Chemo has caught up to me yall

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AmyG
Posts: 371
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2018 8:08 pm

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby AmyG » Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:59 pm

Just call me Tigger!!!!
42 dx @ 9wks pregnant w/baby #8 8/18
Sigmoid colon resection 9/18
Adenocarcinoma, G2, T3N0M0..or so we thought
KRAS/BRAF wild
Liver biopsy is malignant, stage iv now boys!
Delivered healthy baby 3/19
FOLFOX + Avastin 5/19
CEA 167 to 24 after 4 rounds
Liver resection 8/28/19
NED!! CEA 2.3
CEA 5.8 idk wtf is up with that, but everything else is clear!
CEA 3.7 make up your damn mind...
CEA 1.5 that's a new low!

stu
Posts: 1613
Joined: Sat Aug 17, 2013 5:46 pm

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby stu » Tue Jul 16, 2019 7:18 am

You are doing great . Round six whipped my mum of potassium. She ended up in an emergency admission. No longer able to stand , totally confused . Thought I was still with my old boyfriend and was making eyes at my husband !! Claimed they had been cuddling !!!!!’
Poor wee dad was horrified . We never let her live it down . Every cloud has a silver lining . They gave her a quick scan whilst she was in and yippee the cancer had cleared off . She was very poorly hydrated . I became the water monitor after that . She hated it . Threatened to invite us all round for dinner when it finished and serve us build up drinks only !!!

The very highs and lows of treatment .
You still sound in good shape.
Stu
supporter to my mum who lives a great life despite a difficult diagnosis
stage4 2009 significant spread to liver
2010 colon /liver resection
chemo following recurrence
73% of liver removed
enjoying life treatment free
2016 lung resection
Oct 2017 nice clear scan . Two lung nodules disappeared
Oct 2018. Another clear scan .

Jolene
Posts: 180
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2019 10:17 am

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby Jolene » Tue Jul 16, 2019 11:18 am

Chemo has been more mentally and psychologically challenging for me than physically.

I'm in my 5th cycle out of 6 at the moment..... and it's doing things to my head by the 3rd/4th.

Fortunately I have been experiencing very little physical side effects or at least my onc has been managing it quite well, my exhaustion wears off after the first week but the cocktails of medication that I'm on has been giving me crazy mood swings. It could also be due to my early onset of menopause, we can't quite tell what's going on at the moment until I complete the chemo course.

There are days when I'm bouncing happily and there are days when I just wanna hide in the corner of my room and not speak to anyone.

Lorazapam (Ativan) worked well up to 4th cycle and not so much in the 5th. There can be days when I simply can't fall asleep until the next wee hours of the morning at say 4am or 5am which sucks as that makes me feel like sh*t waking up at 10am after that.

I'm sure my body clock is totally messed up by now.
Dx @ 39 F on WW managmeent
Nov 18 - Dx of a mid-rectal tumour at T3N1M0 (2cm) 7cm from AV
Dec 18 - CRT, 28 sessions + Capecitabine at 3000mg daily
Jan - Mar - WW in place (12 weeks)
Mar'19 - MRI, PET, sig flex and biopsy ordered to determine being a WW candidate.
Apr - CCR, surgery on hold. 6 cycles of Xelox.
Aug - 6 cycles of Xelox completed
19 - Flex sig, biopsy, PET/MRI
2019 - 2023 - Every 6 mths - Full scope / Flex sig / biopsy, PET / MRI / CT every 6 months
Dec 23 - All clear 5 years on ! Thank god !

