Just wanted to report I had another six monthly follow up last week. The results of both the MRI and the flex sig were fine. That's now 4 1/2 years NED since the end of my radiation treatment. Apparently I get one more six monthly follow up and then go annually after that. My Doctor told me at thei...

Lakeswim - I have been thinking of you too ! Glad to know all is going good for you ! I think we are very close in terms of marking the date when radiation ended - that's the date where docs use to measure how long one is NED. My very first treatment was rad/chemo which ended Dec 2018. I was then u...

Just had another round of scans and I'm in the clear again ! (for now!). Yay ! Any residual chemo should have wean off by now and so I'm hoping this good news is not under the suppression of any chemo. One can only stay hopeful ! Had PET/MRI done, CT scans, sig flex and biopsy ! Apparently the whole...

I remembered asking my oncologist the same thing when I was undergoing chemo and he said it's not a problem at all for my case at all. In fact, he mentioned he had lots international cancer patients (albeit mostly a 2-6 hours vicinity) who would fly into where we are based at on a weekly basis for v...

Thank you Pyro, for sharing your story and your hospice decision.

You are one brave soul for getting this far and I wish you all the best in finding peace and happiness ! Have an awesome vacation !

Also the very recent SUNSHINE trial at Dana-Farber, starting at 8,000 IU/day then sustaining 4,000 IU/day: https://www.dana-farber.org/newsroom/news-releases/2019/high-dose-vitamin-d-shows-benefit-in-patients-with-advanced-colorectal-cancer/ Also to your point about Neulasta/Filgrastim/etc., when I...

Hi ME - thanks for sharing your story with us ! What a roller coaster ride indeed and to still stay so strong. Your story is so detailed and eloquently written. I'm sure many viewers including myself are learning new things from it ! I just want to share a few things with you based on my own experie...

NKMike and Rikimaroo - Just to share, I attended a colorectal patient support group not too long ago and met a few people with/without the bag. One guy said it took him 2 years to return to normality after LAR and on some of the worst days, he would go to the toilet for up to 40 times a day. He is b...

My husband told me yesterday some distressing news. His nurse at the cancer center called to say that three insurance was going to stop paying for chemo because he had some progression!? They've changed his chemo to include irinotecan now versus waiting to check his numbers. How can they do this. T...

Sounds like you are doing all you can do. Stay positive and stay strong, but also stay vigilant. I had a colonoscopy in 2008, was given a clean bill of colon health and told to come back for my next one in 10 years. I was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in 2013....flat cancerous polyp in my cec...

One of the first few tests that the onc ordered before starting out on my CRT was the Vit D level. According to his experience colorectal cancer patients for some reasons often have deficiency of Vit D. I was measuring at 10 ng/ml when first tested and this was in the rather severe deficiency range....

Thank you PRS and Mozart13 ! I'm really hoping to be back to some normality. I found it difficult to concentrate on everyday work though but I am putting that down to the stress that went on over the last 6 months. My female hormones are probably all over the place too adding to the mental stress. J...

Hi WW-ers ! I'm finally done with my final and 6th cycle of IV Oxaliplatin under the WW. Thank god ! It was 3-4 months of psychological hell for me and my spouse. I had little physical side effects apart from constipation but the cocktail of medication was surely messing with my brain I think ! I st...

Chemo sucks, no question. If there is any consolation, at least it is better than not being able to get chemo! Glass half full ! That's what I tell myself some days too ! There are people out there who have no access to basic healthcare, let alone chemo. So I try to tell myself that chemo is a luxu...

Chemo has been more mentally and psychologically challenging for me than physically. I'm in my 5th cycle out of 6 at the moment..... and it's doing things to my head by the 3rd/4th. Fortunately I have been experiencing very little physical side effects or at least my onc has been managing it quite w...