Newbie-Husband is stage IV 42 yo

[Lins]

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking around here for a few months now (never been in a forum before), but I guess it's as good of time as any it introduce myself.

My Husband was diagnosed earlier this year with colon cancer that has spread extensively into his liver (9 tumors). We are a young family with a 9 year old daughter and 7 year old girl/boy twins. My husband is actually a triplet himself (3 boys).
We were all blind sided by this news as he pretty much had NO symptoms at all. In the summer he randomly threw up at the cottage, then again a few weeks later and again once more. He felt totally fine (I thought he had maybe developed a food allergy or sensitivity) . He decided to go see our family doctor for a check up. She possibly though he had IBS and after some tests Ultrasound/CT scan/colonoscopy/Biopsy of liver we were told it was stage IV colon cancer.

He has since had his primary cancer in his colon removed and started Folfox. Round 2 will be on Monday (round 1 went ok). His liver is currently not a candidate for surgery.
We are hoping for the best and hopefully he might become a candidate, or be able to get into some sort of trial. He has been a trooper and has always been a strong athletic person. He is approaching this with a fighting spirit and a positive attitude and for that I am truly thankful.

We have also been for genetic testing because at first look we didn't think there was much caner in his family, but his mother did die of a brain tumor at the age of 30 (when the boys were 2yo). We of course didn't think it had much to do with his colon cancer, but after doing some research he is now being tested for Lynch along with a few other generic syndromes. (hopefully we will get these tests results soon)

The hardest thing was telling our 3 beautiful children. We are trying to keep things/life as normal as possible for them, but we also try to be honest without being scary. Our 3 children have always been our number one priority.

Thanks for listening folks, it must suck to be here, but glad we can all support each other.

Lins

P.S
I will add a signature when I figure out how to work this whole "forum thingy".....lol

Also we live close to Toronto Canada

[CRguy]

Welcome to the best forum nobody ever wants to HAVE to join.

There are a couple of topics which may help get you started :
Calling ALL Colorectal CANUCKS ! deals mostly with the Canadian situation we Canucks are faced with,
and Adding your SIGNATURE and other TIPS should help you get your siggy posted !

Please ask lots of questions and just post to the forum until you get a feel for things.
There are some very knowledgeable and experienced folks here, so you will get lots of info to mull over.
There will be some new info coming concerning liver met issues for CRC patients, once I figure out how not to break copyright laws

As for clinical trials, we have a couple of folks, DK37 and Maia, who helped develop a trial finder app here which you can read more about in this topic CLINICAL TRIALS and Important Links

Sending best wishes to your family
Harmony on the Journey
CRguy

[stu]

A big welcome from me too.

I hope chemo works well for your husband. Different for everyone but as you will see from my signature we have seen chemo turn things around.

Take special care,
Stu

[horizon]

Welcome! It sounds like he's got the right attitude for facing this battle.

[teri3]

Hi and welcome! Attitude is everything tell him to keep up the good work. I'm glad you found your way to here. This site has been a big help to me, so many people who know so much and have been through so much. It's a great resource.
Hugs,
Teri

[Kick'nAssCancer'sAss]

Greetings From just north of Toronto. I am presently being monitored at RVH in Barrie. Having a positive attitude and being a fighter will go a long way in your journey. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. My best advice ....take one day at a time and stay away from Dr Google.

Chin up

Mike

[DarknessEmbraced]

I hope that your husband's chemo goes well!*hugs*

[Lins]

Thanks for all the support and love here!!!

And I will definitely check out all that info CRguy!!

Thanks again
Lins

[jdepp]

Dear Lins,

I'm sorry to hear about your husband's diagnosis. I wanted to say that his story almost matches mine exactly. In 2008 I was diagnosed (at 41) with stage 4 colon cancer (sigmoid) and inoperable liver metastases (12+). Throw in 19/ 28 infected lymph nodes, a pathology of poorly differentiated cells... and it was looking very bad for me.

I took Folfox with Erbitux, had a good response, made it to liver surgery, did post-surgery chemo, had a (great) period of NED. After recurrence, I took varying flavors and doses of chemo off and on for a long time, and am now doing clinical trials.

As they say, false hope is bad, but false hopelessness is worse, and your husband has real grounds for hope.

Best wishes for getting good results from chemo. Now you're officially fighting back against this cancer. /jdepp

[WarriorSpouse]

Lin,
I am sorry to see that you are part of the club, but know that many are here to support you and your husband's journey. Once you get the footer information in place, you can see what others in similar situations have done and are following. The search tool on the "Quick Links" tab above is a good to use since many questions may have already been discussed by others in the past. I have learned much from those who have been on this board years before I got here. Medicine is constantly changing and there have been many advancements in CRC... Keep that in mind as your read past posts. Keep moving forward and ask for direction if needed along the way. You are part of a very thoughtful and conscientious group here experiencing similar circumstances.
All the best.
WS

[Elenitsa]

Hi Lins,
Im so sorry for you guys, we are very much in the same boat, hubby is 38 with recently diagnosed Stage IV Colorectal, also in the Toronto area (Stouffville). Chemo has had its ups and downs for us and we are now hoping for some other options at Princess Margaret, stay strong and wishing you the best.
XO

[Maia]

Lins,

sorry your hubby, your family, is going through this.
If you are considering clinical trials, it is better if you know from start about a couple of important ones in Canada, that might be pertinent. Because one, for example, is only possible if there is stability on chemo, no progression.

HAI pump at SunnyBrook --you don't need to go to MSK, in New York: Dr Yoo-Joung Ko, at Sunnybrook
416-480-4662 2075 Bayview Avenue Toronto, ON

LIVE DONOR LIVER TRANSPLANTATION for the treatment of unresectable colorectal cancer liver metastases, at Toronto General https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02864485 --This one only after more than 6 months after resection, need to have at least one line of chemo, needs to be stable, no showing progression. That demonstrates that many trials shouldn't be last resource, because many patients won't qualify for them.