Rikimaroo
Posts: 436
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2016 8:48 pm
Location: Florida

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby Rikimaroo » Tue Jul 16, 2019 11:47 am

FOLFOX was horrible but I think FOLFIRI is just as worse only different side effects. My neuropathy from FOLFOX has subsided in my hands, but I still get it in my feet, but at nighttime. It's kind of annoying.
RC T3N1M0 12/16
MSS - NRAS Mutation
Chemo Rad, CCR - W&W 5/2017
Recurrence 11/2017
CT Scan 11/2017 Liver Met 5.5cm Stable, Stage IV
LAR/Liver Resect 4/2018
Reversal 10/18
CEA highest 500, lowest .8 throughout process, waiting for latest
Recurrence left vesical/pelvic sidewall - 10/7/2019 resect perm bag,
CEA rise Feb/May 3.7, 8.8, 30, Recurrence in Pelvic
CEA 40 right now, but was 57, so folfiri to beat it back down.
Lots of chemo for the past 4 years.

MetastaticEquilibria
Posts: 74
Joined: Wed Jul 10, 2019 4:42 am
Location: Japan

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby MetastaticEquilibria » Tue Jul 16, 2019 5:26 pm

Chemo sucks, no question. If there is any consolation, at least it is better than not being able to get chemo!
M55 Stage 4 Japan
12/16 Tumor rect/sig jct
1/17 Resect T3N0M0+LVI
2-6/17 UFT+UZEL
7/17 Recurr.+2 liver mets
7-10/17 FOLFOX+Vectibix
11-12/17 FOLFOX+pelvic rad 60 Gy
1-7/18 FOLFOX+Vectibix
8-9/18 Liver protons 73 GyE
10-12/18 Xeloda+Avastin
2/19 New liver met
3/19 Liver protons 66 GyE
4/19 3 Lung mets
4-6/19 Vectibix
7-9/19 FOLFIRI+Cyramza
9/19 Biliary stent
10-11/19 Lonsurf+Avastin, new liver met
12/19 HAI (via port not pump)
CEA 1.4-223 now 96
CA19-9 2.8-258 now 258
RAS wild MSS MET+ TP53-
UGT1A1*28 homo

Jolene
Posts: 180
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2019 10:17 am

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby Jolene » Tue Jul 16, 2019 10:51 pm

MetastaticEquilibria wrote:Chemo sucks, no question. If there is any consolation, at least it is better than not being able to get chemo!


Glass half full ! That's what I tell myself some days too !

There are people out there who have no access to basic healthcare, let alone chemo. So I try to tell myself that chemo is a luxury to have in context of medical accessibility ! But damn..... it's still so hard on some days !!!

:lol:
Dx @ 39 F on WW managmeent
Nov 18 - Dx of a mid-rectal tumour at T3N1M0 (2cm) 7cm from AV
Dec 18 - CRT, 28 sessions + Capecitabine at 3000mg daily
Jan - Mar - WW in place (12 weeks)
Mar'19 - MRI, PET, sig flex and biopsy ordered to determine being a WW candidate.
Apr - CCR, surgery on hold. 6 cycles of Xelox.
Aug - 6 cycles of Xelox completed
19 - Flex sig, biopsy, PET/MRI
2019 - 2023 - Every 6 mths - Full scope / Flex sig / biopsy, PET / MRI / CT every 6 months
Dec 23 - All clear 5 years on ! Thank god !

AmyG
Posts: 371
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2018 8:08 pm

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby AmyG » Wed Jul 17, 2019 7:24 am

Look at me, up with the birds..... we're not talking about how I went to bed at 2100. :lol:

Speaking of birds, I just bought a lovebird and he should be here Monday. I figured they live 10-15 years, some up to 20. It's my goal to outlive my bird. :shock:

It's probably not the smartest thing I've done, but I wanted a bird. So I got one. Screw waiting for the right time.
42 dx @ 9wks pregnant w/baby #8 8/18
Sigmoid colon resection 9/18
Adenocarcinoma, G2, T3N0M0..or so we thought
KRAS/BRAF wild
Liver biopsy is malignant, stage iv now boys!
Delivered healthy baby 3/19
FOLFOX + Avastin 5/19
CEA 167 to 24 after 4 rounds
Liver resection 8/28/19
NED!! CEA 2.3
CEA 5.8 idk wtf is up with that, but everything else is clear!
CEA 3.7 make up your damn mind...
CEA 1.5 that's a new low!

