Any other stage2's doctor says no chemo needed
victorymom
Member Posts: 2
I had stage 2 colon cancer that was removed did not spread anywhere else.possibly have lynch disease.Doctor says I do not need chemo.Does anyone else have had this recommendation and has it worked for you?
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Comments
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stage 2 no chemo
I too was not offered chemo. I had surgery to remove a pretty big polyp and then when the biopsy showed cancer, they recommended I have more surgery but the oncologist and the surgeon said no chemo or radiation was needed. I declined the surgery and turned to alternative therapy. I had a check up at six months that showed no signs of cancer. I am a few weeks away from my one year mark and a colonoscopy. I guess in a few weeks I will see if the choices made were good or not.
I actually had two opinions from different surgeons, an opinion from my general doctor, and an oncologist.
It is always good to get a second opinion or more if needed
best wishes0 -
stage 2 no chemo
I too was not offered chemo. I had surgery to remove a pretty big polyp and then when the biopsy showed cancer, they recommended I have more surgery but the oncologist and the surgeon said no chemo or radiation was needed. I declined the surgery and turned to alternative therapy. I had a check up at six months that showed no signs of cancer. I am a few weeks away from my one year mark and a colonoscopy. I guess in a few weeks I will see if the choices made were good or not.
I actually had two opinions from different surgeons, an opinion from my general doctor, and an oncologist.
It is always good to get a second opinion or more if needed
best wishes0 -
stage 2 no chemo
I too was not offered chemo. I had surgery to remove a pretty big polyp and then when the biopsy showed cancer, they recommended I have more surgery but the oncologist and the surgeon said no chemo or radiation was needed. I declined the surgery and turned to alternative therapy. I had a check up at six months that showed no signs of cancer. I am a few weeks away from my one year mark and a colonoscopy. I guess in a few weeks I will see if the choices made were good or not.
I actually had two opinions from different surgeons, an opinion from my general doctor, and an oncologist.
It is always good to get a second opinion or more if needed
best wishes0 -
Dr. Does Not Advise for Stage II
Hi Victory,
At the Mayo Clinic, renowned for cancer and research, they do not advise chemo for Stage I or II. They claim surgery is curative for these stages. I was Stage III and declined chemo and my oncologist was dx'ed with Stage II colon cancer and only had surgery as was advised by his own clinic.
We both are doing great.
Consider yourself blessed that you do not have to submit yourself to serious cytotoxic chemicals that can potentially contribute to chemo-induced luekemia and/or secondary cancers not to mention permanent heart and/or kidney damage.
So yes, it HAS worked for me at Stage III *(but I did plenty of alternatives to help heal--I didn't just do the surgery and continue my life as before).
I hope this helps.
peace, emily0 -
brn to ridebrn2ride said:stage 2 no chemo
I too was not offered chemo. I had surgery to remove a pretty big polyp and then when the biopsy showed cancer, they recommended I have more surgery but the oncologist and the surgeon said no chemo or radiation was needed. I declined the surgery and turned to alternative therapy. I had a check up at six months that showed no signs of cancer. I am a few weeks away from my one year mark and a colonoscopy. I guess in a few weeks I will see if the choices made were good or not.
I actually had two opinions from different surgeons, an opinion from my general doctor, and an oncologist.
It is always good to get a second opinion or more if needed
best wishes
i am curious brn to ride where was the cancer in your polyp? at the tip? base? I also had a large polyp removed,(3 cm) and since mine was at the base i have to go through chemo. And only because it was at the base i had to have a resection as well.If i had not had the resection then i would not have known it was in 1 lymph node, but they said had the cancer been in the tip instead i would not have needed chemo.
As far as answering the original question by the poster, I think alot depends on the aggressiveness, the depth of invasion, etc..whether you should get it or not. Were you stage II a or IIb etc? there are alot of studies out there you can look up. Good luck with whatever you decide. I would definitely get more than 1 opinion.0 -
2ND OPINION &?2bhealed said:Dr. Does Not Advise for Stage II
Hi Victory,
At the Mayo Clinic, renowned for cancer and research, they do not advise chemo for Stage I or II. They claim surgery is curative for these stages. I was Stage III and declined chemo and my oncologist was dx'ed with Stage II colon cancer and only had surgery as was advised by his own clinic.
We both are doing great.
Consider yourself blessed that you do not have to submit yourself to serious cytotoxic chemicals that can potentially contribute to chemo-induced luekemia and/or secondary cancers not to mention permanent heart and/or kidney damage.
So yes, it HAS worked for me at Stage III *(but I did plenty of alternatives to help heal--I didn't just do the surgery and continue my life as before).
