rectum cancer

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  • Melanie781
    Melanie781 Member Posts: 33
    My husband, at age 52, was dx Stage IIIC rectal cancer last December. His treatment started with 25 treatments of radiation w/taking Xeloda every day he went to radiation (weekdays only) with the hope of shrinking the tumor before surgery. The radiation caused very painful burns which were treated with Silvidene cream, only available by prescription. Also, he didn't have any hand-foot syndrome symptoms at all, but he had severe diahhrea and nausea which were controlled with Ativan and Lorazapam and lots of Immodium AD. Then he had the surgery and a permanent colostomy. He is now receiving adjuvant chemotherapy with an Oxaliplatin infusion at the beginning of each round. The rounds consist of 14 days taking Xeloda and 7 days off. His onc wants him to do 6 to 8 rounds. The 3rd round side-effects were pretting bad, but the 4th and 5th have been much better. Now we only have to go through 1 more to finish. He has to control the constant diahhrea and nausea with meds and he is now exhibiting hand-foot syndrome. Also, he suffers from nueuropathy the first few days of each round. I'm told this can become permanent, but hopefully not! Throughout this whole journey, my husband has gained weight (go figure.) He is also very tired all the time and relies on a cane to get around for long periods of walking.

    All my best to your Dad. A positive attitude is what keeps my husband going; it's very important to keep the spirits up (for all of you!)

    Hugs,
    ~Melanie
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member

    My husband, at age 52, was dx Stage IIIC rectal cancer last December. His treatment started with 25 treatments of radiation w/taking Xeloda every day he went to radiation (weekdays only) with the hope of shrinking the tumor before surgery. The radiation caused very painful burns which were treated with Silvidene cream, only available by prescription. Also, he didn't have any hand-foot syndrome symptoms at all, but he had severe diahhrea and nausea which were controlled with Ativan and Lorazapam and lots of Immodium AD. Then he had the surgery and a permanent colostomy. He is now receiving adjuvant chemotherapy with an Oxaliplatin infusion at the beginning of each round. The rounds consist of 14 days taking Xeloda and 7 days off. His onc wants him to do 6 to 8 rounds. The 3rd round side-effects were pretting bad, but the 4th and 5th have been much better. Now we only have to go through 1 more to finish. He has to control the constant diahhrea and nausea with meds and he is now exhibiting hand-foot syndrome. Also, he suffers from nueuropathy the first few days of each round. I'm told this can become permanent, but hopefully not! Throughout this whole journey, my husband has gained weight (go figure.) He is also very tired all the time and relies on a cane to get around for long periods of walking.

    All my best to your Dad. A positive attitude is what keeps my husband going; it's very important to keep the spirits up (for all of you!)

    Hugs,
    ~Melanie

    I just went through the same regimen as Nicks Dad
    Here ya go as it played out for me.....
    - Rectal Cancer Tumor was golfball size at the base of my rectum...
    - 5 weeks of 5fu drip 24/7 and 25 radiation treatments...
    - No side effects except a tender tail due to sunburn... ANSWER>>> Aquaphor......
    - Surgery 5 weeks after Chemo/Radiation treatment was completed...
    - Surgery was Tuesday Morning (6 hrs) was checking out of hospital Friday at 11 am to go home...
    - They removed my inner spincter muscle, rectum, and placed a permanent ostomy in my sigmoid...
    - I couldn't sit down for 5 weeks then all of a sudden it was ok...
    - Standing was at best 4 hours until I had to lay back down and rest...
    - It feels like a pair of socks have been stuck up my tail and sewn up in there but it feels a little more comfortable everyday and I can sit now with ease...
    - I am now on a 6 month regimen of Oxiliplatin and Leucouvrin with 5fu. every other Monday. Tuesday and then in Wednesday to remove the needle from the port.
    - I was released fully from my restrictions at 5 weeks and returned to full time work Sept 22...( My surgery was July 15th at Vanderbilt Ingram- Cancer Institute...
    - I was Staged with no lymph node involvement cat and Pet scans showed nothing except for the mass at my rectum which was isolated.
    - OK...I am a big coffee drinker also, and I also raise a big garden so except for age we are in the same boat. Drink your coffee when you can because there will be some days especially after his surgery and his post operative chemo that it will make him nauseous just to smell it, but that will pass,also tell him that my post op chemo is like a womans pregnancy, I take spells where I want the oddest things to eat at the oddest times but if I don't get it and eat it right then I can't stand to smell it in 30 minutes so eat what you can when you can.
    - I weighed 206 when I started my Chemo/Radiation treatments and got down to 182 up through the surgery, I am now up to 192 and am gaining about 2 pounds a week.
    - ************EXTREMELY IMPORTANT************** tell him by no means do not eat any cashews or nuts during radiation...I made that mistake and the next day when things started happening naturally it cut me like shards of glass...I went for 1 week with taking 2 lortabs every 6 hours and a steroid suppository every night for 7 nights. I hollered out loud and cried at every toilet visit. Also because of the tumor closing down on my rectum I was going about 6 times a day so you can figure about what I went through.
    - OK Surgery...My setup was like this...5% chance of infection in incisions no permanent harm only temporary setback(never happened)...10% chance of stitching up my rectum and tail hole not staying together because of radiation destruction of buttcheek tissue (didn't happen)...50% chance of the inability to have an erection or the ability to ejaculate...( didn't happen everything works fine) My wife actually gave him a tip for that one in gesture.
    - Lastly...Rofran for his post operative nausea and Prozac if he has emotional problems, do not fear what is not there. Do not fear anything at all, and above all plan for the future, put nothing on hold. Have a great attitude, for attitude is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
    - and also tell him I just had 6 ton of horse manure (humus) spread and cut into my garden spot getting ready for next year already.....Oh I am 54 years old...and the permanent ostomy is better than the old way...At least now I can see what Im doing...LOL...Good luck to you both...
  • CherylHutch
    CherylHutch Member Posts: 1,375