Deep
Posts: 38
Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2018 6:10 pm

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby Deep » Sat Jul 20, 2019 12:00 pm

I am blessed to not have experienced the nausea from the chemo. I did the pill form of chemo before surgery and same result there. Never felt sick and my appetite is pretty healthy. In fact, I need to watch what I eat so I don't gain any weight as I am trying to shed a few pounds over this process to get to a healthy weight. I am a little overweight. I live in a recreationally legal state for marijuana and do smoke weed pretty heavily while on the chemo. Perhaps that is what is keeping me away from nausea and some of the side effects. I still have the standard neuropathy and dry skin on hands, but nothing too terrible.
11/29/18 Diagnosed T3N1 Rectal Cancer (Age 39, Male, no family history)
01/02/19--02/7/19--- 25 rounds radiation/chemo (Capecitabine 2000 mg)
04/15/19 Surgery, temp ileostomy (Tumor Staged T2)
7/8/19-10/15/19 Chemo (8 Rounds) Folfox
11/12/19- Scan NED

k0chr
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Jun 05, 2019 5:08 pm

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby k0chr » Sun Jul 21, 2019 6:36 pm

I like the goal of outliving the bird! A bit macabre, but in a good way. Wise choice not to get a scarlet macaw.
DX: 54
05/24/19 DX: CC rectosigmoid adenocarcinoma
06/07/19: laparascopic
5.8cm tumor, clear margins
G2 IIIA T2N1AM0
1/10 positive
07/08/19: starting FOLFOX, 12 cycles
08/14/19: gallbladder removed
08/19/19: DVT left internal jugular vein, subclavian, & axillary veins, daily Lovenox injections

AmyG
Posts: 371
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2018 8:08 pm

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby AmyG » Mon Jul 22, 2019 6:39 am

k0chr wrote:I like the goal of outliving the bird! A bit macabre, but in a good way. Wise choice not to get a scarlet macaw.



Wanna hear something stupid?

So, we have 2 just turned one year old German shepherd dogs, both 100+lbs. Their breeder sent me pictures of their newest litter and I just fell in love with one of the males. My husband and I discussed getting this puppy...after talking to the breeder and filling him in on the last year, he offered us the puppy for free :shock:

So, Jake will be joining Bo and Woody on 8/18. He's a full little brother to my two goons. I'm going to have a third shadow in no time.

We make terrible decisions. :lol:
42 dx @ 9wks pregnant w/baby #8 8/18
Sigmoid colon resection 9/18
Adenocarcinoma, G2, T3N0M0..or so we thought
KRAS/BRAF wild
Liver biopsy is malignant, stage iv now boys!
Delivered healthy baby 3/19
FOLFOX + Avastin 5/19
CEA 167 to 24 after 4 rounds
Liver resection 8/28/19
NED!! CEA 2.3
CEA 5.8 idk wtf is up with that, but everything else is clear!
CEA 3.7 make up your damn mind...
CEA 1.5 that's a new low!

Inchoate
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2019 5:05 pm
Location: Connecticut, USA

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby Inchoate » Mon Jul 22, 2019 5:14 pm

The strength of your spirit is evident in your post. It's all normal. I've had 10 treatments so far and they have each been different. Right now I am so exhausted that it hurts, I can barely stand. It was worse the first time, but the fatigue has been worse this round than any of the others. It won't last, and knowing that has made it much easier this time.

Know that it won't last and that you aren't alone.
DX 12/26/2018 @ 46 y.o. married no kids
Colo-rectal adenocarcinoma Stage IV (Liver, Spine, Lungs, Abdomen)
Occult spinal fracture of L1 (newly handicapped)
Kyphoplasty 2/2019
2/2019 Folfox (8)
3/2019 Radiation (Spine 10)
7/5/19 5-FU/Avastin (2)
Many supplements, which I think are ultimately helpful, but which result in a fair amount of gagging and fussing while hunched over the kitchen sink in the morning.

margiej
Posts: 109
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 8:46 am

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby margiej » Mon Jul 22, 2019 7:42 pm