I hope this helps.
peace, emily
I would definitely get a 2nd opinion. I too have heard no chemco 1 and 2-chemo stage 3 and 4. But I have also read survival rates are better now for Stage 3 than Stage 2 due to the addition of Chemo. There is allot of conflicting information and everyone's body is different. Until there is a cure...I guess we will all be questioning and wondering and have to do what we feel is the best, most educated answer we can give ourselves. Emily~I would like to know more about what you types of alternatives you are adding to your life. In a past post I think you mentioned juicing. My husband had Stage3b-and did finish Chemo. I am trying to make changes in adding excercise(daily) and diet changes to help his physical well being. Any advice, please share! JMarie0 -
I am not sure if it was the base or tip
I am not sure if the base or tip was cancerous. they removed a pretty big area when they removed the polyp and cut down into the middle layer of the rectum. the biopsy showed no lymph nodes affected that they removed with the polyp. I had the biopsy sent to an oncologist and he is the one who explained it to me. he also is the one that told me about the alternatives to surgery and no chemo.0 -
something to consider
I had Stage II rectal cancer with pre-op chemo and rads.
After surgery I saw numerous oncologists. 2 oncologist and my surgeon recommended additional chemo. So I took 6 months of Xeloda. The choice was mine. But given my relatively young age (38) and looking at my kids, I decided to be safe than sorry. it was a painful decision at the time. But looking back, I'm very glad I did it. I'll be celebrating my 1 year anniversary of finishing the last dose this weekend.0 -
An Interesting Read....
Hello again, Victory Mom!
Ugh...talk about confusing, eh?
You've now heard several different experiences from Stage II survivors, but ultimately you need to consider what your doctors tell you about YOUR SPECIFIC case.
While chemo has generally not been indicated for Stage II patients, I believe this protocol is changing, depending on a patient's individual case.
For instance, technically I was a Stage IIB - T4-N0-MX/0, however my onc staged me at III because of the extensive tumor growth outside the colon into surrounding tissues and because my tumor was poorly differentiated, which is more aggressive. By staging me at III, she was able to get past insurance issues and give me Oxaliplatin (a chemo drug, usually used for Stage III and IV). She took an aggressive approach because of my age (42), my family history (I do have Lynch Syndrome-HNPCC), and because it was unclear of the potential distant organ mets - small cyst/growth on my liver that could not be seen during surgery because of the location.
Check out the attached website:
http://www.cancer.net/patient/ASCO+Resources/Patient+Guides/ASCO+Patient+Guide:+Adjuvant+Chemotherapy+for+Stage+II+Colon+Cancer
If you're feeling uncertain about your current onc's suggestion of no chemo, I encourage you to get a second opinion...just to ease your mind. Only an oncologist who fully reviews your specific case and all of your medical records can give you an informed choice or recommendation.
Let us know what you decide and know that we're here for you for support and friendship...
Many blessings for good health and peace...
Katie0 -
AlternativesJMARIE66 said:2ND OPINION &?
I would definitely get a 2nd opinion. I too have heard no chemco 1 and 2-chemo stage 3 and 4. But I have also read survival rates are better now for Stage 3 than Stage 2 due to the addition of Chemo. There is allot of conflicting information and everyone's body is different. Until there is a cure...I guess we will all be questioning and wondering and have to do what we feel is the best, most educated answer we can give ourselves. Emily~I would like to know more about what you types of alternatives you are adding to your life. In a past post I think you mentioned juicing. My husband had Stage3b-and did finish Chemo. I am trying to make changes in adding excercise(daily) and diet changes to help his physical well being. Any advice, please share! JMarie
Hi JMarie,
Well, let's see.....I consulted with a Naturopathic Doctor who helped me figure out a supplement protocol. Then on to a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner in Minneapolis who spent an entire day with me counseling, acupuncture, massage, lymphatic drainage, aromatherapy, reflexology and having me take herbs, do organic coffee enemas, detoxing, drinking Essiac Tea....I tried a lot.
I did the juicing on my own and chose to follow a vegan macrobiotic diet for 6 months to cleanse and detox my system. I continue to juice. :-)
I still go for massage and reflexology. I love the bodywork and continue to dig to deeper levels for releasing toxic emotions.
I also reignited a yoga practice and continued to exercise (I have always been an exerciser--keeps me sane with 5 kids! who I home schooled).
You can read my Webpage on here. It will tell you all about it.
Hope this helps!
peace, emily0 -
Stage II Survivor
I was DX with Stage II Colon Cancer in July 06 with no signs of spreadings or no lymph node involvement. I had emergency surgery to find this out. I had server symptoms that drove me to the ER within 48 hours.
