New Guy Here

[localyokal]

I am a 45 year old married male and father of 3. I was diagnosed with stage 2 T3 N0 M0 in Jan 2013. I just finished 6 weeks of pre surgery chemo and radiation last Thursday and feel like I am gaining my strength back everyday. My surgery is scheduled around the first of May. All the drs. I have talked to have given me a good prognosis for remission but I am still worried sick over this whole cancer thing. Just needing to vent a little I guess.

[Grace14]

Vent away I know how you feel. I was sooo scared even with the Drs giving me a good prognosis. They could tell me everyday your gonna be fine but it didn't help. These are normal feelings and I PROMISE it will get better. It's gonna take a while but it will get better! It took me a couple of years to finally feel like okay I'm gonna live. Hang in there things will get better!

[kiwiinoz]

Vent away mate. Whilst a diagnosis of cancer of any type is a huge firght, Stage 2 T3N0M0 is a not that much of a bad diagnosis, and similar to mine which was PT3N0M1 (making me stage IV), and I have often wished my M was M0 instead of M1.

I found that it was best for me to not get too far ahead of myself, and to take things 1 step at a time. Since my diagnosis it has been almost 4 months I have had LAR for rectal cancer, VATS for the lung metastasis, and will start chemo from next month.

It sounds like you are getting the standard protocols and that you have a good treatment plan.

The fear issue of a recurrance is something that you just have to get used to. There are things you can do in order to mitigate that such as reducing some of the risk factors via changing your diet, changing your drinking or smoking habits, possibly taking supplements, but the biggest thing that I could suggest would be that you could start an exercise regime as there have been several studies showing that exercising has been able to improve the recurrance rates for stage II & III patients by significant amounts.

I have taken the approach that I can do the best I can in those areas, but that if it is going to come back it will come back. I have found that on this board there are a number of people that have had recurrences and are NED (in remission) and some that have been living with it as a chronic disease for a long number of years.

Just enjoy your time with your family, treasure those moments as much as you can and try to control the fear (easier said than done)

Kiwi

[tammylayne]

Hello New Guy!!

Welcome to the board...I am sure you will find lots of great information and hopefully get some reassurance here as well.

I truly believe that worrying about what might come down the road is normal,,,but the sooner you can find ways to lessen these thoughts, the better. And it will happen...I think it just takes time. I asked my oncologist when I would stop thinking about it, when would it get easier and he said you will never stop thinking about it, but you will stop thinking about it as often....and then evenutally hardly at all. I am not to the "hardly at all" point, but 2 years NED it does not consume my every waking moment like it did at the beginning! I think that once i got treatment going it was a little easier because I had a plan...I was working a plan..it was when I finished treatment that I suddenly felt vulnerable and even a little more scrared I thnk...I felt "naked", nothing happening to keep the cancer away like when I was doing radiation, chemo or having the cancer cut out of my body. The I relaized it was just another part of the journey that I would have to learn, and it has gotten easier.

Come here often and don't be afraid to ask questions or ask for support. You are truly surrounded by those that get it, so you never have to worry that you have to explain or justify what you are feeling...you can just know that chances are many of us have faced the same issues and can offer some words of wisdom or support.

Wishing you all the best....

[teacher49too]

New Guy,

Take one day at a time.....and one foot in front of the other.....as you move through your treatment. I was diagnosed with stage 2 T3 N0 M0 in May 2011 and moved through prechemo rad, 10 wks recovery, then surgery, then chose to do adjuvant chemo. You may or may not do the adj. chemo part of 1st course treatment.....based on your doc's recommendation or your own decision.

Do you already know your response to prechemo rad? Probably not if you just finished.....because radiation tx is still working it's tissue destruction...and will for 3-4 weeks post treatment. Hope for the best....complete response.....so that surgery is conservative with robotic LAR. Mine was 50% response, still OK, and surgery got all the rest with clean margins.

Be strong and prepared for surgery........and walk, walk, walk as soon as they allow following surgery to get your system moving again...... Very Important! You'll feel like a train wreck at first, but it will get better. I didn't walk enough.....had complications....and that resulted in a longer hospital stay.

NED today.....had to take 2 mos off from work back in 2011 following surgery but then back full time......and all check ups fine since then. Some side effects from adj. chemo but I'm not going to whine too much after everything I went through in 2011.

[justin case]

Hi, new guy around here. I was T3 No Mo, with 2 tumors, 1 in colon , and 1 in rectum. I had chemo before radiation, then chemo radiation, and just when I was feeling stronger, I had surgery, and ended up with a temp illiostomy. I was reversed in 3 weeks, as I had a blockage, and then some more chemo. This time last year, I was still recovering from the surgery. Today, I'm taking an afternoon off, after working a full day, and spending afternoons and weekends, refurbishishing my condo, after a really lousy tennant. I haven't had a day or afternoon off, since Feb. 21. You might go through some tough times, but if at my age, just a year after surgery, I can boost myself into attics with no stairs, you have a very Good prognosis, for a cancer patient! Please listen to your surgeon when rest is recomended, as even light yardwork, could cause major problems. Good luck in your treatment protocols, as I want you to know, this is not the end of anything for you.
Regards,
Michael

[localyokal]

Its been almost 8 months since I was diagnosed with cancer and I truly believe I am cancer free . I had my surgery May 9th. I was in surgery for 8 hours due to complications because my colon was not located and routed the same as everyone else's colon. There was no sign of cancer or any of the tumor left at all, only scar tissue and no signs of cancer in any of my lymph nodes. I had 15 inches of my colon removed and if I understood them right they did biopsies as they cut to make sure no cancer was left. I asked my Oncologist what the chances were of my cancer coming back and she said slim to none, I can live with those odds. I don't have any major side effects from the chemo, radiation or the surgery. The radiologist told me I was among the 10% that the treatments worked 100% and without any side effects. God has been good to me and I thank him every day for all the blessings he has given me. This has been a life altering event for me and I am trying to make the most out of my second chance on life.

[chemo sabe]

I hope you are able to maintain the NED status!! Best of luck to you!!

[Rob in PA]

This has been a life altering event for me and I am trying to make the most out of my second chance on life.

Can't argue with that approach! !


Best to you

Rob

[O Stoma Mia]

...I truly believe I am cancer free... God has been good to me and I thank him every day for all the blessings he has given me.

Hi localyokal - Thanks for logging in and getting back to us. It's really great to hear of your progress. Trusting that you will have many cancer-free years ahead!