i had biopsy today doc said looked malignant it is 5 by 7 cm tumor in my colon HELP HELP WHAT DO I D

I was where you are now 1 and 1/2 years ago. It totally sucks but this is doable. Take a breath, one step at a time. They will probably start you on chemo to shrink the tumor and then cut it out or cut it out and give you chemo. Folfox, folfiri and/or Avastan are common drugs for what we have. They have side effects but nothing you can't handle. I had emend for nausea and it worked great. I didn't lose my hair. You may or may not end up with a bag and it may or may not be permanent. It all depends on where thing are, size etc.

When they remove it they will look at it and also take out nearby lymph nodes and check them for cancer. This will 'stage' you from 1 to 4. All are curable especially 1 to 3, but even 4. People know it's scary as hell and you'll be inspired how they step up. We here have your back, I have your back! You can do this, I know it! Enough for now, keep us posted, lots of good advice here.

Be strong!

Easyflip/Richard 

Lovekitties said:

Hi Bruce

Welcome to the group that everyone wishes wasn't necessary but is thankful to have for support and information.

I am so very sorry that you find yourself in this situation.  You are not alone in having a delayed diagnosis, but that doesn't make you feel any better.

First of all...take a deep breath...from here on out you need to be able to gain information so that you can make informed decisions about what to do.

Have they done a CT and/or PET scan to determine if there is any spread elsewhere?

Have they done blood work to check what is called CEA?  For some patients it is a good marker to watch for improvement from treatments, for some it doesn't.  Some doctors like to do just one at least to see if it is a good indicator.

If you go surfing the net, stay away from the stats as they are not indicative of how you will do.  Even the most current are based on patients treated years ago.  Also every person is an individual case...you can always be on the good side of any stat.

Also if you are reading any aticles or papers about cancer on the net or elsewhere make sure to check the date.  There is lots of old stuff out there.

Are you still in the Army?  I ask because that may change how and who treats you from here on out.  Most all of our members have private doctors/oncologists and facilities.

Know that you can ask anything here and there will likely be someone who can help.  You can also come here to vent, cry, shout, whatever.  We can relate.

Please hang out with us.  Lots of caring and knowledgeable folks here.

Marie who loves kitties

Colorectal cancer is usually slow growing so you should be okay for a while until they get things figured out. I was diagnosed with a tumour Dec 31, 2013 and have had an ostemy, chemo and radiation to reduce the size of the tumour to give my surgeon more room to make sure he got it all, surgery to remove the tumour, and am now haing followup chemo to clean up any cells that might have escaped. My tumour was the size of a large chicken egg which might be a comparabe sixe to yours and had almost completely blocked off my colon. I was staged as a stage 4 due to having 3 lymph nodes involved. My surgeon says he expects to cure me.  I don't know but I hope he's right. I've been through some pretty crappy times but am feeling great right now other than some aches and pains. The ostemy will be reversed after this round of chemo, probably early next year.

One problem with this, however, is that the cancer is different for everyone and the side effects from treatment is also different for everybody so nobody can say what to expect or how it will likely go. All I can say is try not to panic, colorectal cancer is one of the most treatable cancers. 'They' say it's the one to get if you had a choice. I was supposed to have a colonoscopy two years before I finally got one- which couldn't be done because of the size of the tumour- and my tumour was probably around then.

You've come to the right place, by the way.

You are going to love us here. Chock full of info, advice, caring hearts and knowledge only fellow sufferers and their caregivers can share. 

Im typing from my iPad, which I find difficult, so I'll say one thing:

Get a notebook, write down everything that you are feeling, physically and emotionally. Your Oncologist is there for you, so go through your list with him at each appointment. 

Become a regular here, you will not regret it. 

Sue - Trubrit

Hi Bruce:

I am new at CSN too but I was diagnosed in November 2013, I wish I had found this site before. My Drs. don't want to do surgery because of the many tumors I have in the liver. The chemo seems to be working because the tumors are shrinking............. I am the type of person that wants things done for yesterday so it sort of makes me uncomfortable that the results of the CTs are not where I would like them to be.... but I am learning to be patient.

Some things I have learned through these months of anguish is that I have to be patient with myself and take one day at a time. Every morning I have the choice of looking at myself in the mirror and start crying, crawl back to bed and adopt fetal position or give my best smile and tell myself that I will do the best I can and enjoy the day, thanks God that 90% of the time I decide to take the second option. Attitude helps a lot, trying to mange stress is key and a second or third opinion will give some peace of mind.

I wish all the best through these rough times.

Pilar