Any other stage2's doctor says no chemo needed

Jimbob-

usakat said:

Friable Tumors
In my case my tumor was "multi-lobulated and highly friable" (broke apart easily), and bled significantly on the inside and outside of my colon. Since it perforated my colon with significant growth outside the colon into my abdomen it caused concern that I could have distant organ mets without lymph nodes being affected. Look at your colonoscopy and/or surgical pathology reports and see if the word "friable" is noted. If so, ask your doctor if that should influence your choice for chemo...

Cancer tip: Always ask for your reports, scans, test results, records etc...and keep your own binder(s). This makes it easy for you to know all about your specific cancer, formulate questions for your doctors, and share medical records with other health care providers. I kept two binders for my colon cancer - one for medical records and the other for general information about cancer (reference materials, drug fact sheets, etc.), and I have now started my third binder - a combo for the stomach issue and gyno stuff. I also keep a current scanned copy of my medical records, which makes it very easy when I see new doctors. Last week when I presented my new gyno-oncologist with my medical records on CD he made a funny comment about my organizational skills....hmmm...was he calling me an anal control freak? It's been a big help for me and allowed me a feeling of control of my situation.

Hello;
I had Stage one and
Hello;

I had Stage one and had surgery April 05. My cancer had not perforated any colon walls and no lymph nodes were affected. Chemo or Radiation was not indicated, i had three opinions all of the same. This past April I had my second colonoscopy, one at one year, one at the three year mark. All was Clear. I am currently on an every two year colonoscopy cycle and I assume that will be the case until the ten year mark.

It is interesting to note, I am a 66 year old man, I had been having colonoscopies every four years since I was 50. I never had a Polyp or a dv or anything abnormal. On april22 I noticed blood in my stool, was one year from the next colonoscopy. I immediately alerted and went to the doc, Had a colonoscopy, found a large polyp/tumor, Biopsy showed cancer, On 27 April I had surgery.

Doc says it is unusual for a tumor to grow that fast, go figure.

I suggest get a second opinion and thank god for early detection...

HowardJ

Stage 2
I was diagnosed wiith stage 2a in December 2004, and had surgery only, no chemo. The decision regarding chemo in stage 2 colon cancer is the subject of much debate, and there are arguments on both sides. The current guidelines based on looking at data in patients over time recommend no chemo for stage 2 unless there are other risk factors (your surgeon or oncologist should be able to tell you if you have them). For example, I was stage 2a. If I were 2b, or if other factors existed, I would have opted for chemo. It's a discussion you should have with your oncologist so you fully understand what's best for you, and can decide together the best option for you.

Howard

PGLGreg

chemo after stage 2a rectal
After my operation for stage 2a rectal cancer Dec. 2005, my oncologist said I needed to have radiation treatments but chemotherapy was optional, though he recommended it. He said chemo would give a 25% improvement in survival statistics, over and above what I would get with the radiation. I have no idea where he was getting his figures, and I have my doubts about that 25% statistic. I did get both radiation and chemo, which turned out to be just 10 injections of 5fu+leucovorin, and it really wasn't a problem for me. Three more months and I'll be three years NED.

kmygil

Stage II Chemo
Hi there.

I was Stage II and my oncologist recommended chemo. He said surgery alone offered and 85% "cure" rate, but that with chemo it went up to just over 90%. Like I said then, and still say, "Five percent isn't a lot when you're talking about a raise, but it's a lot when you're talking about your life." I took 9 of 12 rounds and just found out that I am NED after 2 years. My family has HNPCC, hereditary colon cancer so I also had an endometrial cancer last year (another bonus of HNPCC). However no chemo was recommended after that hysterectomy. I think the protocols differ from place to place, but the chemo was a recommendation, not a "must have." Hope this helps.

Hugs,
Kirsten