Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

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NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby NHMike » Mon Mar 05, 2018 8:43 pm

I should have stopped off to pick up some crystallized ginger. Taking the last can of Stevia Ginger Ale tonight. I'll have to get something tomorrow.

Going into Boston to see the surgeon tomorrow morning so it will be a busy day.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

Caat55
Posts: 694
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:01 pm

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby Caat55 » Mon Mar 05, 2018 8:48 pm

Good Luck tomorrow. Why the surgeon at this stage of the game?

Susan
Do at 55 y.o. Female
Dx 9/26/17 RC Stage 3
Completed 33 rad. tx, xeolda 12/8/17
MRI and PET 1/18 sign. regression
Surgery 1/31/18 Ileostomy, clean margins, no lymph node involved
Port 3/1/2018
Oxaliplatin and Xeloda start 3/22/18
Last Oxaliplatin 7/5/18, 5 rounds
CT NED 9/2018
PET NED 12/18
Clear Colonoscopy 2/19, 5/20

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby NHMike » Tue Mar 06, 2018 3:13 am

Caat55 wrote:Good Luck tomorrow. Why the surgeon at this stage of the game?

Susan


I think it’s just a routine checkup as it has been four months since surgery and maybe there’s some discussion about reversal.

There was a stoma nurse appointment on Thursday but I canceled it as I didn’t feel that I needed it. Their stoma nurses are very busy too. I think that they added one so that they have four and one is now dedicated to office visits while the others work with in patients.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby NHMike » Tue Mar 06, 2018 9:38 am

I saw the surgeon and she thought that 4 cycles was enough but will check with the DFCI oncologist. I think that she's over-optimistic on this as Oncologists usually call for more; not fewer. The reversal surgery will be a 2-3 night stay. She would schedule it four weeks after the end of chemo.

She also checked out a male issue which I've read about here and in other places and she explained what likely happened. That's the part about me not being able to have kids. It wasn't what I thought and it may be fixable but I'm not too worried about it at my age though younger men might be. I was embarrassed to bring it up before but she said that it was good that I asked.

Really tired from driving in at 4 but they have a very nice cafeteria here which I took advantage of for breakfast. Back to the office.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

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Atoq
Posts: 412
Joined: Wed Oct 25, 2017 9:31 am

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby Atoq » Tue Mar 06, 2018 10:56 am

Really good news! I hope you will be able to skip the next cycles of chemo. :D

Claudia
1972, 2 kids
Dx rectal cancer 10.2017
T3N2aMX (met left lung 8 mm)
Lynch neg
CEA 1.8
Neoadjuvant chemoradio Xeloda + 25x2 Gy
05.12.17 laparotomic surg. for blockage, colostomy
25.01.18 laparotomic lar, hysterectomy, ileostomy
05.03.18 core needle lung biopsy
07.05.18 CAT scan, lung met 11 mm
04.06.18 ileo reversal
26.06.18 wedge VATS
24.08.18, 31.02.19 CAT scan
12.09.18, 06.02.19 scope, CEA 1.6
19.11.18 scope
20.08.19 CAT, eco
13.09.19 scope, CEA 1.2
18.03.20 CAT, eco, scope, NED
29.11.20 CAT, NED
2023 NED

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susie0915
Posts: 945
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:17 am
Facebook Username: Susan DeGrazia Hostetter
Location: Michigan

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby susie0915 » Tue Mar 06, 2018 7:57 pm

I did six rounds. Maybe the oncologist will compromise and allow you to stop at 6 cycles.
58 yrs old Dx @ 55
5/15 DX T3N0MO
6/15 5 wks chemo/rad
7/15 sigmoidoscopy/only scar tissue left
8/15 PET scan NED
9/15 LAR
0/24 nodes
10/15 blockage. surgery,early ileo rev, c-diff inf :(
12/15 6 rds of xelox
5/16 CT lung scarring/inflammation
9/16 clear colonoscopy
4/17 C 4mm lung nod
10/17 pel/abd CT NED
11/17 CEA<.5
1/18 CT/Lung no change in 4mm nodule
5/18 CEA<.5, CT pel/abd/lung NED
11/18 CEA .6
5/19 CT NED, CEA <.5
10/19 Clear colonscopy
11/19 CEA <.5

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juliej
Posts: 3114
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2010 12:59 pm

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby juliej » Tue Mar 06, 2018 8:12 pm

NHMike wrote:I saw the surgeon and she thought that 4 cycles was enough but will check with the DFCI oncologist. I think that she's over-optimistic on this as Oncologists usually call for more; not fewer. The reversal surgery will be a 2-3 night stay. She would schedule it four weeks after the end of chemo.

Yeah, oncologists aren't exactly thrilled about surgeons having opinions on chemo! Each to his/her own turf. Nevertheless you may get a reduction to just six rounds -- lots of new research in this area. I know that feels like forever right now, but hang in there. Every cycle is another one down. Just count 'em off and keep going and try to stay as healthy as you can until it's over. Then your body will really start to recover.