AmyG wrote:
We make terrible decisions. :lol:


This cracked me up. Congrats on pup #3!
Dx CC 12/2015, age 57 at Dx
Stage IIIb: T3N1b
Adenocarcinoma, sigmoid colon, 2.5 cm - low grade, moderately differentiated
3/6 positive lymph nodes
laparoscopic colectomy 1/20/2016
Capox started 3/4/16 - Six rounds
CT-suspicious lymph 2/22/16
PET scan 2/24/16 clear
CT 6/8/16 clear
Clear Colonoscopy 3/2017 and 1/2020
CT 10/3/17 clear
CT 10/17/18 clear
CT 10/17/19 clear
CEA 12/17 1.7
5/16 3.8
7/16 1.9
3/17 1.3
10/17 1.2
4/18 1.6
11/18 1.2

k0chr
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Jun 05, 2019 5:08 pm

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby k0chr » Tue Jul 23, 2019 1:14 pm

AmyG wrote: he offered us the puppy for free :shock:

So, Jake will be joining Bo and Woody on 8/18. He's a full little brother to my two goons. I'm going to have a third shadow in no time.

We make terrible decisions. :lol:


Sweet! Your pack is growing. That sounds like a great decision.

Years ago I worked with a man who (along with his wife) adopted 11 kids through foster care. They felt it was important that each child had his/her own pet. Most of the kids opted for a dog. At one time they had 8 dogs of different breeds and sizes. I can't imagine what it was like for strangers driving into their driveway. :shock:
DX: 54
05/24/19 DX: CC rectosigmoid adenocarcinoma
06/07/19: laparascopic
5.8cm tumor, clear margins
G2 IIIA T2N1AM0
1/10 positive
07/08/19: starting FOLFOX, 12 cycles
08/14/19: gallbladder removed
08/19/19: DVT left internal jugular vein, subclavian, & axillary veins, daily Lovenox injections

AmyG
Posts: 371
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2018 8:08 pm

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby AmyG » Wed Jul 24, 2019 2:13 pm

I'm here to disconnect from cycle 7 and I'm pretty sure I don't get 8 until after liver resection! I'm still scheduled for 8 week after next but I'm pretty sure they are going to cancel.

If so, I'm happy for the break, but I'm feeling much better. I feel like I could do one more just to have 4 cycles to go after resection, but whatever! I'm just thrilled that I've responded so well to the drugs.
42 dx @ 9wks pregnant w/baby #8 8/18
Sigmoid colon resection 9/18
Adenocarcinoma, G2, T3N0M0..or so we thought
KRAS/BRAF wild
Liver biopsy is malignant, stage iv now boys!
Delivered healthy baby 3/19
FOLFOX + Avastin 5/19
CEA 167 to 24 after 4 rounds
Liver resection 8/28/19
NED!! CEA 2.3
CEA 5.8 idk wtf is up with that, but everything else is clear!
CEA 3.7 make up your damn mind...
CEA 1.5 that's a new low!

AmyG
Posts: 371
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2018 8:08 pm

Re: Chemo has caught up to me yall

Postby AmyG » Sun Jul 28, 2019 4:05 pm

Guess who feels almost halfway human?? :o

I'm totally going to have a steak and glass of wine as soon as I can taste things again.

Does anyone know how long I need to be off my poison until I can actually taste things again? The cold sensitivity is waning, but my feet look so gross because of the discoloration!!
42 dx @ 9wks pregnant w/baby #8 8/18
Sigmoid colon resection 9/18
Adenocarcinoma, G2, T3N0M0..or so we thought
KRAS/BRAF wild
Liver biopsy is malignant, stage iv now boys!
Delivered healthy baby 3/19
FOLFOX + Avastin 5/19
CEA 167 to 24 after 4 rounds
Liver resection 8/28/19
NED!! CEA 2.3
CEA 5.8 idk wtf is up with that, but everything else is clear!
CEA 3.7 make up your damn mind...
CEA 1.5 that's a new low!


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