in all tumors after 4 rounds of FOLFIRI. A result we did not see on 4 rounds of FOLFOX. Haven't seen the details of the report yet, but I'll take it.

Merry Christmas to All
Bitchslapped

[skypup]

Regan, it is kind of you to start this, and a great way to finish out 2014 and start a new year.

I am chemo-for-life but am only on Erbitux monotherapy right now. This is very easy as chemo goes, except for giving me scary skin and hair. But vanity largely went out the window a long time ago (and I have a nice collection of good wigs after too many years of this s**t.) This usually doesn't work very long, so I am dreading the January scan. But today is a good day. I am planning a long walk-about for the Spring... just me and Sky in my itty bitty teardrop trailer off to New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and Colorado. Next summer I want to get to North Dakota and Wisconsin, the only states I haven't visited and also will head to Florida to meet my new grandnephew, due in February. Life is so good!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!

[helen098]

8 ½ post resection, passed the 5 year mark
All colonoscopies and cat scan have shown ned since the resection.
Neuropathy still very bad but very well controlled with meds
Weight normal range, exercising 2 to 3 times a week just had breast reduction surgery
Ready for 2015 and my 50th birthday next tue

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year to ALL

To all of you still in active treatment keep kicking butts

[Hall0731]

I haven't posted in awhile. I have since finished another 4 rounds, gearing up for my 2nd liver resection Jan 8th at MDA to remove 2 very small spots on my liver yet again. My lungs and abdomen/pelvis still are clean. Hoping this is my last surgery for this "crap". Excited to have another christmas with my family. Hoping cancer goes away and that everyone is blessed with a miracle this season.Missing those that have passed. Trying to keep hope and a positive attitude on all this. I tolerate my chemo well (folfiri) and have little side effects, just wish I wasn't KRAS Mutant.


Teresa

[kathybrj]

I don't post much but I think this is a great idea.

Hubby is coming up on his last FolFox treatment on January 2, 2015. He had Xeloda and radiation before surgery. He is scheduled to see his surgeon on January 29 concerning the ostomy reversal. From there, we wait until March for his first CT scan.

Since we are entering a new phase (chemo conclusion) I am getting anxious about what comes next. His initial response to Xeloda and radiation was very good- the tumor went from 5cm to 2.5 cm. 3 out of 4 lymph nodes that were affected were clear- 1 showed "miniscule" signs of cancer. We're hoping the 9 rounds of FolFox helped to suppress any nasties still lingering.

We're both a little tired going into the holidays but our children are here so that's making things much better.

[BrianMc7]

No treatments for me this year! I had an attempt at a liver resection, but my surgeon closed me up after he deemed it too risky to attempt to remove anything. My CEA is rising, from 1.9 at begging of year to 9.4 now. My oncologist feels that we should wait to see something on CT Scans. I expect to be back on chemo in 2015.

Brian

[arizona mom]

Hi,

I finished my last round of FOLFOX on Dec. 19. Now I guess it is just wait and see. After colon and liver resection at MSKCC, I was NED at my last scan in Nov. Now, I'm so glad to be settled back home in Arizona. I happy to be off chemo, but scared about what might happen next. My next scan is in Feb.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season,
Lara

[cathy123]

Hi! I was just diagnosed this fall with a low rectal cancer and am in the middle of 6 weeks of radiation and xeloda. I am starting to get some soreness from radiation, and am more tired than usual but overall it is going ok so far. So after that will be lar surgery with ileostomy likely in March. The drs think I am probably stage 1, although I have two small spots on my liver that we are watching and the pet showed one suspicious lymph node (although ultrasound and mri did not). All the uncertainty is tough, but I am trying to stay positive that we caught this early. I have two young kids so they give me a lot to stay strong for!

I have learned so much and been encouraged by this board. Thanks so much and have a very happy holiday.

[nkoske]

Still NED for me. Coming up on 2 years post resection. I do have to say after spending two weeks in Germany I need to send my surgeon a thank you card because my plumbing is working pretty damn good. I spent many days watching 3-4 hour surgeries (some of which I was scrubbed in for) and leaving to evacuate my semi colon would have been a challenge. Luckily "Wo ist die toilette?" never had to exist my lips will in surgery. I've definitely been blessed in the old post resection plumbing department.

On the other side of things my wife and I want another kid. My radiation therapy has left me shooting blanks and the sperm I bank is only good enough for IVF. My wife an I were not keen on IVF's level of intervention. It sure is easy to take a stand on something until it's your only option. What was once black and white...fades to gray. We've done two egg retrievals and both have not yielded healthy blastocysts, so we're taking a break and hopefully the New Year shines a light our way.

We're fortunate to be recovering from a crazy work schedule and IVF difficulties on the sunny Island of Kauai.

Raising my Mai Tai to everyone and wishing everyone a happy new year.

