Feeling overwhelmed

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decrd
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2018 1:52 pm
Facebook Username: Rhonda S Dickinson

Feeling overwhelmed

Postby decrd » Sat Jun 09, 2018 6:05 am

Hi, I'm new here so please bear with me. My husband is 87 and in March was diagnosed with colon cancer metastasized to the liver. They said 11 months with no treatments. Maybe 3 more months with chemo & he would probably not feel well. He opted for no treatments & try to have the best life he could. Yesterday his speech was so bad you couldn't understand him most of the time. The hospice nurse ruled out stroke and thinks the cancer is in his brain. Has anyone else experienced this? I just wondered what we are looking at for life expectancy now.
Rhonda

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Atoq
Posts: 412
Joined: Wed Oct 25, 2017 9:31 am

Re: Feeling overwhelmed

Postby Atoq » Sat Jun 09, 2018 3:13 pm

I am sorry for your husband, I guess he is in a age range that very few reach, so there won’t be a lot of statistics on survival time to CRC. I have always heard that cancer grow slowly in older people, maybe a scan would rule out brain metastasis?

All the best

Claudia
1972, 2 kids
Dx rectal cancer 10.2017
T3N2aMX (met left lung 8 mm)
Lynch neg
CEA 1.8
Neoadjuvant chemoradio Xeloda + 25x2 Gy
05.12.17 laparotomic surg. for blockage, colostomy
25.01.18 laparotomic lar, hysterectomy, ileostomy
05.03.18 core needle lung biopsy
07.05.18 CAT scan, lung met 11 mm
04.06.18 ileo reversal
26.06.18 wedge VATS
24.08.18, 31.02.19 CAT scan
12.09.18, 06.02.19 scope, CEA 1.6
19.11.18 scope
20.08.19 CAT, eco
13.09.19 scope, CEA 1.2
18.03.20 CAT, eco, scope, NED
29.11.20 CAT, NED
2023 NED

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Feeling overwhelmed

Postby NHMike » Sat Jun 09, 2018 4:35 pm

This must be a very difficult time for you as caregiver. I have only heard of one person that experienced this on another forum but I've listed an article and a paper indicating that it does happen.


More and more people are surviving cancer, thanks to advanced cancer treatments and screening tools. Today there are nearly 15.5 million cancer survivors in the United States.

But in up to 20 percent of cancer patients, the disease ultimately spreads to their brain. Each year, nearly 170,000 new cases of brain metastasis are diagnosed in the United States, sometimes years after an initial cancer diagnosis. The cancers most likely to spread to the brain are melanoma and cancers of the lung, breast and colon.

Neurosurgeon and scientist Rahul Jandial, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Neurosurgery at City of Hope, says that recognizing symptoms and seeking medical attention as early as possible is vital.


https://www.cityofhope.org/blog/cancer- ... metastasis

We identified 48 patients (25 men, 23 women) who developed brain metastases from crc . The median age at diagnosis of the brain metastases was 63 years (range: 37–84 years). In 23 of the patients (48%), the primary tumour occurred in the rectum. At diagnosis of brain metastases, 43 patients (90%) also had other systemic metastases (mainly pulmonary and hepatic). The median interval between diagnosis of the primary tumour and of the brain metastases was 24 months. Median survival after a diagnosis of brain metastasis from crc was 4 months (range: 1–13 months). We observed substantially better survival (13 months, p < 0.001) in patients treated with surgery followed by whole-brain radiotherapy ( wbrt ) than in those treated with radiotherapy or surgery alone. Sex, age, location and number of brain metastases, and timing of diagnosis did not affect survival.

http://www.current-oncology.com/index.p ... /1048/1027
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

Lee
Posts: 6207
Joined: Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:09 pm

Re: Feeling overwhelmed

Postby Lee » Sat Jun 09, 2018 6:09 pm

decrd wrote: The hospice nurse ruled out stroke and thinks the cancer is in his brain. Has anyone else experienced this? I just wondered what we are looking at for life expectancy now.
Rhonda


I believe the nurse is right about possible brain mets. While it is rare, it does happen. I am so sorry for what you are going through. As far as life expectancy, the hospice nurse should be able to give you some idea. How often do they come to see him?