    My husband, at age 52, was dx Stage IIIC rectal cancer last December. His treatment started with 25 treatments of radiation w/taking Xeloda every day he went to radiation (weekdays only) with the hope of shrinking the tumor before surgery. The radiation caused very painful burns which were treated with Silvidene cream, only available by prescription. Also, he didn't have any hand-foot syndrome symptoms at all, but he had severe diahhrea and nausea which were controlled with Ativan and Lorazapam and lots of Immodium AD. Then he had the surgery and a permanent colostomy. He is now receiving adjuvant chemotherapy with an Oxaliplatin infusion at the beginning of each round. The rounds consist of 14 days taking Xeloda and 7 days off. His onc wants him to do 6 to 8 rounds. The 3rd round side-effects were pretting bad, but the 4th and 5th have been much better. Now we only have to go through 1 more to finish. He has to control the constant diahhrea and nausea with meds and he is now exhibiting hand-foot syndrome. Also, he suffers from nueuropathy the first few days of each round. I'm told this can become permanent, but hopefully not! Throughout this whole journey, my husband has gained weight (go figure.) He is also very tired all the time and relies on a cane to get around for long periods of walking.

    All my best to your Dad. A positive attitude is what keeps my husband going; it's very important to keep the spirits up (for all of you!)

    Hugs,
    ~Melanie

    Gaining Weight
    Melanie... the same thing happened to me!! Here I thought that when I went on chemo, if there was nothing positive to look forward to, at least I could look at it as the ultimate in diet plans!! LOL! Well, imagine my disappointment when I GAINED weight... didn't lose a lb! What a disappointment for a gal who has had to lose weight all her life and now, even a bout of cancer, chemo and radiation won't help in that department!

    I told my GP -- "Ok, Sean! I've gone so far as to have cancer, chemo and radiation and even with that I can't lose weight... so I don't want to ever hear you bug me about losing weight again!!" He said, "Alright, alright... you've made your point... but really, you didn't have to go as far as getting cancer to prove it!" LOL!!

    Huggggggs,

    Cheryl
  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member
    Buzzard said:

    I just went through the same regimen as Nicks Dad
    Here ya go as it played out for me.....
    - Rectal Cancer Tumor was golfball size at the base of my rectum...
    - 5 weeks of 5fu drip 24/7 and 25 radiation treatments...
    - No side effects except a tender tail due to sunburn... ANSWER>>> Aquaphor......
    - Surgery 5 weeks after Chemo/Radiation treatment was completed...
    - Surgery was Tuesday Morning (6 hrs) was checking out of hospital Friday at 11 am to go home...
    - They removed my inner spincter muscle, rectum, and placed a permanent ostomy in my sigmoid...
    - I couldn't sit down for 5 weeks then all of a sudden it was ok...
    - Standing was at best 4 hours until I had to lay back down and rest...
    - It feels like a pair of socks have been stuck up my tail and sewn up in there but it feels a little more comfortable everyday and I can sit now with ease...
    - I am now on a 6 month regimen of Oxiliplatin and Leucouvrin with 5fu. every other Monday. Tuesday and then in Wednesday to remove the needle from the port.
    - I was released fully from my restrictions at 5 weeks and returned to full time work Sept 22...( My surgery was July 15th at Vanderbilt Ingram- Cancer Institute...
    - I was Staged with no lymph node involvement cat and Pet scans showed nothing except for the mass at my rectum which was isolated.
    - OK...I am a big coffee drinker also, and I also raise a big garden so except for age we are in the same boat. Drink your coffee when you can because there will be some days especially after his surgery and his post operative chemo that it will make him nauseous just to smell it, but that will pass,also tell him that my post op chemo is like a womans pregnancy, I take spells where I want the oddest things to eat at the oddest times but if I don't get it and eat it right then I can't stand to smell it in 30 minutes so eat what you can when you can.
    - I weighed 206 when I started my Chemo/Radiation treatments and got down to 182 up through the surgery, I am now up to 192 and am gaining about 2 pounds a week.
    - ************EXTREMELY IMPORTANT************** tell him by no means do not eat any cashews or nuts during radiation...I made that mistake and the next day when things started happening naturally it cut me like shards of glass...I went for 1 week with taking 2 lortabs every 6 hours and a steroid suppository every night for 7 nights. I hollered out loud and cried at every toilet visit. Also because of the tumor closing down on my rectum I was going about 6 times a day so you can figure about what I went through.
    - OK Surgery...My setup was like this...5% chance of infection in incisions no permanent harm only temporary setback(never happened)...10% chance of stitching up my rectum and tail hole not staying together because of radiation destruction of buttcheek tissue (didn't happen)...50% chance of the inability to have an erection or the ability to ejaculate...( didn't happen everything works fine) My wife actually gave him a tip for that one in gesture.
    - Lastly...Rofran for his post operative nausea and Prozac if he has emotional problems, do not fear what is not there. Do not fear anything at all, and above all plan for the future, put nothing on hold. Have a great attitude, for attitude is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
    - and also tell him I just had 6 ton of horse manure (humus) spread and cut into my garden spot getting ready for next year already.....Oh I am 54 years old...and the permanent ostomy is better than the old way...At least now I can see what Im doing...LOL...Good luck to you both...

    Your story
    God bless you for putting your story in such detail! I am sure it will help a lot of people on here! You included about anything a person could think of and there is an awful lot of hope in there! Prayers for your continued great recovery.
    Mary
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    msccolon said:

    Your story
    God bless you for putting your story in such detail! I am sure it will help a lot of people on here! You included about anything a person could think of and there is an awful lot of hope in there! Prayers for your continued great recovery.
    Mary

    Surgery
    I forgot to mention that my surgery was done laproscopically through the stomach muscles and everything was removed through 2 incisions made on each side of the anus. My only pain was a slight bit where they stitched the intestine into my stomach (the intestines have no nerve endings) and where they sewed up my tail...I had some fluid buildup there and that was where most of the pain came from but ended when I squatted one day and it felt as if I had peed all over the place. It was the fluid from the incision had found a place to drain. The pain immediately went to near nothing because the pressure had been removed.
  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member
    Buzzard said:

    Surgery
    I forgot to mention that my surgery was done laproscopically through the stomach muscles and everything was removed through 2 incisions made on each side of the anus. My only pain was a slight bit where they stitched the intestine into my stomach (the intestines have no nerve endings) and where they sewed up my tail...I had some fluid buildup there and that was where most of the pain came from but ended when I squatted one day and it felt as if I had peed all over the place. It was the fluid from the incision had found a place to drain. The pain immediately went to near nothing because the pressure had been removed.

