The Colon Club

Husband has been told the the surgery was curative... The cancer is all out on the face of it. 5/21 nodes removed were affected

Currently awaiting the adjuvant chemo plan which is obviously designed to kill any stray cancer cells that managed to escape.

What are the chances of it coming back?? I know the first 1-2yrs are most critical in terms of recurrence and the likelihood reduces over time...but how many people on here have experienced recurrence (or not)??

So scared we're going to get through surgery, chemo and then find out that it's come back and it's much worse than this time

I'm a 16+ yr survivor from stage IIIC. Here is a thread you might want to read. It's a bit long, butt it tells you there are a lot of us out there, many move on, butt do come back occasionally to comment on this thread.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10574&hilit=stage+III+how+long

Good luck with chemo.

Lee

Lee wrote:I'm a 16+ yr survivor from stage IIIC. Here is a thread you might want to read. It's a bit long, butt it tells you there are a lot of us out there, many move on, butt do come back occasionally to comment on this thread.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10574&hilit=stage+III+how+long

Good luck with chemo.

Lee

Thank you so much Lee. Seeing so many positive outcomes really does show newbies to this journey that there is hope. At the moment it feels like this will never be over and the worry will be there forever.

It's a new life, in many respect your life will never be the same. Butt you start to live a new normal. Sometimes you will feel frustrated (vent away here) & you will find some pretty clueless people who will never understand what you are going through at this time. And sometimes you find out who your true friends are. I did.

One things that really helped me during those 1st few years, I figured as long as I was learning something new each day, I was not going to be dying anytime soon. It was a psychological thing for me, butt it carried me through some challenging/scary times. And I learned some pretty interesting/strange stuff. One day, I was at an thrift store & knew I had found a piece of "mourning jewelry" from the civil war era. Nicely priced, mine today.

Some day, it's one day at a time. If you decide to look up info on the internet & get depressed, always end by looking up positive stories. It helped me. There are many people who do beat this, butt they move on from here, that is why that one thread is sooo important, because they do come back to post inspiration to the newbies.

And finally, know that some stage III'er do move on to stage IV, butt are very much NED today. Never give up hope! There are many options out there, with new ones around the corner.

Know that you are not alone here.

Lee

LivinginHope wrote:Husband has been told the the surgery was curative... The cancer is all out on the face of it. 5/21 nodes removed were affected

Currently awaiting the adjuvant chemo plan which is obviously designed to kill any stray cancer cells that managed to escape.

What are the chances of it coming back?? I know the first 1-2yrs are most critical in terms of recurrence and the likelihood reduces over time...but how many people on here have experienced recurrence (or not)??

So scared we're going to get through surgery, chemo and then find out that it's come back and it's much worse than this time

Currently awaiting Oncology appt, treatment plan and chemo to commence.

Since you are now waiting for the treatment plan appointment, it would be a good idea to update your signature to include all of the relevant information concerning your husband's specific diagnosis. This information is also needed by the oncologist who will be planning the chemo regimen, but it is important for you to know and to understand all of the diagnosis information so that you can follow what the oncologist is recommending.

Two of the important diagnosis-related items are: Baseline CEA (a blood test) and MSI-status (a test based on tissue from the removed tumor)

Green Tea wrote:

LivinginHope wrote:Husband has been told the the surgery was curative... The cancer is all out on the face of it. 5/21 nodes removed were affected

Currently awaiting the adjuvant chemo plan which is obviously designed to kill any stray cancer cells that managed to escape.

What are the chances of it coming back?? I know the first 1-2yrs are most critical in terms of recurrence and the likelihood reduces over time...but how many people on here have experienced recurrence (or not)??

So scared we're going to get through surgery, chemo and then find out that it's come back and it's much worse than this time

Currently awaiting Oncology appt, treatment plan and chemo to commence.

Since you are now waiting for the treatment plan appointment, it would be a good idea to update your signature to include all of the relevant information concerning your husband's specific diagnosis. This information is also needed by the oncologist who will be planning the chemo regimen, but it is important for you to know and to understand all of the diagnosis information so that you can follow what the oncologist is recommending.