Hugs to you

Lee
rectal cancer - April 2004
46 yrs old at diagnoses
stage III C - 6/13 lymph positive
radiation - 6 weeks
surgery - August 2004/hernia repair 2014
permanent colostomy
chemo - FOLFOX
NED - 16 years and counting!

decrd
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2018 1:52 pm
Facebook Username: Rhonda S Dickinson

Re: Feeling overwhelmed

Postby decrd » Sun Jun 10, 2018 7:12 am

Thank you everyone for your replies and encouragements. The hospice nurse has been coming twice a week, but I imagine she will start coming more often now. She will be here tomorrow morning so I have more questions for her. My main concern, as is everyone's is that he doesn't suffer. He has lived a good life and tho I'm not ready to lose him, I guess I am ready for him to pass over to eternity where his suffering will be over. Does anyone else spend so much time worrying about how the end will come? It seems like that is all that is On my mind. I'm so glad to find this support group. Thanks to you all.
Rhinda

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Feeling overwhelmed

Postby NHMike » Sun Jun 10, 2018 11:04 am

decrd wrote:Thank you everyone for your replies and encouragements. The hospice nurse has been coming twice a week, but I imagine she will start coming more often now. She will be here tomorrow morning so I have more questions for her. My main concern, as is everyone's is that he doesn't suffer. He has lived a good life and tho I'm not ready to lose him, I guess I am ready for him to pass over to eternity where his suffering will be over. Does anyone else spend so much time worrying about how the end will come? It seems like that is all that is On my mind. I'm so glad to find this support group. Thanks to you all.
Rhinda


My mother was ready to die three or four years ago and she was surrounded by kids and grandkids and friends and clergy came in to visit. So she was ready as were we. She is still alive and I think that the doctors were surprised but she had made her peace. I think that anyone that goes through the cancer journey does this at least a few times. So yes, lots of people, both patients and caregivers do worry about how the end will come.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

decrd
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2018 1:52 pm
Facebook Username: Rhonda S Dickinson

Re: Feeling overwhelmed

Postby decrd » Sun Jun 10, 2018 11:41 am

Glad your mom made it through that rough patch and is still with you. Only God knows the time.

Capri
Posts: 80
Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2018 5:59 pm

Re: Feeling overwhelmed

Postby Capri » Mon Jun 11, 2018 1:31 pm

My heart goes out to you Decrd & your husband. I will keep you both in my prayers. This is a hard road to travel, both for the patient and the caregiver.
There is a lot of support on this forum. I wish you both well.
Mom to son 46 yo at Dx (2017)
1/18 Robotic resection, sigmoid adenocarcinoma, Stg. IIIA T3 N1 MX, mod. differentiated, margins clear
2/18 - 7/30/18 Port placed; completed 12 cycles of FOLFOX
6/18 Put on Early surveillance CT,PET scan-normal. Neuropathy has started.
11/18 Clean colonoscopy; 11/20 CT normal.
2019 to 7/22 colonoscopies, CTs neck to groin have been normal.

DarknessEmbraced
Posts: 3816
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2014 4:54 pm
Facebook Username: Riann Fletcher
Location: New Brunswick, Canada

Re: Feeling overwhelmed

Postby DarknessEmbraced » Tue Jun 12, 2018 7:54 am

I'm so sorry about your husband!*hugs* May he have peace.*hugs*
Diagnosed 10/28/14, age 36
Colon Resection 11/20/14, LAR (no illeo)
Stage 2a colon cancer, T3NOMO
Lymph-vascular invasion undetermined
0/22 lymph nodes
No chemo, no radiation
Clear Colonoscopy 04/29/15
NED 10/20/15
Ischemic Colitis 01/21/16
NED 11/10/16
CT Scan moved up due to high CEA 08/21/17
NED 09/25/17
NED 12/21/18
Clear colonoscopy 09/23/19
Clear 5 year scans 11/21/19- Considered cured! :)


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