My ONC released me

[Paulv]

I've never posted, only read, but this deserves a posting. In May of 2012 a tumor was found in my colon during a colonoscopy. Surgery followed with the removal of 22 lymph nodes. Four weeks later I received a call from my surgeons office advising me the surgeon wanted to c me the next day. Scared, I called my personal physician, who had been an asset during this process. He informed me over the phone that I had 4-5 years to live, that no one survives this & how sorry he was to have to be the one to tell me. He ended by telling me that the next day when I saw the surgeon I would be offered chemo & to take it or I would die sooner. The next day the surgeon informed me that 3/22 of the lymph nodes came back positive, I was stage 3B & would need chemo. He then referred me to my oncologist.From July 2012 thru December 2012 I was administered chemo on a bi-weekly basis, with the 48 hour belt immediately after the chemo session. I have had no chemo or recurrences since. Blood tests/ ONC visits every 3/4/6 months for the last 5 years with no issues. This week my ONC said good bye that he was confident I would be fine & didn't need to see him anymore. I will still have my blood checked every 6 months for a few years by my NEW personal physician. Due to the fear I went thru & have read about so many times here I thought it was a must to share my good fortune with everyone. I have been very, very lucky but with the luck has also come hours & hours of work. I found immediately that there was very little "suggestion" from the professionals as to what would help you avoid recurrence so I sought it out myself & found a tremendous amount of support thru research done by Johns Hopkins. I followed their advice on foods, liquids & exercise. I gave up whole milk, soda, Gatorade, white bread, white sugar & salt..Moved to wheat bread, brown sugar, more waters & less ice cream. My typical day included 1) oatmeal with flax & yogurt 2) wheat breads & turkey 3) waters & reg/decf coffee.....the supplements I chose included lots of Essiac products including 3000 mm per day & Essiac liquid, multivitamins, IP6 & 3-6-9 2x per day...none was prescribed/suggested just what I chose to use based on my research. It was recommended by the John Hopkins research that a walking exercise be included. I turned that suggestion into 30 minutes every day on the Treadmill at 2.25 miles per day. A very good sweat which I will continue. I'm now 61 years old & in terrific shape. There were a lot of nights that included very little sleep, & I'm still concerned, but now I'm feeling tremendously optimistic now about my future. Many many thanks to all the people on this board, in particular Diane Tavegia whose posts I always found to be helpful, professional & full of factual information. She was a major help. God Bless You Diane & God Bless everyone else affected by this horrible cancer. I am very very lucky!!

[Basil]

I am a IIIb who just got off the fifth round 5Fu pump this morning. I feel like shit. Posts like yours keep me going. Thank you.

[ANDRETEXAS]

Congratulations Paulv and Basil, hang in there. Stay positive....and one day at a time ! You can do it. Andre

[benben]

Not sure why the surgeon would tell you, you only had 4-5 years to live. Perhaps with no treatment at all, but statistically speaking about 50% give or take 5% depending on the source - are cured just by surgery alone.

At any rate, thanks for sharing. I'm also IIIB like yourself and Basil. I've had surgery with removal/resection and have 1 of 12 chemo treatments under my belt. Number 2 is Tuesday.
My old diet was quite healthy, lots of fiber, oatmeal, yogurt, wheat breads, green veggies, mostly chicken and turkey on the meats. Unfortunately for past 6 weeks the fiber has been hard to stomach.
Seems to really stimulate the bowels. Slowly I'm getting back to that diet, but its been mostly low residue that I can tolerate. I do walk 2-4 miles every day. Only 1 day, day after pump disconnect, have I not been able to keep up with the walking.

Stay NED, I hope to one day be able to share a similar story.

[Basil]

Andre,

Non-cancer related question. Why is your handle "ANDRETEXAS" but you have that Tennessee flag attached?

[DarknessEmbraced]

Congratulations!

[ANDRETEXAS]

Live in Austin, Texas, but graduated from UT #1... the University of Tennessee.

[fumaros]

Congratulations, that is the best news. All the best with a long life.

[cashmere]

Congratulations!!! I was released in May after 10 years seeing my ONC. I follow what you do pretty much, but I have 2 dogs, so I walk about 4-5 miles a day. I do have permanent neuropathy but it is manageable with Lyrica. Glad to hear you are feeling great. My QOL is pretty good although I do have GI stuff I deal with. Best of luck!!

[michelle c]

What an awful thing that your personal physician said to you...I can't believe how they would say such a thing when it was unjustified. Anyway, I'm glad that you're still here and doing well Best wishes to you.