The Colon Club

Wishing all Colorectal Canucks and those who love us

HAPPY CANADA DAY ... 'eh !!!!

Cheers and best wishes
Stayin' Covid SAFEREST !!!!

Harmony
on the Journey

CRguy

Topic has been too quiet .... SO
what better way to re-activate it than with a COVID discussion

DIL getting first Pfizer today at last minute notice. She is a Nurse / Nursing Admin and in/out of all kinds of hot spots so :
I agree = first liner in the medical profession gets the vax.

My mother 92 yr old, has to phone for a reservation, phone lines all clogged / crashed
for some future date, waiting to hear back ... yada yada yada

typical gov't political bullshit = make appearances to make it LOOK GOOD
and deal with the fallout later when the backlash dies down AFTER the screw up...
EXCEPT HERE, what may die down are the folks who ALSO need the vax the most NOW !


Any good vax rollout stories are more than welcome from north of 49

Cheers everyone and “Let's Be Careful Out There.”
CRguy

(( bonus points if you can name that quote ... WITHOUT a search engine ))


UPDATED :
after being on the phone at 7 am and getting robo recall messages back thru the entire day
there was actually a connection to a REAL LIVE PERSON
AT
wait for it ......
5 PM

at least we are moving FORWARD here
painful as it may seem

CRguy wrote:Topic has been too quiet .... SO


Cheers everyone and “Let's Be Careful Out There.”
CRguy

(( bonus points if you can name that quote ... WITHOUT a search engine ))

Hill Street Blues my friend. And no I didn't use a search engine. I was a fan of the show.

Anyway, something I read today is that its important for Cancer patents to get their booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine. The first jab protects them less than the general population. So although you got the first shot - please be vigilant still until after you receive the second at which point you should have about the same levels of protection it appears. I don't have a link it was something that came across one of my news feeds and now I can't find it again when I want to. Maybe someone else has seen this and can add a link to the article? I don't think its publish trial results yet.

GrouseMan

Correct you are buddy !!!!
Congrats !

The sub-populations who "may" not respond as per clinical trial cohorts are ALSO problematic,
so thank you for bringing that up as well. I understand that real world data IS what is needed for vaccine follow ups
BUTT ....
The practice of delaying the second Pfizer dose up here is NOT backed by any real science IMO.
It appears political : "get as many doses into as many arms ASAP" kind of thing
WITHOUT the science behind it. I am not a happy camper about this.

Still lots to be ironed out it seems

Cheers
CRguy

Thanks for that update info.
They are leaving up to 4 months between doses as a new "plan" here and I am 100 % against that idea even for non cancer patients

Here's another link that was posted by a doctor on the Ontario Vaccine Task Force (Dr Isaac Bogoch) he seems to be the only one concerned about this. It seems crazy to go from the recommended 3 weeks between shots to 16 weeks - that seems like too much of a stretch, even for a healthy individual, and it seems like too many people could be left unprotected. The Ontario vaccine rollout has been a real shambles so far (websites crashing and unanswered phones, etc.). Leaving major medical decisions to politicians and the army is not such a great idea.

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/delaying-sec ... able-virus

Just a quick update :
Received the Pfizer vaccine today with the potential recall for second dose by July 13,
which puts it at 3 months not 4 !

I am good with that for now.

Cheers all and best wishes
CRguy

Wife just got Moderna today so ...
I guess we can just do our own in house research comparison with N=2 !

So Far
all good for both of us

Stay safe and Cheers to ALL
On The Journey
CRguy

Hi all - just introducing myself to the Canuck thread. I live in Toronto and am being treated at Sunnybrook (male, 42). From what I’m told, it’s supposed to be one of the best hospitals in North America for colon cancer but my experience has been a little disheartening to put it lightly. I was diagnosed with colon cancer after emergency surgery for a blocked colon. I didn’t have a colonoscopy before surgery but the surgeon wanted me to have one right after chemo. I told this to my oncologist and she clearly didn’t know my situation. It was only after I told her the name of the surgeon that she realized I came in through emerge. She also incorrectly wrote in my file that I’m stage 3 when my diagnosis after surgery was T4aN0 which I understand is stage 2B.

