prayingforccr wrote:Phillypatient wrote:At MSK, the doctor there suggested to do the chemotherapy before surgery because they have observed complete clinical response in patients that have residual tumors post radiation. You are going to have to do the chemo anyway. I’d much happier I did it pre surgery when I functioned normally. Doctor Aguilar is the head of colorectal surgery and head of the study. It’s worth a shot. They’ve also written some papers for the layman to read. I would do anything I could to avoid the surgery if possible.
Good luck and feel free to ask questions
I have been/am being treated by msk.
We did 5 weeks crt (radiation/capecetabine/m3814) and I just completed my 8th round of folfox.
I took 5 weeks In between CRT and chemotherapy.
All actions were done with giving me the best chance to achieve a pcr or ccr and avoid a colostomy.
I believe this is the new standard of care going forward.
crt, then folfox/then surgery (if needed)
I am to have a colonoscopy next week to see if there is any persistent disease.
The tumor was at least 85% dead/necrotic after my first folfox session.
I am PRAYING for a ccr.
I have NO IDEA what the gameplan might be if there is a near ccr and a small amount of tumor remaining.
Good luck! I don’t know if a transanal excision is possibly an option. I know there has been some discussion about that on this board. My understanding is that these are slow to develop cancers so I suspect you have time to explore options. Are you being treated by Dr. Garcia-Aguilar? He’s awesome