W&W-ers - "awareness" of rectum?
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 11:16 am
Hi Jolene. Good news that you have another option to consider!
I am intrigued by your 2 & 4 month schedule as I am on a 4 mo (DRE/flex sig) and 8 mo (MRI) schedule. Based on what I've read here, it seems those doctors/institutions newer to W&W do it more often. (Wish I were on that schedule!)
I did TNT (total neoadjuvant therapy) - so I did chemo first AND THEN chemo/rad. I do believe TNT was started with W&W in mind. They found that people tolerate chemo better prior to surgery and then they found they were seeing cCRs in some of these folks. (Someone correct me if I am wrong.) It is interesting to note that just after chemo (before chemorad), my tumor decreased "significantly." And I agree with others who state that the chemo is for the systemic or rogue cancer cells - not as much for the local tumor (though it clearly worked on my tumor!).
Not to change course, but I am interested in the W&W-ers on here.
* Do certain (spicy?) foods affect how your rectum feels?
* Do you have more "awareness" of your rectum since radiation?
I will be calling my doctor but my rectum has felt different lately. (It could be my anus - and hemorrhoids - hard to tell.) Obv., the tumor could be back, but I also wonder if it's radiation (which continues to work for a long while, right?) or if my rectum is just more sensitive to certain foods (e.g., I had curry for lunch Saturday and I had popcorn on Sat night. I recently had a very weird feeling there after eating sriracha sauce for the first time since radiation.) But I don't want to be naive either! Anyway, they said to call if I have any PAIN, but it's more an awareness and stinging (near anus) than anything so I don't know what to think. Like I said, I will call my doctor, but I'm curious what the other W&W-ers on this board have experienced.
Good luck with deciding your strategy, Jolene. It's so hard and nobody can make the decision for you.
I am intrigued by your 2 & 4 month schedule as I am on a 4 mo (DRE/flex sig) and 8 mo (MRI) schedule. Based on what I've read here, it seems those doctors/institutions newer to W&W do it more often. (Wish I were on that schedule!)
I did TNT (total neoadjuvant therapy) - so I did chemo first AND THEN chemo/rad. I do believe TNT was started with W&W in mind. They found that people tolerate chemo better prior to surgery and then they found they were seeing cCRs in some of these folks. (Someone correct me if I am wrong.) It is interesting to note that just after chemo (before chemorad), my tumor decreased "significantly." And I agree with others who state that the chemo is for the systemic or rogue cancer cells - not as much for the local tumor (though it clearly worked on my tumor!).
Not to change course, but I am interested in the W&W-ers on here.
* Do certain (spicy?) foods affect how your rectum feels?
* Do you have more "awareness" of your rectum since radiation?
I will be calling my doctor but my rectum has felt different lately. (It could be my anus - and hemorrhoids - hard to tell.) Obv., the tumor could be back, but I also wonder if it's radiation (which continues to work for a long while, right?) or if my rectum is just more sensitive to certain foods (e.g., I had curry for lunch Saturday and I had popcorn on Sat night. I recently had a very weird feeling there after eating sriracha sauce for the first time since radiation.) But I don't want to be naive either! Anyway, they said to call if I have any PAIN, but it's more an awareness and stinging (near anus) than anything so I don't know what to think. Like I said, I will call my doctor, but I'm curious what the other W&W-ers on this board have experienced.
Good luck with deciding your strategy, Jolene. It's so hard and nobody can make the decision for you.