I’ve also noticed that the administration of our healthcare system in Ontario is abysmal. They keep messing up my appointment times and so I’ve had to call every round to get them sorted properly. I know the doctors are good but these things really impact my confidence in my treatment.

My wife was treated for stage 3c endometrial cancer in 2015 at Princess Margaret Hospital and is now 7 years free of disease. We learned back then that we have to fight for attention and that the admin system was sorely lacking. But her oncologist was amazing so we never really questioned her. The big difference was that her oncologist was also her surgeon so she new the case intimately. In my case, I had surgery in emerge and then as handed over to an oncologist.

Anyway, I didn’t really mean to vent here but wanted to share my story with the other Canadians here. I’m currently in the middle of my fourth and hopefully final round of CAPOX. I look forward to chatting with you and learning about your experiences and access to treatment in other provinces.

All the best,
Fraser

Skylogan10 wrote:... being treated at Sunnybrook (male, 42). From what I’m told, it’s supposed to be one of the best hospitals in North America ...

Who told you this, Justin or one of his ministers?
My GI told me that the best US hospitals are much better than the best Canadian hospitals.
I understand that Sunnybrook may be one of the best Canadian hospitals, but no way it's one of the best North American hospitals.
I assume that Cleveland, NYC and Boston should be much better.

New info relating to HOW MRIs are being used with AI, to identify cancer and detect changes which can guide how chemo effectiveness
can be predicted for certain breast cancers.

As always, my "IMO" is that any advancement, in any cancer research, will ultimately benefit all cancer patients !

https://oicr.on.ca/innovative-mri-shine ... on-cancer/

https://globalnews.ca/news/9496451/arti ... ch-canada/

This is VERY advanced techniques, being put to great use on the front lines, and I couldn't care whether or not it IS Canadian or not ...
JUST that it IS happening ... NOW !!!

WORD !!!

Cheers all
CRguy

Skylogan10 wrote:Hi all - just introducing myself to the Canuck thread.
.................
Anyway, I didn’t really mean to vent here but wanted to share my story with the other Canadians here. I’m currently in the middle of my fourth and hopefully final round of CAPOX. I look forward to chatting with you and learning about your experiences and access to treatment in other provinces.

All the best,
Fraser

Hey Fraser
welcome to the best forum NOBODY ever wants to have to join !

I checked out your own topic Recently diagnosed and am sending you all the best from the left coast out here in lotusland

Cheers and Harmony on the Journey
CRguy fellow Canuckian

Hi Skylogan 10,

I’m new to this forum too but I thought I’d chime in about my experience. I have a recent stage III colon cancer diagnosis and live in PEI. I am a otherwise, very healthy 44 y.o. I was diagnosed during a colonoscopy on Dec 8, 2022. The surgeon who did the colonoscopy alerted me of the cancerous tumour and I was scheduled for a CT scan (which was clear) and a colon resection, which I had on Jan 13, 2023. The pathology report came back as T3N1b with 3 positive lymph nodes. I have started 4 cycles of CAPOX. 1 cycle completed, and halfway through my 2nd cycle.

I‘m sorry to hear of your frustrations with Sunnybrook. My impression is that it is a stellar hospital and you should be in good hands.

Living in such a small province as PEI I was nervous that my care might be compromised. But I am happy to say that I have been very pleased with my care so far. The surgeon, the med onc, and the staff at the cancer centre have been great here. Perhaps we don’t experience the same challenges with the administration as you would in a busy Toronto hospital. As pleased as I have been with my care to date, I also believe it’s important to be your own advocate. Don’t be afraid to be pushy if needed.

I wish you all the best.