Adding your SIGNATURE and other TIPS

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Nik Colon

Adding your SIGNATURE and other TIPS

Postby Nik Colon » Thu Oct 01, 2015 7:17 am

I just wanted to post how to add your signature. (and other helpful tips)

Click your "name" in the top right (a drop down will appear)
Click "user control panel" (NOT profile on this dropdown)
Click "profile"
Click "edit signature"

OR click this link to take you directly to edit your signature:
ucp.php?i=ucp_profile&mode=signature


ALSO, check the sticky thread
"terminology and abbreviations"
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5366

Another sticky thread for ongoing CRC Science info
"DK37 Science Posts List"
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=52822

Please feel free to add others
Last edited by Nik Colon on Wed Oct 05, 2016 9:51 pm, edited 10 times in total.

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O Stoma Mia
Posts: 1709
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2013 6:29 am
Location: On vacation. Off-line for now.

Re: Adding your SIGNATURE and other TIPS

Postby O Stoma Mia » Sat Dec 19, 2015 1:08 pm

To create a signature, click on the link below. You can have up to 512 characters (including spaces)in your signature.

http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/ucp.php?i=ucp_profile&mode=signature

Some items that you could include in your signature are given below:

Age & Sex
DX: Rectal Cancer (RC) or Colon Cancer (CC)
Tumor Location: If RC, then upper, middle or lower rectum, and distance from anal verge. If CC, then cecum, ascending colon, hepatic flexure, transverse colon, splenic flexure, descending colon, sigmoid colon, or recto-sigmoid junction, etc.
Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma; villous adenoma; signet ring-cell carcinoma, etc.
Tumor size (in mm or cm)
Tumor grade:
    G1: Well differentiated (low grade)
    G2: Moderately differentiated (intermediate grade)
    G3: Poorly differentiated (high grade)
    G4: Undifferentiated (high grade)
TNM code: e,g, T3N0M0, etc
Stage : Stage I, Stage II, Stage III or Stage IV (with subscript, if applicable)
Positive lymph nodes: eg., X positive out of Y sampled.
Mets: Location of metastases, if any (e.g., mets to liver, mets to lungs, etc)
Baseline CEA value (Very important! Must be taken before start of first treatment intervention )
Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (if known): present vs. absent
Perineural invasion (PNI) (if known): present vs. absent
Surgical margins: clear or involved
BMI
Lynch status (if known)
MSI status (Required for all CRC patients, regardless of stage)
KRAS/BRAF status (Required for all Stage IV patients)
Primary surgery type:
    LAR, ULAR, TME, APR, Laparascopic vs. open resection, polypectomy, proctosigmoidectory, colectomy, hemi-colectomy, sigmoid-colectomy, etc...
Ostomy surgery: Ileostomy, or colostomy, or no ileo surgery
Radiation therapy (if any): Chemo/rad
Chemotherapy (if any): e.g., XELOX, CAPEOX, FOLFOX, etc.

- - -
NOTE: Here is a list of acronyms if you need some help in understanding the jargon typically used in signatures:

.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

ADDENDUM: An expanded, structured, signature template
The template below is a longer, reorganized version of the template given above but with various annotations and references embedded to further clarify certain areas. All comments below must be validated by an experienced, informed doctor since some of this information may be patient-specific and may change over time.

To create a signature, click on the link below. You can have up to 512 characters (including spaces) in your signature.

http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/ucp.php?i=ucp_profile&mode=signature

Some items that you could include in your signature are given below. Select the items appropriate for your signature, then edit and abbreviate your text as necessary to stay within the 512-character limit:

Age & Sex
Hx: History of symptoms that led to the eventual diagnosis.
Dx: Rectal Cancer (RC) or Colon Cancer (CC)
Primary-tumor characteristics
    Tumor location: If RC, then specify upper, middle or lower rectum, and distance from anal verge. If CC, then specify cecum, ascending colon, hepatic flexure, transverse colon, splenic flexure, descending colon, sigmoid colon, or recto-sigmoid junction, etc. This is important because the treatment protocols for RC are somewat different from the treatment protocols for CC, and left-side tumors (in the rectum, rectosigmoid junction, sigmoid colon, etc.) sometimes have different biological characteristics from right-side tumors (those in the cecum, ascending colon, etc.), and the lymphovascular networks for the two sides have different flow patterns.
    Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma; villous adenoma; mucinous adenocarcinoma; signet ring-cell carcinoma; small cell carcinoma; squamous cell carcinoma; adenosquamous carcinoma etc. Tumor type is important for distinguishing the slow-growing tumors from the fast-growing, aggressive, invasive tumors.
    Tumor size: (in mm or cm). Note: It's not the size itself that's so important. It is whether the tumor has grown into the layers of the colon wall or not, and this is normally determined by some kind of scan, such as MRI.
    Tumor shape: Annular, like a donut; or linear, like a carrot; or spherical, like an orange, etc.
    Tumor origin: Originated from a flat, sessile polyp, or from a raised, pedunculated polyp?
    Tumor grade:
      G1: Well differentiated (low grade)
      G2: Moderately differentiated (intermediate grade)
      G3: Poorly differentiated (high grade)
      G4: Undifferentiated (high grade)
    Note: Undifferentiated, high grade tumors have the worst prognosis.
Baseline CEA value: (Very important! Must be taken before start of first treatment intervention )
.
Baseline values for other panels: It is also important to establish baseline values for the main panels typically used for periodic health check-ups, namely: 1. A comprehensive metabolic panel CMP, consisting of the 15 or 20 main blood tests for serum chemistry; 2. A comprensive Complete Blood Count panel, CBC with differential; 3. A baseline urine test; and 4. Baseline tests for any other ongoing chronic health conditions that the patient needs to monitor.
.
Staging information (INITIAL, tentative, before any treatment):
    Initial TNM code: e.g., T4bN0M0, etc., estimated from initial scans alone, e.g., X-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, etc.
    Initial Stage : Stage I, Stage II, Stage III or Stage IV (with subscript, if applicable)
    Mets: Location of metastases, if any found on initial scans (e.g., mets to liver, mets to lungs, etc)
Neo-adjuvant staging information (INTERIM, updated after any neo-adjuvant, pre-surgery treatment):
    Type of neo-adjuvant treatment, if any (specify):
    Response to neo-adjuvant treatment: (complete/partial), e.g., cCR=yT0N0, pCR=ypT0N0, nCR=near complete response, etc.
    Post-treatment TNM code, e.g., cT2N0M0, determined from scans only, e.g., from CT, MRI, ultrasound,etc.
    NOTE: The section above on neo-adjuvant radiation therapy is mainly relevant for Rectal Cancer (RC) patients who are trying to reduce or eliminate the primary tumor and regional lymph-node metastases prior to surgery.
    ☆ Reference: Some rectal cancer Dx and Tx information
    https://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=65286&p=507636#p507636

☆ Reference: TNM Staging Guidelines
https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/colorectal-cancer/stages/

☆ Reference: Pathology report interpretation
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=51436&p=399172#p399172

Staging information (FINAL, updated after primary surgery):
    Pathology TN code: e.g., pT4bN0, or pT4bN0Mx, determined by pathologist after review of resected tumor and local lymph nodes. Note: Pathologist cannot review anything related to remote metastases since these are not included in the resected specimen.
    Clinical M code: e.g., M0, M1, or M2, determined from scans of remote areas, after resection of tumor
    Final, combined TNM code (with subscripts, if any):, e.g., T4bN0M0
    Final Stage: Stage I, Stage II, Stage III or Stage IV (with subscript, if applicable), e.g. Stage II-C
    Local involvement (near primary tumor)
      Lymph node involvement (LNI): eg., X positive out of Y sampled, e.g., (0/12)
      Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (if known): present vs. absent
      Perineural invasion (PNI) (if known): present vs. absent
      Surgical margins (proximal, distal, radial): clear or involved
Biomarkers (if tested)
    MSI status, or dMMR status (Required for all CRC patients, regardless of stage)
    KRAS/BRAF status (Required for all Stage IV patients; and highly recommended for high-risk Stage III patients.)
    Lynch (HNPCC) status: (if known) - status of mismatch genes MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS2; recommended for patients with family history of colorectal cancer.
    Other biomarkers tested: If any additional biomarker tests were done, list the main findings for those tests. For example, expensive tests done by labs using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) such as the Tempus lab biomarker tests.
    .
Comorbidities (i.e., other relevant chronic conditions)
    Obesity: (BMI > 30)
    Cardiovascular disease (CVD)
    Type II diabetes
    Smoker
Primary surgery type:
    AR (anterior resection), LAR (low anterior resection), ULAR (ultra low anterior resection), APR (abdomino-perineal resection), PE (pelvic extenteration), TE (trans-anal excision), TME (total mesorectal excision), TAMIS (trans anal minimally invasive surgery), TEM (trans-anal endoscopic microsurgery), EMR (endoscopic mucosal resection), ESD (endoscopic submucosal dissection), TASER (trans anal submucosal endoscopic resection), colectomy, hemi-colectomy, sigmoidectomy, proctosigmoidectomy, polypectomy, etc.
Surgical method
Type of surgeon
General surgeon vs. Board-certified colorectal surgeon

