I also posted this on the "For Stage III's: NED for how long now?" thread but I thought I'd post it as a separate thread too so it doesn't get lost.
I just wanted to post on here as this forum was invaluable to me when my Mam was diagnosed in April 2017. As most people probably do here, I read everything. Here are her stats:
Dx: 4th May 17
Age diagnosed: 69 (71 now)
Stage: T4/N2/M0 (Stage IIIc) 5/12 nodes positive. Right hemicolectomy surgery 26th May 2017. Lap/Robotic surgery.
Chemo Started 5th July 2017: FOLFOX & Oxaliplatin, 12 rounds (reduced by 20% at round 5)
We just got another clear scan last month and her blood test results are all good. CEA is now 2.4. We never got it before surgery, but it was 7.3 during treatment and then 3.2 just after she finished and then 3.0 and now 2.4. Her liver enzymes went array for a while during treatment but all are normal again except GGT which is now only slightly elevated. C reactive protein is 1.0 (range <5.0). We were also keeping an eye on CA19-9. It was 45 (range 0-37) just after she completed chemo and went down to 26.5 a couple of months after. We've not tracked it since however, I'll ask for it to be tested in her next set of blood taken.
Her vitamin D levels were dreadful at diagnosis so we invested in the Sperti Vitamin D lamp and she also took Thorne Vitamin D and K2 supplement drops each day (around 8-10 drops, we reduced this when we added the lamp in). We got her levels up from a paltry 13ng/ml to 52 ng/ml during treatment. If you have not researched the effects of low vitamin D and cancer, then look at this video: https://youtu.be/v3pK0dccQ38
She was considered NED after the surgery in May 2017 and then chemo was obviously done as a precaution. I'm not sure when most people start the clock as NED. However, our surgeon said it was from surgery. If we take it from the surgery point of view she is 20 months NED. If from point of completing chemo, she is 13 months NED.
Some things we did post-treatment.
CBD / THC blend taken daily. She still takes this.
Infrared Sauna 3/4 times a week at 45c to 50c for 30-40 mins. Sauna is less frequent now.
Quinton Isotonic Mineral supplement daily. She takes this daily and she reckons it made her bounce back much more quickly.
My Mam was extremely healthy otherwise. Ironically she was rarely sick. When we would all be hit by viruses etc, she'd usually be the one who was ok. Her health is fully back to normal now which is great and her energy levels are better than a lot of people half her age!!