My surgeon (great man), told me he got all the tumor (was left with a temp ostomy), but since it was cancer he wanted me to see an oncologist and provided me a recommendation.
I meet with the Oncologist Doctor and he informed me that I was Stage II and that industry standard (2006) was adjunant chemotherapy (Mosaic Study) for precautionary measures due to the chance of having micro cells floating around, but it was my decision. Keep in mind that I was still overwhelmend with being told I had cancer, having surgery, recovering, etc., so luckily I have a GREAT husband and soaked everything in like a sponge.
After speaking with my family and friends, I decided to do the chemo, FLOFOX. I did 6 rounds due to side effects and have been NED ever since.
What made me decide to do chemo was a saying my father would always tell me "damn'd if you do and damn'd if you don't". He would tell me this when I would complain about the cost of health insurance and car insurance.
This is a decision you must make and it will be difficult and hard, but I will provide my opinion. Do the chemo.
Please keep us posted on your journey as you are now part of our family, the semi-colons.0 -
study
i happened on this very detailed study of stage II and chemo today. Thought i would share the link
http://www.annalssurgicaloncology.org/cgi/content/full/13/6/8870 -
Thanks
I want to thank everyone for sharing. I finally found another doctor for a second opinion. I do not have good insurance so I was also worried that that was why docter said no chemo.He said stage 2 does not always get chemo unless high risk of recurence such as the gene I have,but he suggested no chemo.We asked if we should get a second opinion and he said yes if you can find a doctor who takes your insurance.so I found one and will see him on the 23rd.I will let everyone know what happens.Thanks for sharing your stories with me.It shows really anything can happen either way.I am encouraged though.One more thing,I had surgery 22 days ago and not had chemo yet but I keep throwing almost everything up and they cannot find a reason.Has this happened to anyone else not on chemo?0 -
I'd reconsider chemo
Hi,
I'd talk to another Dr. about the possibility of chemo, if I were you. I've heard other instances of people having stage 2, not having chemo, then having a recurrence later also. My situation was that I was diagnosed as stage 4 with my initial diagnosis and nothing showed up in any of my lymph nodes. Since no lymph nodes showed up, I was initially staged as a stage 2, but 2 days later my CT showed it was also in my liver & lungs- obviously a stage 4. When dismayed how that could be & that it must have been in lymph system after all, I was told & have also read that colorectal cancer can sometimes spread directly through the bloodstream, bypassing the lymph system. It's not as common, but is possible. The whole year through my chemo, radiation, surgery, etc., nothing ever showed up in any lymph nodes for me until just this past month- in my lung on a PET scan. Not to scare you, but I think I would insist on chemo if I were you just to make sure and as a preventative in case there are any cancer cell floating around in your bloodstream, like my situation.
Best wishes to you-
Lisa0 -
Ditto
Ditto to Lisa's response. I am a Stage 2, no lymph node
involvement in 2004 and this year had recurrence to liver and
surgery and now chemo. It does go sometimes to the blood instead
of lymph nodes; I will always wonder if this would have happened
if I had chemo in 2004.0 -
This comment has been removed by the Moderatordixchi said:Ditto
Ditto to Lisa's response. I am a Stage 2, no lymph node
involvement in 2004 and this year had recurrence to liver and
surgery and now chemo. It does go sometimes to the blood instead
of lymph nodes; I will always wonder if this would have happened
if I had chemo in 2004.0 -
Friable Tumorsunknown said:This comment has been removed by the Moderator
In my case my tumor was "multi-lobulated and highly friable" (broke apart easily), and bled significantly on the inside and outside of my colon. Since it perforated my colon with significant growth outside the colon into my abdomen it caused concern that I could have distant organ mets without lymph nodes being affected. Look at your colonoscopy and/or surgical pathology reports and see if the word "friable" is noted. If so, ask your doctor if that should influence your choice for chemo...
Cancer tip: Always ask for your reports, scans, test results, records etc...and keep your own binder(s). This makes it easy for you to know all about your specific cancer, formulate questions for your doctors, and share medical records with other health care providers. I kept two binders for my colon cancer - one for medical records and the other for general information about cancer (reference materials, drug fact sheets, etc.), and I have now started my third binder - a combo for the stomach issue and gyno stuff. I also keep a current scanned copy of my medical records, which makes it very easy when I see new doctors. Last week when I presented my new gyno-oncologist with my medical records on CD he made a funny comment about my organizational skills....hmmm...was he calling me an anal control freak? It's been a big help for me and allowed me a feeling of control of my situation.0
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