Ostomy surgery: Temp ileostomy, temp colostomy, permanent colostomy, or no ostomy.

Other surgeries also required?
Appendectomy?
Hysterectomy?

Other possible team members
Medical oncologist: Board-certified or not (Medical Oncology)?
Radiation oncologist: Board-certified or not (Radiation Oncology)?
Gastroenterologist: Board-certified or not (Gastroenterology)?
Family doctor: Board-certified or not (Family Medicine)?

Adjuvant therapy regimens for post-surgery Stage II and Stage III patients only
Treatments undertaken after primary surgery to "mop up" any micro-metastases that might still exist. Treatments are usually applied for a fixed term only, e.g., 25 days only for long-term adjuvant chemo/radiation therapy; 5 days only for short-term chemo/radiation therapy, 4 to 6 months only for adjuvant chemo therapy, etc. Adjuvant chemotherapy regimens are usually confined to standard chemo, not targeted therapy or immunotherapy.

    (Specify adjuvant chemo/radiation therapy regimen used (if any), e.g., chemo/radiation therapy long course (CRT-LC), or chemo/radiation therapy short course (CRT-SC), etc.
    (Specify adjuvant chemo regimen used (if any), e.g., FOLFOX, FOLFIRI, CAPEOX/XELOX, etc., and for how many cycles)
Chemo regimens for mCRC / Stage IV patients: Therapy delivered to reduce/control/eliminate mets, and to make mets operable. Metastatic mCRC regimens usually involve a combination of drugs and usually include a targeted therapy drug or immunotherapy drug that is compatible with the MSI/ KRAS/BRAF mutation profile of the primary tumor. Therapy usually continues indefinitely or until a chemo break is recommended, or until available regimens no longer work.
(Specify which 1st-line, 2nd-line, 3rd-line regimens were used and for how long.
Specify which testing method(s) were used for monitoring and surveillance, e.g., CEA-trend, CT-scan, PET/CT, MRI, ct-DNA, Signatera, Galleri, etc.)

☆ Reference: FDA-approved medications for treating colorectal cancer (2021)
https://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=65284&p=510813#p507610

Special procedures for dealing with mCRC mets
(Specify which procedures used.)

Last edited by O Stoma Mia on Tue Oct 25, 2022 2:16 am, edited 9 times in total.

bitchslapped
Posts: 1538
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2014 3:23 pm
Location: PNW/USA

Re: Adding your SIGNATURE and other TIPS

Postby bitchslapped » Sat Dec 19, 2015 1:55 pm

Nice job OSM. I would like to add that it is helpful for members to answer questions, provide feedback when there is an "abbreviated history at a glance"...a signature provided as a point of reference.
DSS,35YO,unresect mCRC DX 7/'14,lvr,LN,peri,rib
FOLFOX+Avstn 4 Rnds d/c 10/'14
Stent 9/'14
FOLFIRI+Avstn 10/'14
Gone From My Sight 2/20/15
Me:garden variety polyps + precancerous polyp, diverticulitis
Carergver x2 DH,DM dbl occupancy,'03-'10
DH dx 47YO mCRC,'04-'07, lvr, billiary tree fried x HAI
DM dx CC 85YO,CC,CHF,stroke,dementia,aphasia


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