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Any Different After a Break?
Hey guys. I am amazed at how much easier the soreness has been in the past couple of days for me. Six weeks was the magic turning pointl. I still hurt and my energy is not the same but I am in so much more of a better place than I was a week or so ago. I was wondering about the second round of chemo I will start soon. Once…
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Help Interpreting Scan Results
I just got PET scan results in my online med chart, but don't see the doc until April 17…he's on vacation. I'm googling, but would love some help interpreting what I'm reading. I had colon cancer with resection 5 years ago. Stage IIIb. CEA levels have been steady between .5 and 1.8 until 6 weeks ago. Then they went to 7.9,…
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Targeted Drugs
Does anyone have experience with targeted drugs? I am currently between treatments while we find something to work at killing the two new lung lesions since they grew on folfox. Since I have been off chemo for 3 weeks, the lesions are still small (biggest is 1.1 cm) and I am realtively healthy, my oncologist wants me to go…
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Another major surgery
We met with my surgeon this morning. After a discussion and an update on where things stand now, we’ve got a plan of action. First, we’re not doing anything about the fluid collection right away. I’ll continue taking dilaudid as needed. We also talked about the various surgeries to lower my risk of further cancers as a…
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New to this
Hi! 1/31 Colonoscopy - I had been passing blood. 5 inch tumor. Nothing else lit up in the CT scan done that day except a very teeny tiny spot on my lung. 2/25 Colon resection. Was in the hospital for 10 days due to complications post-op. Stage 3b - 1 lymph node. Oncologist visited me in the hospital and said he wasn’t…
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Steroid Receptor
So as a result of my chemo, I developed dry eye syndrome. I tried many OTC eye drops and nothing helped. I finally went to the optometrist and they prescribed steroid eye drops and anti-bacterial gel. I did that for a week and went back for a follow up. when you go to the optometrist, the first thing they do is an eye…
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Surgery scheduled
So I finally got in for my MRI on Monday, and the results were good (or is it just not bad?). The CT in February was also normal. Today I had an appointment with the surgeon, and she said because the scan results showed no evidence of disease the plan would be for no chemoradiation before surgery and if lymph nodes test…
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Some sort of PTSD
Is this just me? No matter what I am going in for, chemo, scan results, whatever, I always have this fear in the back of my mind that he is going to tell me something is horribly wrong, and I must be hospitalized immediately, or that I have 2 weeks to live, or something along those lines. I am wondering if it is just me,…
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Visit to Surgeon - Another 4 Months
We went to see surgeon yesterday in hopes of obtaining date to have reversal surgery done on ileostomy. Should of known it would be something else that doctors neglect to inform their patients about. We now have to wait until mop up chemo is complete which will be middle of July as surgeon cannot perform surgery while…
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Hall Pass For Two More Weeks...
I got back to my moutain place yesterday. After having labs drawn (all looked good), I hit the road. It has been six weeks since surgery. Honestly, this weekend was the first time I actually thought I might turn the corner on this. This surgery was no picnic and I NEVER want to go thru anything like it again. I lost about…
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Surgery vs Cyber knife liver and lung
My sister has multiple smallish metastasis lighting up and liver and lungs. Her oncologist went to the tumor board and his thoughts were surgery on the liver and cyber knife on the lung with another round of big chemo afterwards. Yesterday my sister and I went to see the liver surgeon and had our first appointment with a…
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Stage 2A to Stage 4
Hi everyone, I was NED for 3 years, and my recent CT scan showed a new growth in my liver. When i was diagnosed in 2016 we decided on 6 sessions of chemo and 5 weeks of radiation after my surgery. My Oncologist told me I was considered stage 4 now, and we dont know what the plan of attack is until i get a PET and MRI. Has…
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fear over narcotic pain meds
It's been a while since i've posted here. I've been away from the board doing all kinds of fun things like swallowing Xeloda pills and laying inside a radiation machine. I have nine more treatments left before I get some time off to recuporate before surgery. For about three quarters of the radiation treatment I did well.…
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Cancer has taken almost everything now
Sorry, this is just a whine but this is the only place where people really understand about cancer and what it does. I just found out an hour ago that I owe over $10,000 for business taxes from the business I had to sell because I got cancer. We do not have that kind of money and just get by every month due to me not…
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Still has pain
Well Jim is still in a lot of pain. Tomorrow he is having an EDG done to check for an ulcer. I have begun to lose faith in the doctor that did his Y-90. He told us only 2% of patients could develop an ulcer, but I am reading 26% in studies....Which is it? Not that it matters really, the damage has been done, but I think he…
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Percentage question
I have a friend that had breast cancer about 7 years ago. She hasn't had a recurrance. She told me she's scared because her oncologist said there's a 50% chance it will come back. Here's my question. We all have an almost 50% chance of getting cancer including people that don't have it now. So doesn't that mean that she no…
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Anti-inlfammatory?
I have been having quite a bit of leg pain lately, possibly sciatica, or a different pinched nerve. I used to take aspirin liberally, but I have been warned to limit my use because of the risk of bleeding post-surgery. I tried iburprofen, but post-chemo, it caused some weird symptoms, so that is out. Prednisone is…