I made a scene in a restaurant the first time I ate a tomato after chemo was over and my taste buds had finally recovered. Honestly, I'd never tasted anything so wonderful in my whole life! It was sort of like that scene in the movie "When Harry Met Sally" when she fakes an orgasm in Katz's Delicatessen! :D
Stage IVb, liver/lung mets 8/4/2010
Xelox+Avastin 8/18/10 to 10/21/2011
LAR, liver resec, HAI pump 11/2011
Adjuvant Irinotecan + FUDR
Double lung surgery + ileo reversal 2/2012
Adjuvant FUDR + Xeloda
VATS rt. lung 12/2012 - benign granuloma!
VATS left lung 11/2013
NED 11/22/13 to 12/18/2019, CEA<1

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby NHMike » Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:28 pm

We've been to Katz' a few times and the food is nice and you can spend a small fortune there.

This taste-buds stuff is awful. I tried ginger tea this evening from Whole Foods. Way too weak. Earlier is was feeling ravenous but didn't feel like eating anything. I had the tea to get more fluids into me but I have to force myself to drink it. I had a protein bar and will try a toaster pastry - I need the food for the Xeloda. I'm going to try a Nuun tablet (picked up a new flavor today) for fluid. Normally I eat everything in front of me but eating is actually a chore these days. One thing that I can eat is crystallized ginger and it does help with the foggy head feeling.

Tomorrow is 12-15 inches of snow. So maybe some other headaches tomorrow. But it is getting warmer.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

Soccermom2boys
Posts: 222
Joined: Tue Nov 10, 2015 10:29 pm

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby Soccermom2boys » Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:05 pm

Hey Mike—it has been two years, but I can so relate to that dreaded feeling of knowing you have to get fluids in you, but also being repulsed by drinking warm ones. I did 8 rounds of FOLFOX and by the second half of them, it was so hard to force myself to get at least 8 cups of fluids a day. If you can find a type or two that appeal to you, go for soup! It’s a sneaky way of getting in some fluids while also getting some substance. I also had to go back to disconnect 48 hours later so I would ask for a bag of fluids on those disconnect days for the second half of my treatments. I know you are not doing FOLFOX, but if you have a local center you can coordinate with, go and ask for those fluids as needed. I know it seems like a PITA to have to go there any more than you have to especially between work and/or weather issues, but it beats having to be admitted to the ER because your body is dehydrated (been there done that).

I have been thinking about you up there as my area outside of Philly is looking at 6-8 inches of snow (power just flickered out for a moment :roll: ) which is small compared to areas not far from here and the foot or so you are expecting. Ugh, just when I thought spring might finally shove winter out of the way! Good luck!
8/3/15 Went in with a hemorrhoid, came out with a tumor
8/12/15 Biopsy from colonoscopy confirms RC (45 yrs old--zero family history!)
9/21 - 10/29/15 chemorad 28 tx (with Xeloda)
12/17/15 APR with perm colostomy
Pathology report stages me as IIIA (T2N1M0)--1/15 LN detects cancer
2/3/16 chemo port inserted
2/8-6/2/16 8 rounds of Folfox

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby NHMike » Wed Mar 07, 2018 7:58 pm

I'd rather not have to go to the hospital for fluids. I slept for a few hours this afternoon after feeling crappy and woke up ravenous. I'd only had about 500 calories and had 300 calories and it helped. Took another nap and then had a glass of warm water and it went down okay. It's kind of at the stage where sometimes it's okay to drink warm water and then other times it feels awful. So I just need one more glass for the day. I do need more food though - or sleep. My weight fluctuates by ten pounds in a cycle.

I did get in a walk on the treadmill but I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I'll be working from home tomorrow, at least in the morning. I think that things will get a lot better by the weekend as the Oxaliplatin fades. I'd love a cup of ice cream.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

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juliej
Posts: 3114
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2010 12:59 pm

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby juliej » Wed Mar 07, 2018 8:11 pm

NHMike wrote:I'd rather not have to go to the hospital for fluids. I slept for a few hours this afternoon after feeling crappy and woke up ravenous. I'd only had about 500 calories and had 300 calories and it helped. Took another nap and then had a glass of warm water and it went down okay. It's kind of at the stage where sometimes it's okay to drink warm water and then other times it feels awful. So I just need one more glass for the day. I do need more food though - or sleep. My weight fluctuates by ten pounds in a cycle.

I did get in a walk on the treadmill but I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I'll be working from home tomorrow, at least in the morning. I think that things will get a lot better by the weekend as the Oxaliplatin fades. I'd love a cup of ice cream.

Everything gets better when the Oxaliplatin fades. It is truly evil! :evil: I kept track of my cycles so I knew my pattern - which days were worst and when it was going to ease up. Just knowing the worst effects were going to lift by the weekend made things bearable.

