TiredandTroubled wrote:... Can anyone please give me some ... tips on how to make it through this?
The best tip I can think of right now is for you to read the past posts of some of the Stage III-B patients here who made it to complete remission by the 5-year follow-up milestone.
One such Stage III-B is member
lpas, who did an enormous amount of research at the very beginning and took action on the basis of what she discovered from reliable sources. She has now posted more than 1,000 posts, and has been in remission since last year. Another Stage III-B member of interest is
Jannine.
One resource worth ckecking out is this Life Extension article on chemotherapy. It gives documented information on a variety of alternative medications and nutrients that could be useful for complementing standard chemo regimens to make them more effective, and for reducing various toxic side effects of standard chemo regimens.
https://www.lifeextension.com/Protocols/Cancer/Chemotherapy/Page-01Another resource is member
rp1954, who has posted many messages about various supplementary tests and treatment add-ons that might be of help. He just recently posted this message,
https://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&p=509905#p509905but he has many, many more posts in his message archive that could be of help to Stage III-B patients who take the time to read his past posts on extra biomarker tests and supplementary treatment options, for example:
https://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=54838p=435438#p435438Member
rp1954 has written about these and other issues many times. Here are some examples of his posts on the value of having good, comprehensive baseline data to work with during the 5-year surveillance period:
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=55285&p=438646#p438646http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=52840&p=416346#p416346http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=50038&p=380871#p380871rp1954 Plan Bhttps://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=65791&p=510001#p510001.
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Also, there are these resources from the MSKCC Integrative Medicine Center that might be worth considering:
Bendheim Integrative Medicine Center
1429 First Avenue New York NY 10021https://www.mskcc.org/locations/directory/bendheim-integrative-medicineFrom boosting your overall sense of well-being to managing your pain, we offer specialized advice and programs that can help you:
- better handle side effects from chemotherapy and radiation minimize anxiety, depression, and stress
- understand your herb, vitamin, and other dietary supplement options
- prevent and treat lymphedema control fatigue, europathy, dry mouth, hot flashes, and other symptoms
- improve muscle strength, balance, and endurance reduce pain and muscle tension
- tap into and experience the power of controlling your breath
Reference:
https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/diagnosis-treatment/symptom-management/integrative-medicine
Integrative Medicine - MSKCChttps://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/diagnosis-treatment/symptom-management/integrative-medicinePersonal Care Plan - MSKCChttps://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/diagnosis-treatment/symptom-management/integrative-medicine/expertise.
Herbal medicine for depression and anxiety: A systematic review with assessment of potential psycho-oncologic relevancehttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29464801/Long-term chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) treatment for generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized clinical trialhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27912875/====
ADDENDUM - August 17
Now, 3 weeks have passed since your surgery took place. You have already received the pathology report from your surgery, but have you had your CEA tested since surgery? This is important.
Normally, a post-surgery CEA is taken a few weeks after surgery inflammation has subsided. This measurement is needed to see if CEA has returned to normal. CEA should be in the normal range by now, assuming that all visible cancer was successfully removed by your colectomy surgery. If CEA has not returned to normal by now, then it means either (a) some residual cancer still remains in the body, or (b) some benign condition is triggering an elevated CEA, or (c) something else. Whatever the reason, a persistent elevated CEA would need to be checked out. This might have implications for the type of 1st-line chemotherapy chosen.
Normally, doctors like to start adjuvant chemotherapy within 6 weeks of the primary surgery, so time is of the essence right now. Only a short time remains to take care of all the things that need to be done before the start of chemotherapy.