Re: Rectal Cancer: Habr-Gama Watch and Wait Strategy to Avoid Surgery
Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2019 5:42 am
ticktock10 wrote:Hi all,
I have not posted in a while as I haven't been on the forum and haven't had much to report, although "no news is good news" when you are following the W&W protocol.
But today I heard the words "you are as good as cured" from my oncologist
I have recently had my most recent round of PET, MRI and colonoscopy all come back clear - and this is 5 years on from starting down the 'Watch and Wait' pathway.
It hasn't really sunk in yet - but I have been living without the disease for 5+ years and I am fortunate to be able to continue to do so.
If you check my posts, you will see that I have never tried to 'promote' W&W over surgery - partly because I didn't want to jinx myself and partly because I don't believe that it a right or wrong decision. I think it is a very personal decision based on each individual circumstance - but it is important to be as educated and informed as possible.
I will always be grateful to Dr Peter Gibbs (oncologist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital) as he is the person who first told me about Dr Habr-Gama's research and, even though he said it was considered 'controversial' at that time in Nov 2013, he was open about it and he allowed me to make up my own mind based on the available evidence.
For those who are interested, I reckon this video clip seems to be a pretty good summary of the current situation: https://www.mdedge.com/internalmedicine ... al-cancers
Hi Ticktock,
Congrats !! What wonderful news !!! I agree that its a very personal decision and I am fed up of people and medical professions telling me that I should go get it cut out asap ! While it's good to be alive, I don't think there is anything wrong in setting some standards to achieve quality of life too !
After reading through the boards, I realised that having a doc who provides the patient a WW option is almost akin to striking the lottery !! I'm so happy to know there are medical professions out there like your docs who keep themselves abreast of new advancement and research !
I noted from your signature that you had 6 weeks CRT in Dec 2013 and it was not until April 2014 that you are declared as complete response ? That's about 4 months apart - did your doc make you wait out 16 weeks instead of 12 weeks which is the usual cut off time for most WW ?
And you didn't have your adjuvant chemo until June after declared as CCR in April - that's about 2 months apart and I'm intrigued what happened during those 2 months ?
Any details/stories would be appreciated !