Best Hospitals for treatment of Colon Cancer

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NancyW217
Posts: 15
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:48 am
Location: Florida

Me to in Orlando!

Postby NancyW217 » Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:05 pm

I have also used Dr Williamson in ORlando and can not say enough about him. I was stage one rectal cancer Jan. 07, now NED. THe first surgeon I saw wanted to remove my entire rectum and give me a colostomy bag. Dr. W. did not and got clear margins after surgery. I was treated Like I mattered! I see him every 3 months and have my first scan in the first part of July. Not every surgeon will scan after surgery of a stage 1 cancer patient.
Keep in touch!
Nancy

dwessels

Re: Best Hospitals for treatment of Colon Cancer

Postby dwessels » Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:30 pm

I'm so very happy to hear all the success stories. I hoping that someone can help me with my story. I just rec'd a call from my sister in Australia that my 33 yr old niece was diagnosed with colon cancer. She was told on a scale from A to D, A being the lowest, she is a D. The cancer is on her colon, liver, and pancreis. I want her to come to the states for a second opinion. We will more on Fri., but I would love to hear the HOPE stories..

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wwroam
Posts: 763
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:13 pm
Facebook Username: Wayne Whitaker
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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Re: Best Hospitals for treatment of Colon Cancer

Postby wwroam » Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:56 am

Your neice has a Duke's D classification ( equal to Stage IV), a classification that determines the avilability of chemo in Australia on the PBS system. The US medical system is the gold standard in treatment. That gold standard costs. Australian health insurance is for domestic treatment only, so treatment in US will have to be self funded. More advanced treatment than Folfox or Irinotecan combinations are available in Australia ( eg Avastin or Erbitrux) but are not available on the PBS. Australian member "jacks" has the costs. If your neice's Oncologist is willing, an opinion from a US clinic ( but treatment in Australia ), would be valuable, if the cost can be borne. I was a Stage III patient in Brisbane, and have been treated successfully. With an eye on future options, my oncologist is aware that he should not rule out nonPBS chemo or treatment options. I am always saddened when I read of young people like your neice being hit with cancer. Member "tcollitti"is 8 years NED after colon and liver resections and 12 months 5FU . Where there's hope there's life.
Wayne
Stage 3a DX 25/06/07
Folfox complete 30/01/08
7 years NED
Port scheduled for removal 8/02/10 Gone.
PSA .54 No prostate problems
Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetic
SO diagnosed CC Stage IV Liver Mets 23/03/15

haynesbuddy1@aol.com

Re: Best Hospitals for treatment of Colon Cancer

Postby haynesbuddy1@aol.com » Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:32 pm

Hello, My 47 year old brother was just told today that he has colon cancer. he is having a colonoscopy on Friday. He has already had a ultrasound and CT that showed a mass in his liver also . My brother couldn't talk very much tome tonight because he was so emotional. We hope to know more on Friday. We live in southern Indiana. Has anyone been treated close to here. I would appreciate any information. I work in surgery so I have some access to local doctors in Evansville, Indiana. A few years ago my Father was treated at IU for pacreatic cancer and we were very pleased. Big sister Connie

weisssoccermom
Posts: 5988
Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 2:32 pm
Location: Pacific NW

Re: Best Hospitals for treatment of Colon Cancer

Postby weisssoccermom » Wed Jan 21, 2009 11:08 am

First of all, if your brother has not had a colonoscopy, how does the doctor know its colon cancer and not something else. Obviously there is something wrong, but a doctor, unless a biopsy was done, cannot make a definitive decision on whether something is colon cancer that has spread somewhere else or say, liver cancer that has spread. Granted, there are always the 'normal' cases, but as you will see, normal isn't always the case.

As for doctors or places to be treated, you can look up colorectal surgeons at this site:

http://www.fascrs.org/patients/find_surgeon/

I would HIGHLY stress that you find a board certified colorectal surgeon. Many general surgeons can and do do the job but, particularly for a patient with other organs involved, I would most definately want to find a board certified surgeon. With regards to the oncologist, most oncs follow the same protocol - at least initially. The standard of care doesn't deviate much in the first and second lines of treatment. It's always good to have the patient get more than one opinion with both the surgeon and the onc. Since the onc will be much like a primary doctor for some time, make sure that your brother feels comfortable with him/her. You will want to make sure that your onc LISTENS to your brother and respects his opinions/wishes, etc. In addition, make sure that your brother feels comfortable with the oncology clinic as a whole. During his treatment and afterwards, your brother will be calling on them for many reasons and he needs to make sure that the nurses, staff as well as the doctor are reachable and approachable.

While the situation doesn't sound good to any of you right now, try not to imagine the worst case scenario right now. Your brother needs to wait for the biopsy which will tell him a lot about his tumor and how aggressive it may or may not be. The pathology report will shed a lot of information on his case. Please remember this. While the initial diagnosis and prognosis may very well not appear to be that good, how your brother responds to treatments will be the deciding factor in which direction he is able to go. Initially, your brother may or may not be told that he is not a surgical candidate but if he responds well, the whole situation could be reclassified. Don't be afraid to seek a second opinion, even in the midst of treatments. Many patients on this board have stuck with their oncologists yet read about others on this board who have had totally different treatments, opinions, etc., have sought out a different opinion from another doctor and have found that their situation changed overnight. Finally, and others may not agree with me on this, but don't let an oncologist tell your brother that he is not, for example, a surgical candidate or that he will need such and such specific surgery. Let the surgeon decide whether or not your brother is a surgical candidate and which type of surgery will or will not be feasible. On the same note, let the oncologist decide (and not the surgeon) which type of chemo to take, how long, etc. Just keep in mind that this happens frequently. So, let the surgeon do the surgical opinions/work, the rad onc (if he has one) do the rad onc treatments and the medical onc take on the responsibility for everything chemo related.

Good luck and please keep us informed of your brother's progress and situation.
Jaynee
Dx 6/22/2006 IIA rectal cancer
6 wks rad/Xeloda -finished 9/06
1st attempt transanal excision 11/06
11/17/06 XELOX 1 cycle
5 months Xeloda only Dec '06 - April '07
10+ blood clots, 1 DVT 1/07
transanal excision 4/20/07 path-NO CANCER CELLS!
NED now and forever!
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