Colon Cancer Treatments and Decisions

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  • RickMurtagh
    RickMurtagh Member Posts: 587 Member
    #42
    smokeyjoe said:

    Rick it sounds like you've
    Rick it sounds like you've recovered from your recent ordeal, training for a triathalon is GREAT!!!! Did they ever figure out what the heck was going on, was it an infection or what???

    Infection
    Yes, it was a chronic infection, ate away part of my sacrum, gave me a blockage and everything. The only indication that it might not be cancer (other than a mess of biopsies) was that my CEA did not rise, but that was never a good indicator for me anyways. Now that the drugs have all been consumed it is a just sit and wait situation. My last biopsy (an area they did not want to go into during the surgery for the permanent ileo) showed nothing but scar tissue. My blockage and therefore ileo remain. That scar tissue is not likely to shrink and open up my jpouch. Too little small intestine left to mess with it more, unless I want to guarantee lifetime IV treatments and tube feeding. No thank you! After two years I am really starting to live a better life. Still tired like an old dog, but doing well - thanks for asking.

    If only I could manage to get a job, life would be really great. Selling the house and moving someplace cheaper really sucks, but hey, it is all better than dying of cancer.
  • PGLGreg
    PGLGreg Member Posts: 731
    #43
    Well, of course doctors tend
    Well, of course doctors tend to recommend what is good for most people. Isn't that what they should be doing? Aren't you a person? However, I can think of a possible, conditional, rationale for you not following the recommendation of getting more colon removed. That's a lot of polyps, 40, and your doctor may be making his recommendation on the basis of statistics which include patients who didn't continue with prudent colonoscopies to remove polyps, as they occur. If you're sure that you will continue to have frequent colonoscopies to clip out those polyps that your colon seems to like to raise, maybe your odds for remaining cancer free will be better than typical. At any rate, this might be an issue worth raising with your doctor.

    --Greg

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