The Colon Club

Isn't it nice to have the port gone? I have a little over a month to go before reversal. Trying to get loose ends wrapped up. I can do writing from home but need to see a lot of kids between now and then.
Good luck with the 5k. I am happy to be getting my 10000 steps in most days and get in my yoga.
Stay safe with the cold coming your way.
Susan

I managed to knock 2 minutes off my 5k time from last year (the numbers are not glorious; went from 43 minutes to 41 minutes of run/walking). I'm really happy to have done so well, given that I haven't been training steadily. I really thought I'd be lucky to match my time from last year.

Eventually I'm going to run the whole way on one of these races!

Hi, new to the forum, but have found it very interesting and helpful. I expect to have my 3rd round of FolFox next week, after having it postponed for 2 weeks due to low blood counts. I got lots of patient education material prior to starting treatment and fatigue seems to be the only side effect mentioned in the material that I have had. However, I had a mild case of shingles (which probably messed with those blood counts) and I was just diagnosed with a DVT behind my left knee. Once I started researching, I discovered that neither of these is particularly unusual. I was particularly surprised to read that cancer itself, chemo and having a port all increase the risk of DVT. I consider myself very fortunate so far and realize things can change at any time.

Yikes. Good luck! I can't imagine dealing with both of those on top of dealing with chemo.

It's been a while since I've posted to this thread, but: Had my bloodwork yesterday morning, CEA is holding steady at 1.8 and everything else looked fine. I'll have bloodwork and my 6-month CT scan in January. If that looks good she'll be pushing me back to an annual CT scan.

Over the summer I contracted c diff after my one-year colonoscopy. The colonoscopy looked great; no polyps, and only one diverticule. But I feel certain that the colonoscopy gave me c diff. I had c diff two more times, with only a couple of weeks between ending antibiotics and the c diff coming back each time. I met with a gastroenterologist after the last one, and we decided that if I got it again we were going to try a fecal transplant.

Fortunately it has now been two months and the c diff has not come back. Didn't have to give the fecal transplant a try yet. I am being fastidious about washing my hands, but I'm concerned that I really don't have much control over it coming back. I just have to hope that my gut is now healthy enough to fight it off if I do re-encounter it.

Metronidazole was what knocked it out, after two unsuccessful rounds of Vancomycin, the second of which was a pulse taper. Metronidazole isn't statistically as likely to be successful with a recurrent infection, I understand, but it somehow worked for me.

I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd updated my thread!

Today was my annual CT scan and bloodwork. CEA is 1.3; that's the lowest it's gotten so far. The rest of the bloodwork looks fine.

Already got the chest scan results back; that looks good. Still waiting on the abdomen/pelvis results.

Looks like I've got another year before I need another Colonoscopy. I haven't had any recurrences of c diff.

Great news. Congratulations.
S

Thanks!

Everything did look good on the scans, whew. Next appointment is in 6 months, for bloodwork only. CT scan and colonoscopy next summer - that will be 4 years after surgery, 3 years after my last colonoscopy.

My oncologist has cut me loose!

Colonoscopy was clean, with no polyps; 5 years before I need another one.
CT scans look good, too.
Bloodwork also clean. I'm hovering at 1.4 CEA. Everything looks great. I'm still on no other medications other than calcium+D supplements, and my weight is unchanged from 4 years ago (after gaining back 10+ pounds post-chemo to get back to my normal weight).

I do not have neuropathy in my hands (I did, briefly, after my last dose of Oxaliplatin). I have continuing neuropathy with partial sensation in my feet -- it is annoying rather than painful. I wear toe socks or shoes/sandals with a grippy sole whenever I am on my feet. Our stairs at home are steep, and if I ever need to use them in bare feet I take it slow and careful.

I have a divot in my chest where the port was, I think due to the work he had to do to get it out, and an obvious scar. It looks weird to me but I suspect most people don't even notice it. I cover it up if I expect to spend time in the sun, and I wear a jacket with a high neckline in the car to keep the sun off of it when I'm driving to/from work. I use sunblock on it if I have to.

My hair is now finally, within the past six months or so, falling out at what I'd call a normal rate, after years of just ... not falling out. So I got the reverse of what many people get on chemo. That plus my hair not getting dirty any more (which went back to normal soon after I completed chemo) were my personal weird chemo side effects.