Macpudd - I am so glad to hear that you are NED after 18 months, that is wonderful. Thank you for sharing, and I will focus on a positive outcome for me too! I think my main issue lies in the fact that with only one of 34 lymphs deemed to contain isolated tumor cells yet not be 'invaded, (and this is sitting in a jar of formaldehyde in a lab somewhere)' and the LAR surgery to remove the tumor having been deemed a 'success' (clean margins etc) - what tangible objective does chemotherapy offer me?
I am at the junction, where I am trying to weigh the pros vs the cons of receiving adjuvant therapy now. With a low pre-OP CEA baseline, and no distant mets as per CT - how will
success of possible chemotherapy even be measured? Also, aside from eg DPD deficiency as an issue, I think I recently read an article (sorry, too disorganized to be bookmarking links yet
) that stipulated that adjuvant chemo could limit the effectiveness of its use in case of a recurrence. Anyway, I am just thinking out aloud here, with the pros and cons racing through my mind as I await my date with oncology.
Mainelyj - thank you for this. I knew absolutely nothing about DPD deficiency, and find this information very useful. I have not yet been offered or have even discussed any genetic testing with my care team yet, but will now certainly make an effort. As it so happens, in another topic in this forum (Calling all CANUCKS,
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=32353) user Steph20021 recently posted information about a company called Contextual Genomics, that was offering some free cancer genomics testing for the first 1,500 applicants in Canada. Armed with this information, I just sent off a message to my oncologist team and the company to see whether I could be referred for this if I qualify. Fingers crossed!
Thank you all for sharing! With so much uncertainty ahead, it has done me a world of good to have discovered The Colon Club and it's wonderful community here, along with all their collective wisdom and positivity!