Hello all,
I am new here and just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Anne, I am 39 years old and was diagnosed with rectal cancer on February 21 this year. It came as a huge shock to me and my husband. I had been experiencing diarrhea for several months and saw a little bit of blood, but I thought that was because I had recently started trying to eat better and exercise in an effort to lose weight. I figured I had given myself a hemorrhoid with all of the bathroom visits, hence the blood. I went in for a routine physical on January 27 and mentioned my bathroom habit change to my doctor. She ran my blood and found I was anemic, so she sent me to a gastroenterologist. He suggested a colonoscopy to find out what was going on. In the recovery room he showed me several pictures of my tumor.
I saw a colon and rectal surgeon on February 23 for my initial evaluation. On February 27 he performed an ultrasound and informed me that the tumor was through the wall of the rectum and he could see one involved lymph node. I had a CT later that day that showed 2 involved lymph nodes, but no metastasis. He called it a working Stage III tumor, since he won't know for sure until he gets in there. He set me up with referrals to one of the local cancer centers.
I met with my medical oncologist on March 8 and my radiation oncologist on March 10. On March 13 I got my tattoos for radiation and went in for chemo counseling. On March 22 I had my radiation simulation. I started taking Xeloda and getting radiation on March 23. If all goes according to plan, I will be having a low anterior resection and temporary ileostomy in late June or early July. After will probably be more chemo, but nothing has been decided yet.
The biggest shock to me in all of this is that we do not have colorectal cancer in my family. Like I told my doctors, I was ready for breast cancer. My mom has had it twice, at 35 and 62. Her mom died from it. I have spent my entire life since puberty prepping myself for the day I eventually felt a lump. This diagnosis hit me like a freight train. Luckily, I do have my mom's strength to draw from. She kicked cancer to the curb twice and is still going strong, turning 70 on April 7. I only hope I can be as brave as she was both times.
So, that's the story of my life for the past month or so. It feels good to talk about it with others who know what I am going through.