-Nick

[Leeloo]

I don't want to be insensitive to others who are having a tough time, however when I was having (many) bleak moments after surgery I liked reading the upbeat posts that gave me hope for a better future, so here goes:
Today is one year since I finished chemo. What a difference a year makes. Last year I had no energy and all the usual chemo side effects, and wondered if I would be one of the lucky ones. This year I'm going to enjoy my family, dinner, dancing and a glass or two of champagne to celebrate being NED. Hope you can all raise a glass this year xx

[PGLGreg]

This month I'm 9 years NED. I just had my umpteenth CEA test a couple days ago, but I don't yet know the results[*]. I'm in very good health for a 72 year old. Good luck to you all.

[*] The CEA turned out to be 3.1 (<4.0 normal).

[michelle c]

This month I'm five years from finishing 12 cycles of chemo and five and a half years since my colon resection (LAR).
I'll still have CEA tests and colonoscopies - next due May/June 2015. Best wishes to all.

[Shakhal]

My first post here.

Male 51 YO
Sigmoid colon cancer/resection Apr. 2012
T4M0N0, II B
8 rounds of XELOX - finished Nov. 2012
Still NED, waiting for a CT next January

Happy Christmass and New Year

And warm hello from cold Moscow, Russia

[hoodornament]

Total newbe to this group. I'm 62 yrs old. Have not mastered the summary signatures that are common to Colon Talk. Thus I'll just tell that part in a narrative...

Began experiencing pretty bad intestinal discomfort and pain in Aug 2014. Continued to get worse. Finally went to emergency Sep 14. CT scan showed stage 4 conon w/met to liver - two lesions (one about 2" in dia & the other about 1" in dia).
Colon resection Sep 17. Tumor was the size of a man's fist, nearly causing a full bowel blockage - thus my pain. Pathology showed the aggressive, fast growing kind of cancer. Port "installed" Oct 6. Chem started Oct 15 - Folfox6. As of today, I am completing my 6th treatment. Side effects present, but minimal or manageable: appetite suppressed (no biggie as I'm over weight anyway); finger & toes turning dark; sensitivity to cold in my fingers right after infusion; nose bleeds.

If someone could "suggest" an appropriate signature summary for this forum in place of this narrative, I'd be grateful... <shrug>
Now, for my "update," I'm posting what I posted to my peeps on Facebook yesterday. (I hope it isn't too "perky" or too long for this forum).

Cancer/Chemo Update
Good morning my peeps!
First some good news. Had a blood draw last Thursday. Two things are notable about that:
My blood counts are almost within normal range, and the ones that are outside normal range are "just" outside. Therefore chemo treatments can continue.
My CEA (the "cancer marker" for what I have) continues to fall. The normal range is 5 or less. Before I started chemo it was 30. After four treatments it was 16.8. Now (after five treatments) it is 11.0. I should have a report on this now every other week, because this test is on my standing order with the Quest Diagnostics med lab.
Because chemo is a cumulative treatment, side effects are cumulative as well - the ones I had before are marginally worse now. I have a new (though harmless) side effect: my toes, fingers and palms are turning brown. <shrug> I have increased sensitive to cold in my hands (and now in my feet if I'm barefoot). I have to wear gloves to drive in the mornings. Nose bleeds are getting to be an increasing nuisance. Nausea continues to be a non-issue - I don't even take the anti-nausea med prescribed and the only thing I really notice is a slight appetite suppressant. And goodness if I just "happen" to lose a little weight... No Biggie.
My blood pressure is all over the map, but mostly high. It was high in the hospital too (before chemo, of course). So I think I have high blood pressure which I'll be seeking treatment for. But I am confused about this: If I have high blood pressure, how do I "explain" the times when it was within normal range or even exemplary (127/70)???
I had a long phone conversation with a close friend from out of town last night. He too is experiencing sever difficulties in his life (though not of the health related type). He commented at length that his difficulties have worked out for good because they have forced him to do some painful self examination, which he would otherwise never have done, resulting in a newly found freedom from guilt and self recrimination. Praise God! This is the truth of the highly quoted verse Romans 8:28 at work in real life. A man of God once told me: Self discovery followed by repentance brings reconciliation with God. In this case further closeness with God.
So why am I sharing this friend's story on my post about my cancer & chemo? I'm glad you asked that question. <smile>
My own struggles of late have also benefited me in ways that were heretofore impossible - another case of ALL thing working together for good to those who love God. Among the benefits which I am reaping which were impossible before are:
I have come to realize how many friends I have that truly care for me and love me. As I have mentioned before, I was really insecure in this area, thinking that most people who claim to be my friends really only "tolerated" me and humored me. That feeling is now gone and a newly found peace and security has taken its place. As a result I also have a newly found boldness to speak of the things of God and what really matters in my life.
This is a natural segue to the next benefit I'm reaping: My attitude (being positive and trusting in Jesus for the outcome - live or die) has become a true-to-life testimony and I know it has inspired many - perhaps helping them in their own life-struggles whatever those struggles may be. <grateful & humbled>
I know that I am having a good results and fewer side effects from chemo because I'm buoyed up by the prayers of God's people.
Thanks for listening.