Hi, all! The first thing I need to do is thank all of the people who post here because this forum has been immensely helpful in my journey so far.
The short story is that I am approaching the 1 year anniversary of my rectal cancer diagnosis. As I have read on other posts, getting the medical team and treatment plan in place was not a quick process. About 6 weeks after diagnosis, I started chemo, then had XRT. About 6 weeks after finishing XRT, I went to a new surgeon who is head of the colorectal surgery department and a professor at the medical school.
Since then I have had an MRI, which indicated that they “suspected” some cancer might remain. I have had 2 flex sigs (the most recent today) and there are still some “bumps” near where the tumor was. There are no signs they are growing and my CEA is stable @ 1.2. My surgeon seems to be leaning toward a resection, although Watch & Wait is still an option. I decided to go another 3 months, have another MRI in February, along with another flex sig.
I think the fact that I am feeling so well (blood counts improving are probably the cause) may have led to taking the ostrich approach to having to face the real possibility of surgery. I know I am incredibly lucky that my treatment didn’t take more of a toll on me and I had a super support group of family and friends. I’m just a little bummed that I didn’t exactly get the results I was hoping for.
Any words of wisdom or thoughts, either about treatment or mindset? Thanks!