Thank you for letting me share my story with you. I share it every year, because when I was diagnosed, I was looking for any Stage IV's who had survived. Message boards were not what they are today, and I couldn’t find anyone. Now, thanks to this message board, I have found many.
Thank you all for sharing your stories, for helping the newly diagnosed find their way through this maze. And I hope you'll share a smile with me, to celebrate my birthday/cancerversary. I no longer dread getting old, I am thrilled that I am alive!!! I am so blessed to have so many friends who are willing to help me... and celebrate my birthday with me!!! Thanks for letting me share!!!
I am very inspired about the story that you wrote and really gave me hope. I think Dr's aren't really as smart as they think they are. I am so happy that you are cancer free and for 13 years that is so amazing to hear! Last May, I was picking my mom up at her colonoscopy and I get a call on the way to the hospital from the nurse. She said "Your mom is ready to be picked up, but the Dr has to talk to to you when you get here" I didn't think anything of it. My mom was pretty sedated and of course the nurse asks me all these questions like "What was your mom's last colonoscopy?" "How old is she?" Then the drapes closed and there was the GI Dr. showing me the photos of my mother's colon and BAM, he shows me this up close picture of her rectum with red and white and big bumps and said "Your mother has cancer, and it doesn't look good, she will most likely have a colostomy bag" And I couldn't get it in my brain. I was like "Excuse me, are you trying to tell me that my mother has cancer?" He says "Yes, I am very sorry?" I start bawling because we just lost my cousin to ovarian cancer a week prior. I run to the bathroom called my best friend, husband, father (Who i didn't talk to for many years due to my a-hole brother) And let them know what was going on. Apparently my mom could hear me crying to the dr. as her twilight was fading away. She woke up and said "They found something right?" "What was it?" I told her that she must have been dreaming (my mom panicks a lot) So I let her know that they took a biopsy of the polyp and will get back to her in 3 days. I didn't want to tell her and I hadn't processed everything in my head just yet. It was the saddest day of my life. I blamed myself and I felt like it was my fault because my mom watched out daughter since she was 3 months old. What I didn't know was that her gen. dr. had suggested for her to get a colonoscopy 3 years ago, and my mom never did it. She finally admitted that her dr. suggested for her to get one but she declined. I wish that I knew, cause I would have pushed her to go. Instead, she had CT, MRI, Pet scan done but that did not pick it up as colonoscopy can detect cancer better.. they determined that she had Osteoporosis. I do remember always having burning pain in her pelvic and she was in pain. I think she had colorectal cancer for some time, her last colonoscopy was 10 years ago. This was a big wake up call. It was because of me, she had a colonoscopy done because she was having so much pain in rectum and then she said blood. I told her to go immediately. I truly believe that I didn't live so close to her, she would have caught it later. I think it also helped that I took allied health classes and all of her signs and symptoms were all urgent. Thank you for sharing your story with us and Happy Cancerversary!!
I hope that my mother will have an NED too!
Caregiver/daughter to dear mother age 78, dx 5/09/17 because of me!!
Rectal CA Stage 3 low-grade adenocarcinoma- 6 cm
Neoadjuvant start 7/10/17 ended 08/16/17
3D Lap. surgery @ Keck USC, Dr. Sang Lee 10/17/17 temp ileostomy
11/1 hospitalized abscess/hernia - home 11/06/17 antibiotics
NO LYMPHS INVOLVED! NEAR PATHOLOGICAL RESPONSE! YAY!
Took her last chemo med 05/10/18! Ileo reversal 07/24/18
1st BM after reversal 07/25/18 Anal Fissure 8/15/18
Me:1st Colonoscopy age 38. 08/17 Benign polp.