    Fluid draining
    OMG! Makes me cringe just to think of it!
    Mary
  • Nicksangels
    Nicksangels Member Posts: 41
    Buzzard said:

    I just went through the same regimen as Nicks Dad
    Here ya go as it played out for me.....
    - Rectal Cancer Tumor was golfball size at the base of my rectum...
    - 5 weeks of 5fu drip 24/7 and 25 radiation treatments...
    - No side effects except a tender tail due to sunburn... ANSWER>>> Aquaphor......
    - Surgery 5 weeks after Chemo/Radiation treatment was completed...
    - Surgery was Tuesday Morning (6 hrs) was checking out of hospital Friday at 11 am to go home...
    - They removed my inner spincter muscle, rectum, and placed a permanent ostomy in my sigmoid...
    - I couldn't sit down for 5 weeks then all of a sudden it was ok...
    - Standing was at best 4 hours until I had to lay back down and rest...
    - It feels like a pair of socks have been stuck up my tail and sewn up in there but it feels a little more comfortable everyday and I can sit now with ease...
    - I am now on a 6 month regimen of Oxiliplatin and Leucouvrin with 5fu. every other Monday. Tuesday and then in Wednesday to remove the needle from the port.
    - I was released fully from my restrictions at 5 weeks and returned to full time work Sept 22...( My surgery was July 15th at Vanderbilt Ingram- Cancer Institute...
    - I was Staged with no lymph node involvement cat and Pet scans showed nothing except for the mass at my rectum which was isolated.
    - OK...I am a big coffee drinker also, and I also raise a big garden so except for age we are in the same boat. Drink your coffee when you can because there will be some days especially after his surgery and his post operative chemo that it will make him nauseous just to smell it, but that will pass,also tell him that my post op chemo is like a womans pregnancy, I take spells where I want the oddest things to eat at the oddest times but if I don't get it and eat it right then I can't stand to smell it in 30 minutes so eat what you can when you can.
    - I weighed 206 when I started my Chemo/Radiation treatments and got down to 182 up through the surgery, I am now up to 192 and am gaining about 2 pounds a week.
    - ************EXTREMELY IMPORTANT************** tell him by no means do not eat any cashews or nuts during radiation...I made that mistake and the next day when things started happening naturally it cut me like shards of glass...I went for 1 week with taking 2 lortabs every 6 hours and a steroid suppository every night for 7 nights. I hollered out loud and cried at every toilet visit. Also because of the tumor closing down on my rectum I was going about 6 times a day so you can figure about what I went through.
    - OK Surgery...My setup was like this...5% chance of infection in incisions no permanent harm only temporary setback(never happened)...10% chance of stitching up my rectum and tail hole not staying together because of radiation destruction of buttcheek tissue (didn't happen)...50% chance of the inability to have an erection or the ability to ejaculate...( didn't happen everything works fine) My wife actually gave him a tip for that one in gesture.
    - Lastly...Rofran for his post operative nausea and Prozac if he has emotional problems, do not fear what is not there. Do not fear anything at all, and above all plan for the future, put nothing on hold. Have a great attitude, for attitude is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
    - and also tell him I just had 6 ton of horse manure (humus) spread and cut into my garden spot getting ready for next year already.....Oh I am 54 years old...and the permanent ostomy is better than the old way...At least now I can see what Im doing...LOL...Good luck to you both...

    Hi Buzzard
    Thanks for your replys Glad you are doing well. So far the treatments arent too bad for my dad. He is a very active 82 year old and full of life. He is surrounded by many people who love him very much so we want this to be as easy for him as possible. Surgery scares us more than anything. His tumor is 5cm and I believe it is up on the rectum, whatever that means. So I dont know if the surgerey will be diffrent from yours. Ill keep you posted and you do the same... Best Wishes Lisa ( Nicks daughter)
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member

    Hi Buzzard
    Thanks for your replys Glad you are doing well. So far the treatments arent too bad for my dad. He is a very active 82 year old and full of life. He is surrounded by many people who love him very much so we want this to be as easy for him as possible. Surgery scares us more than anything. His tumor is 5cm and I believe it is up on the rectum, whatever that means. So I dont know if the surgerey will be diffrent from yours. Ill keep you posted and you do the same... Best Wishes Lisa ( Nicks daughter)

