Newly diagnosed-hoping to talk with similar Stage 3 healthy, active, descent diet...

NewHere said:

Welcome

Sorry you have to have found this place, but it is a good one.  

I am Stage IIIC, surgery in Feb (11 out of 20 nodes positive) and just finished my 9th session of chemo. (Check my profile, has pretty much updated information).

A bit tired, some chemo brain and some numbness (this last round seemed to up the later effects) but managble and more annoyning than anything because I want to do more.  That being said, moving around helps a lot and I have a local minor league baseball team that I go to a lot of games since this started.  Good exercise walking around the stadium and a big plus mentally.  

There was a recent post about stats.  And the repsonse you will get here is screw the stats.  Some are based on older numbers and everyone is different.  There are many here who are past 5 years and also Stage IV.  I was in pretty good shape, no medical conditions, other than this.  Doc said to me that based on that, even if I need more "work" that they can knock out whatever comes down the road.  And I am a decade older than you  

Try to worry too much, keep on doing things you enjoy.  Laugh, smile and try not to get too bogged down in worry.  Get the information you need from the docs and here.  

Hang in there, the 6 months of chemo goes pretty quickly, it has for me anyway.  And I have been pretty good in not getting too hammered by it.

 

 

I was a stage 3 as well with

I was a stage 3 as well with 3 out of 11 lymph nodes involved. My surgery was last June /14. So far everything has come back showing the cancer hasn't spread or come back. I have a ct scan this Friday so that will give me more accurate results than the CEA results which are below 3 every time they've checked. I also had two follow up colonoscopies about 7 months ago which showed nothing. In a few months I'll be starting to have them regularly to stay on top of things. I'm now 52 and was diagnosed at 50. I had no indication at all I had colon cancer because the symptoms were hidden by the IBS I've had for all of my adult life.

I don't eat as well as I should and haven't been getting the exercise I should because I had a subsequest blood clot to my lung in December/14 and almost died. I was in a coma and woke from it totally paralyzed and only began walking again on my own at the end of March of this year. I've been planning to look into that tea that's supposed to be so good for keeping cancer at bay. I wish I could remember the name. It's the name of the nurse that discovered it spelled backwards. Sorry, I wish I could say it's chemo brain but my memory was bad before the cancer. Essee somthing or something like that. Of all the information people have given me about how to prevent it from coming back this is the only one that actually interested me.

I had no issues- other than extreme fatigue- with my first round of chemo but had neuropathy issues with the follow up chemo which included the oxyplatin. During the first round of chemo I was also undergoing radiation so I'm not sure which one caused the fatigue or if it was the combination. On mt follow up chemo, which I was hesitant to do, I was going to tell my oncologist that I wasn't going to complete the treatments the week that I had the blood clot and ended up hospitalized for almost four months. I did complete 8 of 12.

The blood clot was worse than dealing with the cancer but I'm getting nearly back to normal and can ride my horse again although I need assistance getting the saddle on him. I'm just starting to look for a job again, too.

I hope this is helpful in some way. Good luck!

Jan

Fatherjohn said:

Thanks Jan

Jan

thank you for your message. Best of luck to you on Friday - you'll be in my thoughts! I will look into that tea as well as some of the other complimentary appraoches I have been hearing about. I think I fall into the category of western medicine with other dietary supplements that could only help my health. I luckily have an amazing wife who is also a chef/culinary teacher who focuses on healthy alternative cooking methods.

One of things that has been so challenging is my new reality... spending time with loving relatives and friends knowing that every time they ask how I am doing they do so with a saddness and helplessness that reminds me of ... well ...you know. I spin things to a pretty positive place quickly, but this is a movie I never thought I'd be in.

Thanks for you support nad best to you Friday.

 

Quick to tell them

One of things that has been so challenging is my new reality... spending time with loving relatives and friends knowing that every time they ask how I am doing they do so with a saddness and helplessness that reminds me of ... well ...you know. 

I almost coudln't bear meeting with people after my initial diagnosis. So many would openly cry (I am much loved. HA!); in fact, I think some of my friends cried more than I did, at the news. 

I was quick to ask people NOT to treat me like I was dead or dying. That doing so was of no help to me. And I told them, and tell them to this day, that I am going to live until I die, and thus, treat me as such. 

I was initially Stage III, then got bumped up when they found a tumour in the liver, which they dealt with promptly 13 months ago. Since then, clear scans. 

I have my next CT Scan on Monday, followed by blood work; and then I go back to see my Oncologist the following week. 

Its party time on the foum when we get clear scans, or even good news. You will find much information and help here, and realize quickly that its not a 'doom and gloom' forum at all. 

Welcome, again. 

Sue - Trubrit

Trubrit said:

Quick to tell them

One of things that has been so challenging is my new reality... spending time with loving relatives and friends knowing that every time they ask how I am doing they do so with a saddness and helplessness that reminds me of ... well ...you know. 

I almost coudln't bear meeting with people after my initial diagnosis. So many would openly cry (I am much loved. HA!); in fact, I think some of my friends cried more than I did, at the news. 

I was quick to ask people NOT to treat me like I was dead or dying. That doing so was of no help to me. And I told them, and tell them to this day, that I am going to live until I die, and thus, treat me as such. 

I was initially Stage III, then got bumped up when they found a tumour in the liver, which they dealt with promptly 13 months ago. Since then, clear scans. 

I have my next CT Scan on Monday, followed by blood work; and then I go back to see my Oncologist the following week. 

Its party time on the foum when we get clear scans, or even good news. You will find much information and help here, and realize quickly that its not a 'doom and gloom' forum at all. 

Welcome, again. 

Sue - Trubrit

oncologist visit

I had been seeing my oncologist on a six month cycle-Jan & Jul. Now being NED for last 5 years she declared me healthy( as if 20 years younger) and needing only annual visits.  Not bad for an 83 year old!  LOL