Yes, I know this may be a fleeting romance and I may be cursing its name in the future but for now we're besties.
I had six rounds FOLFOX pre-op instead of chemorad. This week was time to see how well it worked. Had chest cat scan, pelvic MRI and flex sig. lungs and liver remain clear. At the primary site, surgeon's note state I had an "excellent response to treatment with only minimal residual disease present." The 4cm semi-circumference tumor was mostly gone. Doc had to point out the remainder on the flex sig because all I saw was healthy tissue. Doc says there's a very good chance I will not need a temp ostomy and might not even need further chemo. I don't understand it all but the guy telling me all this is the chief of colorectal surgery at MDAnderson so I'm deferring to his expertise.
This was my first scan since my diagnosis when I learned I had cancer and spent two days waiting to see if spot on my lung was a met or a harmless something or another. It was the latter but that level of anxiety returned and this round of scans had my stomach in knots for the last week. I know there's a lot more mountain to climb and years of anxious waiting before scans but I'll be taking and celebrating my victories where ever I find them. So for now I offer a teary-eyed pat on the back to my good friend FOLFOX. Cheers.