Hi all,
I would like to share the story of my mother's diagnosis of Stage 3/4 colon cancer and request information from people on this board. It is unlike anything I am reading here on this forum, especially to be considered Stage 3/4, so I would appreciate any opinions or information from experience. She was diagnosed in December 2018 due to unable to pass stool and pain. After multiple CT scans, PET scans, MRI and Mammogram, here is the information:
- Adenocarcinoma (~4x4cm) in Sigmoid Colon
- .5cm and 1cm (2 lesions) metastasis to Liver.
- Surgery was done today (liver resection and colon tumor resection) & 12 lymph nodes removed from Biopsy.
My Mom is doing great and despite this diagnosis, she appears to be very healthy. She is age 56. We are not waiting for biopsy results for the lymph nodes before we are prescribed a Chemo treatment. I have the following questions:
- If there were only 3 cancerous tumors that showed up on numerous scans, and those tumors were removed, why would Chemo be necessary?
- If cancer cells are not visible on scans and this is the reason Chemo is prescribed, how many rounds is normal? There were some discussions (by the GI surgeon) saying 8 rounds over 4-6 months is most likely the case. How can they say things like this when they haven't even biopsied the lymph nodes and all other tumors were resected?
- Is Stage 4 the correct term for this even if all 3 lesions were able to be removed?
- If none or minimal Chemo is done, what are the metabolic pathways for the cancer to return?
These are just a few questions I have right now but as I see discussion, I will most likely have more. I appreciate everyone's help in this. If I need to provide any additional information for feedback to be more useful, please let me know.
Thank you and I look forward to joining the family on this board.