It's so hard to eat though. There were days I just nibbled on Goldfish crackers and warm Nuun water. You mentioned walking on the treadmill - I think exercise always helps, even when it's hard to do. The endorphins help with appetite and actually reduce fatigue if you don't overdo it. The main thing for me was it gave me a sense of "normalcy" which I really wanted. I didn't want to be the cancer patient on the couch.
Stage IVb, liver/lung mets 8/4/2010
Xelox+Avastin 8/18/10 to 10/21/2011
LAR, liver resec, HAI pump 11/2011
Adjuvant Irinotecan + FUDR
Double lung surgery + ileo reversal 2/2012
Adjuvant FUDR + Xeloda
VATS rt. lung 12/2012 - benign granuloma!
VATS left lung 11/2013
NED 11/22/13 to 12/18/2019, CEA<1

Caat55
Posts: 694
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:01 pm

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby Caat55 » Wed Mar 07, 2018 8:20 pm

I just had my chemo teaching on the Oxiliplatin. Thank you for all the insights I have gotten from you and this forum. I have been eating and drinking things over this week and will next week that I know I won't be able to enjoy.

Take care Mike, you are almost there.

Susan
Do at 55 y.o. Female
Dx 9/26/17 RC Stage 3
Completed 33 rad. tx, xeolda 12/8/17
MRI and PET 1/18 sign. regression
Surgery 1/31/18 Ileostomy, clean margins, no lymph node involved
Port 3/1/2018
Oxaliplatin and Xeloda start 3/22/18
Last Oxaliplatin 7/5/18, 5 rounds
CT NED 9/2018
PET NED 12/18
Clear Colonoscopy 2/19, 5/20

benben
Posts: 324
Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2017 3:18 pm
Location: Washington State

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby benben » Wed Mar 07, 2018 8:28 pm

Caat55 wrote:I just had my chemo teaching on the Oxiliplatin. Thank you for all the insights I have gotten from you and this forum. I have been eating and drinking things over this week and will next week that I know I won't be able to enjoy.

Take care Mike, you are almost there.

Susan


That's a really good Idea, because yes as soon as the chemo kicks in - EVERYTHING tastes like crap.
The only things I could really taste during my treatment were Gatorade, Salty foods, and strong tea with cinnamon and cloves.
Good news, is that your taste buds do come back around - and after 6-8 months of not enjoying anything - when they do come round it's such a Joyful sensation.

Hang in there Mike, getting so close now. Soon enough you'll be in full rebounding mode.
----------------------
3/29/17 diagnosed CRC - 44 y/o Male
4/17/17 ULAR - Straight anastomosis - no ostomy.
Path: low grade T3n1m0 - moderate diff.
KRAS - NO, MLH1/PMS2/MSH6/MSH2 - Normal.
5/3 med port install
5/22 folfox - first treatment.
3rd treat, delayed - low ANC - reduced to 90% OXI
zarxio all treats
Treat 7 - 75% OXI
Treats 8-12 - NO OXI, Luke & 5FU
10/20/17 CT- NED
3/18 Scope - Clean
11/8 PORT OUT!
7/22 CT - NED (5 years!)

AlexMichelle
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Oct 28, 2017 11:54 am
Location: California

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby AlexMichelle » Wed Mar 07, 2018 8:29 pm

NHMike, I'm so sorry you are having to go through this. You and I had surgery around the same time and I'm still fatigued and not feeling great and didn't have to go through chemo like you. I can't imagine what you are going through. I worry a lot that I had cancer cells floating around in blood or bone and that I should be on chemo. They think they removed it all with the surgery, but they really never know. With my extreme fatigue and not feeling well, of course, I am worried that I have cancer cells growing and they should be doing more. Anxiety is high for me right now because I have feelings that it's still there. So at least you know you are doing everything you can to kill all the cancer cells. What a battle. Hang in there.
F 9/14/17 blood, 10/05/17 endoscopy/colonoscopy 4.5 cm tumor lower colon/upper rectum/left side -11/09/17 open Rectosigmoid Colon Resection remove invasive adenocarcinoma, moderately diff marg clear.15 lymph nodes neg malignancy. benign liver w/fibrous nodule- rectum at 15cm Tumor location: above peritoneal reflection 4.2 x 2.7 cm Tumor inv muscularis closest 1.5 cm. pT2pNO Stage 1. No Lynch

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Rectal cancer (Stage 3A) diagnosed late June 2017

Postby NHMike » Wed Mar 07, 2018 8:34 pm

I think that it's tough or was tough for all of us. There is the physical and that is difficult but the mental is as well. I've been through the dark moments that we all have been through and for some, it's clinical. So we fight on.

But being married helps:

Married patients were less likely to present with metastatic disease (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.83; 95% CI, 0.82 to 0.84; P < .001), more likely to receive definitive therapy (adjusted OR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.51 to 1.56; P < .001), and less likely to die as a result of their cancer after adjusting for demographics, stage, and treatment (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.79 to 0.81; P < .001) than unmarried patients. These associations remained significant when each individual cancer was analyzed (P < .05 for all end points for each malignancy). The benefit associated with marriage was greater in males than females for all outcome measures analyzed (P < .001 in all cases). For prostate, breast, colorectal, esophageal, and head/neck cancers, the survival benefit associated with marriage was larger than the published survival benefit of chemotherapy.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4878087/
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT


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