Two of the important diagnosis-related items are: Baseline CEA (a blood test) and MSI-status (a test based on tissue from the removed tumor)

Thank you for this. I would provide that information if I had it. Our oncologist has received all diagnostic detail and outcomes direct from the surgeon. We have literally just been told the information that is in my signature.

Regarding CEA level all we were told is that it was very low pre-surgery. Its been tested since but we haven't been told what it was.

I was Stage IIIb ...see below. Stay positive..and have your husband get as much exercise and rest he can during chemo. Come back to this forum for any questions you have. There are many people here who can give you guidance and advice.

ANDRETEXAS wrote:I was Stage IIIb ...see below. Stay positive..and have your husband get as much exercise and rest he can during chemo. Come back to this forum for any questions you have. There are many people here who can give you guidance and advice.

Thank you, such a positive story - so reassuring to see! .
Pre-op he was in the gym 4x a week so exercising when he's able will be no problem! We've been walking heaps since the op.
Any tips for getting through the chemo are much appreciated!

We will have to wait to see what chemo(s) are planned for your husband. I was on Folfox(12 rounds two weeks apart). If needed, I would advise your husband to get a port. It will be life saver for his veins. Please get back when you know his chemo plan. I can give you advise on Folfox...and there are others here who can comment on other chemo plans. My advise presently is to stay calm and don't read google because each person is different, and you can't use overall statistics to determine the outcome of any individual. Once a plan has been determined, it will get easier. There will be a goal, and tell your husband to stay positive. It sounds trite, but it will get him through a lot and help his outcome. Andre

ANDRETEXAS wrote:We will have to wait to see what chemo(s) are planned for your husband. I was on Folfox(12 rounds two weeks apart). If needed, I would advise your husband to get a port. It will be life saver for his veins. Please get back when you know his chemo plan. I can give you advise on Folfox...and there are others here who can comment on other chemo plans. My advise presently is to stay calm and don't read google because each person is different, and you can't use overall statistics to determine the outcome of any individual. Once a plan has been determined, it will get easier. There will be a goal, and tell your husband to stay positive. It sounds trite, but it will get him through a lot and help his outcome. Andre

Yes, definitely a wait and see situation. I guess that sums up the whole cancer journey really...always waiting for results/treatment plans!
Thank you though, I will get back to the forum once we find out. Will stay calm, positive and not google too much!

LivinginHope wrote:...Thank you though, I will get back to the forum once we find out. Will stay calm, positive and not google too much

It is important to think through all of the available options for chemo infusion before going to talk to the oncologist. You need to fully understand what is involved so that the best solution is chosen for you.

https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/patient-education/your-implanted-port

The same goes for a number of other treatment-related options. You need to know about all of the possible options in advance so that you can have a productive conversation with the oncologist. It's too late if you just wait passively for the oncologist to finally tell you what the plan will be. You need to have meaningful input to the plan.

From my experience, I think the sooner a plan is established the better. When healed, I started chemo as soon as I could after surgery.

I was stage 3 and went through resection and chemo also. Every single time I looked up charts with any statistics (survival, recurrence, etc) it only accomplished one thing: causing me tremendous worry and anguish. I got to the point where I decided I was going to deal with anything bad that came up but stop trying to predict what would/wouldn't happen.

You also have to remember that a lot of the statistics can be skewed because so many CC patients are much older.

Sending good vibes to you both.

I was 39 at diagnosis- stage 3 in 2017
Had surgery and chemo (folfox)
no recurrence so far

Yes, i can offer some pointers if ihis cheno is folfox. I will wait for an update from you,
I too recommend staying active even in treatment when possible. My onc said that can be huge in cancer prevention. With Folfox there is cold sensitivity, so walking outside probably wont be possible depending on your climate, but a stationary bike could work.

And yes- I say go with a chest port for chemo access

ksue

ANDRETEXAS wrote:...and tell your husband to stay positive. It sounds trite, but it will get him through a lot and help his outcome. Andre

André is right. Being positive and stress-free is one of the three pillars of survivorship, according to Dr. Servan-Schreiber, author of AntiCancer.

https://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=59611&p=473473#p473473