Round 10

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bruins1971
bruins1971 Member Posts: 227
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Ok so round 10 has been started and tomorrow when I go to get this pump disconnected round 10 will be in the books... Then it's down to 2 more treatments and of course the CT scan and Petscan if needed to see where I stand. After all the crap I have been through this year I am so looking forward to God willing a very long break from this devil medicine. Chemo is not as bad as I thought it would be after watching my mom go through it three times over 18 years. With that being said I am still looking forward to not having to get hooked up every two weeks and hopefully getting back to work after being out since March. Does anyone know the average time it takes for the cancer to come back if it's going to? Also does it usually come back in the same place or some place new?

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  • Kerry S
    Kerry S Member Posts: 606 Member
    #2
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    It do add up at the end
    Bobby,
    When I went thru the chemo/rad in o8 it was pump and rad on Monday thru Friday for 6 weeks straight. It do add up at the end. If you have done 10 already, I would say you are doing fine.

    Try to keep your thoughts just a week or so ahead. Don’t project too damn far out. Keep your focus on now. One step one day at a time. I am also a stage 4 (rectum – node – liver) but NED now. The recurrent crap I had was 2 years after. It showed up about 1 inch from where it all started. They took out about 1.5 foot this time around.

    Kerry
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member
    #3
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    You are doing great in my
    You are doing great in my opinion. 10 is very good! Heck, I only made it through 5 Folfox treatments then had to go to Xeloda for 4 more at which point my Onc says "Enough!"

    I am glad I had that option because if I hadn't been Stage II I would have had to bite the Oxi bullet, numb extremities be darned.

    Hang in there. You can do it. And Kerry is right about not looking too far out there. I try to live by the motto of "One day at a time".Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't.

    Best wishes,
    -Pat
  • Crow71
    Crow71 Member Posts: 679 Member
    #4
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    Hey Bobby - It sounds like
    Hey Bobby - It sounds like you are doing great. I made it through 12 Folfox treatments ending last Feb, but we did have to lower the doseage after treatment #8. Nothing better than a good long chemo break!!! I'm back on Folofox now after Folfori failed. Got treatment #2 yesterday. Yuck.

    I'm not sure what the average time for it to come back may be. I think rectal is bad to come back in the rectum, but It probably depends on where you started. My abdomen is 'clean,' and I'm not really worried about that are. It's my liver that we can't get under control. Have you had any scans since starting Folfox. I've read your posts, but I can't remember.

    Keep up the good fight.

    Roger
  • Lori-S
    Lori-S Member Posts: 1,277 Member
    #5
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    Hey Bobby
    Congrats on #10. You are definitely in the home stretch. I envy you. (sticking my tongue out at you). :P I'm happy to hear that you've made it through realitively well.

    There are all sorts of numbers available on the internet and sometimes reading through them can leave you with more questions than answers. It seems that the 2nd to 3rd year is a common time that recurrences might raise their ugly heads. Sometimes there is a shorter period mostly because it's not a recurrence so much as a continuation of growth because some cells just somehow manage to escape detection. The basic rule is: colon cancer likes to go to the liver next and rectal cancer prefers the lungs as it's 2nd stop. Of course those are just basic rules and we all know that this cancer doesn't play by the rules so I don't even know why we have them. Whether or not the cancer comes back in the same place or nearby or whether it mets to a new place seems to be a tough one to predict. Sometimes that will depend on how much margin there was at the surgical site if you had surgery. I for example had one margin that was so slight (0.01 mm - 0.000394 in) that I took note of it just in case. Then there is always the T number to consider as it can sometimes help predict possible seeding into the abdominal cavity and nearby organs.

    See so much to consider in answering just one simple question. So, best thing to do?? Once you finish your chemo ... Go out and conquer the world and don't look back. I know easier said than done. Just live your life with the knowledge that you did it and made it through and try not to worry as it doesn't make any difference and can take up seriously important time and space in your mind.

    I'm so happy that you are almost there. Celebrate! I will hope and pray that your scans come out the very best they can.
  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    #6
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    Lori-S said:

    Hey Bobby
    Congrats on #10. You are definitely in the home stretch. I envy you. (sticking my tongue out at you). :P I'm happy to hear that you've made it through realitively well.

    There are all sorts of numbers available on the internet and sometimes reading through them can leave you with more questions than answers. It seems that the 2nd to 3rd year is a common time that recurrences might raise their ugly heads. Sometimes there is a shorter period mostly because it's not a recurrence so much as a continuation of growth because some cells just somehow manage to escape detection. The basic rule is: colon cancer likes to go to the liver next and rectal cancer prefers the lungs as it's 2nd stop. Of course those are just basic rules and we all know that this cancer doesn't play by the rules so I don't even know why we have them. Whether or not the cancer comes back in the same place or nearby or whether it mets to a new place seems to be a tough one to predict. Sometimes that will depend on how much margin there was at the surgical site if you had surgery. I for example had one margin that was so slight (0.01 mm - 0.000394 in) that I took note of it just in case. Then there is always the T number to consider as it can sometimes help predict possible seeding into the abdominal cavity and nearby organs.

    See so much to consider in answering just one simple question. So, best thing to do?? Once you finish your chemo ... Go out and conquer the world and don't look back. I know easier said than done. Just live your life with the knowledge that you did it and made it through and try not to worry as it doesn't make any difference and can take up seriously important time and space in your mind.

    I'm so happy that you are almost there. Celebrate! I will hope and pray that your scans come out the very best they can.

    Bobby don't be pessimist ! remember attitude !
    Why should it come back! Don't think on that please other way no sense for such a big fight!.
    Take care!

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