    Surgery
    Lisa....If he is as outgoing as he seems he will breeze through the surgery. He has nothing to be fearful of and neither do any of you. He will go through the surgery as ya'll react to it. If all of his children are ok then he will be fine. It is the parents job to make sure that all of his children are fine at all times. Tell him you love him, assure him that all of you are behind him in his decisions ( as I know you are) and make sure he knows that none of you are worried for him.(Im certain you are but there again its a fathers job to keep all his children safe no matter how old they are). As long as he knows all of ya'll are ok then it will increase the ability for him to spend more time on his recovery and thats what he will need. His surgery will go well, God will see to that. It will bring you as a family closer, it happened here. That to me is a plus all in itself. It will or should also show each of you how fallible we all are and how much we should treasure every day and every moment of every day. There is always something good that comes out of something bad. I used this traveled path as a way to turn my disease into getting my family as a whole back together again. If you want this to be as easy as possible for him then act as if there is nothing for him to worry about, come into his house and smile from the time you get there until you leave, let him know you are ok with everything and also let him know that you know he will be fine. Start talking next years garden, and maybe about the things you like that he might not have planted this year that next year he needs to. Give him the ability to plan for the future ..garden, whatever just make him plan and include yourself in these plans, that gives him strength to do anything because the childrens happiness is our job as dads. If it gives you pleasure and makes you smile then he has done his job. So tell him that next spring he has to teach you everything he knows about his gardening secrets. It will all be behind you before you know it...make it simple..if he ends up with a permanent ostomy tell him that its easier than the old way once ya get use to it, and keep in touch, I got a lot of shortcuts that I'll tell him about as he moves along in his recovery, got some gardening tips also..........God Bless all of you,and he will be fine, he has a great supportive family,
  • Nicksangels
    Nicksangels Member Posts: 41
    Buzzard said:

    Surgery
    Lisa....If he is as outgoing as he seems he will breeze through the surgery. He has nothing to be fearful of and neither do any of you. He will go through the surgery as ya'll react to it. If all of his children are ok then he will be fine. It is the parents job to make sure that all of his children are fine at all times. Tell him you love him, assure him that all of you are behind him in his decisions ( as I know you are) and make sure he knows that none of you are worried for him.(Im certain you are but there again its a fathers job to keep all his children safe no matter how old they are). As long as he knows all of ya'll are ok then it will increase the ability for him to spend more time on his recovery and thats what he will need. His surgery will go well, God will see to that. It will bring you as a family closer, it happened here. That to me is a plus all in itself. It will or should also show each of you how fallible we all are and how much we should treasure every day and every moment of every day. There is always something good that comes out of something bad. I used this traveled path as a way to turn my disease into getting my family as a whole back together again. If you want this to be as easy as possible for him then act as if there is nothing for him to worry about, come into his house and smile from the time you get there until you leave, let him know you are ok with everything and also let him know that you know he will be fine. Start talking next years garden, and maybe about the things you like that he might not have planted this year that next year he needs to. Give him the ability to plan for the future ..garden, whatever just make him plan and include yourself in these plans, that gives him strength to do anything because the childrens happiness is our job as dads. If it gives you pleasure and makes you smile then he has done his job. So tell him that next spring he has to teach you everything he knows about his gardening secrets. It will all be behind you before you know it...make it simple..if he ends up with a permanent ostomy tell him that its easier than the old way once ya get use to it, and keep in touch, I got a lot of shortcuts that I'll tell him about as he moves along in his recovery, got some gardening tips also..........God Bless all of you,and he will be fine, he has a great supportive family,

    Words of Wisdom
    Thanks Buzzard, We cant wait for this all to be over and Yes we are planning for next year. My dad just today was cleaning up the garden for the Spring and he covers a fig tree too. His vegetables are wonderful wish I could send you some tomatoes LOL. Your words are very encouraging and My dad has a wonderful family around him, many grandkids, My 10 year old and my Dad talk about sports all the time and he comes and watches him play too. So we try to make everything as normal as possible even though I am angry for this to be happening to him at this stage of his life, But its not fair to anyone fighting cancer at any age. Thanks Again for your reply.
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    Sorry so late....
    I am a 53 year old stage III rectal cancer survivor. As you may have seen on my post, after almost 4 years, my GI guy has pretty much told me I'm 'cured'.

    I had chemo/rads before, and then surgery to remove my rectum and sigmoid colon. My chemo was carboplatin and 5FU drip.

    I had every side effect in the book. Lost 45 pounds (no steroid weight gain for me...my oncologist was from the minimalist school of medicine...lol!). What kept me going, above all, was the feeling that OF COURSE I would survive this...it just needed to be gotten thru. Laughter, also...I watched MASH every afternoon...and anything Mel Brooks! Water, as much as possible...keeps you hydrated and feeling better.

    My point? I DID get thru it!!!!! AND thru subsequent treatment for unrelated breast cancer. I'm no hero, I just believed in myself, and my treatment team. I treated my body like a warm, loyal, old friend...after all, IT wouldn't have chosen to do all the treatments, if given the choice!

    BIG hugs to both you AND dad!

    Hugs, Kathi