Good news & update
Posted: Mon May 18, 2020 3:21 pm
Hi! I posted on here for a little bit during treatment for Stage 3 Colon Cancer. If you were to check my history, you'd see that I did six months of Folfox, only to find out that I had suspected metastasis in the lungs, for which I received radiation therapy. At one point my first doctor told me I'd need to be on chemotherapy for the rest of my life.
I got a new doctor who recommended radiation treatment to the lungs and a wait and see approach after that. I had a much better rapport with him and I think he really advocated for the best possible outcomes for me. I never checked back in because I was so excited to be moving on with my life, but having often clicked through the user profiles of people like me, I was always scared to see the people post in despair and then never update with good news or progress.
My good news is that I'm a year and half clear of potentially stage IV colon cancer with growth to the lungs! I am so grateful and happy. I just had a virtual appointment with my doctor. I was 31 when I was diagnosed and scared I wouldn't live the next year. This year I'm turning 35 and I'm healthier and happier than at any point in my 20s, when I was sick and didn't know why. Despite all the body trauma, invasive treatment, and EARLY MENOPAUSE (yeesh) I am doing so great, and I hope newcomers to this board know that there's a way through this. Be your own advocate!
This board was so helpful in dark times but I think it's important to remember that people (like me, I'm sorry!) sometimes check in in moments of extreme distress and don't check back. It's a self-selected group of people and though I received so much good advice, support, and encouragement through these forums you will also see posts by people who are really lost; it can be scary. It was hard not to go down the rabbithole of imagining what happened to those people.
I'm probably not going to log back in because I need a little bit of distance if possible, but I want to let everyone know that recovery IS possible, get a doctor you trust, a plan you believe in, and stay well!!!
I got a new doctor who recommended radiation treatment to the lungs and a wait and see approach after that. I had a much better rapport with him and I think he really advocated for the best possible outcomes for me. I never checked back in because I was so excited to be moving on with my life, but having often clicked through the user profiles of people like me, I was always scared to see the people post in despair and then never update with good news or progress.
My good news is that I'm a year and half clear of potentially stage IV colon cancer with growth to the lungs! I am so grateful and happy. I just had a virtual appointment with my doctor. I was 31 when I was diagnosed and scared I wouldn't live the next year. This year I'm turning 35 and I'm healthier and happier than at any point in my 20s, when I was sick and didn't know why. Despite all the body trauma, invasive treatment, and EARLY MENOPAUSE (yeesh) I am doing so great, and I hope newcomers to this board know that there's a way through this. Be your own advocate!
This board was so helpful in dark times but I think it's important to remember that people (like me, I'm sorry!) sometimes check in in moments of extreme distress and don't check back. It's a self-selected group of people and though I received so much good advice, support, and encouragement through these forums you will also see posts by people who are really lost; it can be scary. It was hard not to go down the rabbithole of imagining what happened to those people.
I'm probably not going to log back in because I need a little bit of distance if possible, but I want to let everyone know that recovery IS possible, get a doctor you trust, a plan you believe in, and stay well!!!
