aaahhh!! Im scared :-(

Nana b said:

You are not alone.....
I'm so sorry to hear that you have this awful disease at such a tender age. You are not alone, we are all scared. I know you are so young, but that could be in your favor, being young you will be able to fight this even stronger. I know those words don't help much, but all we can do is try and beat the beast.

Face it a day at at time, as hard as it may be. Don't give in to the what ifs. Tackle Chemo and try and start that career! It can be done.

We are here for you.

Lots of hugs!!

I am....
...Stage 4 Colon cancer with tumors in my liver, and I am also scared, we all are. You never know with this disease, honestly, but there ARE survivors out there who have been living with this for years and years, it's a battle, alot of Appointments, tests, and so on.

I was diagnosed in January, 2009, a month before my 44th bday, and I was freaking out as well. I have 4 children, just graduated from going back to school with my Associate's Degree in Medical Office Administration, and went back to work after graduating, and being a stay at home for years. I did theater, and am very involved in my kids activities, we all did theater.

After I was diagnosed, I was referred to an onc, who was supposed to be awesome, and am still with her, she is very encouraging, and offers alot of hope, she put me on a chemo regimen of 12 rounds of Folfiri with Avastin, which I was to get every Wednesday, at the infusion center, then am hooked up to a small pump for 46 hours, which a home health nurse comes and takes it off on Fridays, then I have the week off, it's an every other week thing I was put on. So far, the onc has said my liver tumors have vastly shrunk, which is encouraging.

You do have to watch yourself of germs on chemo, your immune system is low. I have had at least 5 surgeries, including putting the port in a couple times, which is a little drum looking thing that is connected to your arteries so that they don't have to stick your veins with the needles, this is placed in your collarbone area, and can be uncomfortable at times when you touch it, mine moves around alot, but it's better then having them stick the chemo needles in your hands. Chemo isn't what it used to be, it's really not that bad, but you must get good anti-nausea meds, Emend is the best for me, with Dexamethasone, zofran, compazine and ativan. I am on painkillers, not that I'm in pain, but just in case, Oxycotin is my painkiller, and for breakthrough pain, Oxycodone, others are on other things, all depends on what you need, and what works for you.

I had to quit my job when I started chemo, because I got so tired, the fatigue was bad after I got unhooked, it was like, you felt abit like you were hit by a truck, you must rest when your body needs it, and about a day after I got unhooked, I was in bed for about 3 days till I bounced back to my old self, and don't worry, you will bounce back..my kids and hubby are huge help to me, in fact, I think my hubby is going to request early layoff since these 70-80 hour 6 day workweeks have left us with so much to do around here, and nothing getting done.

I'd request an anti-depressant, or anti-anxiety medicine, I am on Zoloft and Ativan, and do take Xanax, these do help me stop being so weepy and negative all the time, you will hear or read all sorts of survivor stories, some who been here for 11 years! just take care of yourself, eat right, exercise, and think positive, don't let the cancer take over your life. It's scary hearing it at first, but you get used to it, and then just want to kick the **** out of it. Keep going, and you'll be ok, get 2nd and 3rd opinions if you aren't happy with how things are going, make sure you find a good onc.

This is a really great board with alot of caring people, and we welcome you, ask anything you want, we will try and answer anything you need, some people even work all through their chemo, I don't know how, but I couldn't. It's all up to the individual.

You will be in my prayers, and good luck to you, we're all in this together

Hugsss!
~Donna

Welcome
Hi Send26. I am guessing you've already seen your doctor by now and hope it went well.

I'd guess that your oncologist told you that you have about an 80% chance of being cancer free at 5 years.

May I suggest you get some Vit. D3, Calcium.

The studies were all done on Stage III colon cancer patients.

A: an aspirin a day
B: Better diet with no red meat or limited to 4 ounces a month
C: Calcium
Vitamin D3 which is only found in a few foods. Note: this is NOT the Vit. D in One a Day, etc. It is in Centrum Ultra, etc.
E: Exercise The Dana Farber Cancer Institute has done several studies which prove recurrence can be avoided at a rate of 55% in Stage III women who exercise regularly.

ASPIRIN:
CHICAGO – Score another win for the humble aspirin. A study suggests colon cancer patients who took the dirt-cheap wonder drug reduced their risk of death from the disease by nearly 30 percent.

Aspirin already is recommended for preventing heart attacks and strokes, along with its traditional use for relief of minor aches and pains. Its merit in colon cancer prevention has been tempered by its side effects, bleeding from irritation of the stomach or intestines.

The new study suggests patients who already have colon cancer may benefit from taking aspirin along with surgery and chemotherapy. In a separate analysis of a subgroup of patients, only those with the most common type of tumor, those that overproduce the Cox-2 enzyme, saw a benefit.

"The paper is absolutely incredible, and I don't gush normally," said Dr. Alfred Neugut of Columbia University Medical Center in New York who has done similar research but was not involved in the new study. In an accompanying editorial, Neugut wrote that the study "comes as close as it can to offering patients a way to help themselves.".....
The yahoo link for this article is now old but a search can be done online for more information using the doctor's name.

BETTER DIET: The Mediterranean Diet is believed (study being done at U of Mich) to raise survival rates from Colon Cancer by 6%. Mediterranean Diet HERE:
http://www.mhbroughton.com/new_med_plan.htm


CALCIUM:
Should Everyone Take Calcium and Vitamin D?
Written by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD.

Only about five years ago, every patient of mine who finished chemotherapy was given a vitamin cocktail to further reduce colon cancer risk. It was calcium, selenium, vitamin E and folic acid.

Over the last three years, folic acid has been shown to increase growth of polyps, and in patients with metastatic disease it may shorten life. The protective value of vitamin E has been questioned, and there was evidence that it might increase prostate cancer risk. Selenium did not show benefit.

So we are down to calcium. This supplement has been shown repeatedly to benefit patients by reducing cancer risk for a variety of solid tumors including colon cancer. A recent publication by Dr. Yikyung Park from the National Cancer Institute showed that supplementation of 1200 mg calcium in women and men over the age of 50 decreased cancer risk by 17% for men and 23% for women (Archives of Internal Medicine, February 23, 2009). These were cancers of the gastrointestinal tract mainly colon cancers.

The usually source for calcium in our diet is milk products (yogurt, cheese etc) as well as meat. The calcium pathway is very interesting because it requires activity of vitamin D. Without vitamin D it is difficult to absorb calcium and put it into the organs where we need it, but to make sure we have sufficient vitamin D we need some sun exposure (vitamin D is activated in the skin) and we need a functional kidney.

When vitamin D was tested in patients with colon cancer it was found by Dr. Charles Fuchs in the Journal of Clinical Oncology published in June last year that the patients with the highest vitamin D levels lived longer suggesting that low levels may be associated with shorter survival. I recommend all my patients take 1500 mg of calcium and 1000-3000 units of vitamin D daily.

If you have a history of kidney stones or inflammatory bowel disease please check with your doctor first before starting calcium supplements.

D3: Watch this video on Vitamin D3 and cancer
Watch the Youtube video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FMlQeH8RFA

In a new study, researchers at the Moores Cancer Center and Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, UC San Diego used a complex computer prediction model to determine that intake of vitamin D...

EXERCISE: Do a web search for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute colon cancer exercise Using all those words should bring it right up. 55% is amazing!