I'm New Here

Annabelle41415

Hello everyone: My name is Kim, I am 50, married to wonderful husband Walter, have 8 children (3 bio and 5 step) and all eight lived with us. I have 7 grandchildren with two on the way.

I have been diagnosed as Stage 2, no lymph node involvement and the CT scan showed no spreading of the cancer. The tumor is low, very low in the rectum.

I am new here. I have been watching the boards for a couple of weeks and I just wanted to introduce myself and my situation.

First, I want to tell each and everyone of you how brave and proud I am of you for going through what you have and coming forth so honestly and sharing your feelings.

My situation is probably very similar to some here. I went in November for a colonoscopy because of rectal bleeding which the doctor and I thought was hemorrhoids. Well, you can guess the outcome, no hemorrhoids, but cancer. I was terrified. Never suspected anything as there wasn’t colon cancer in my family, however, my aunt died a couple years ago from colon cancer but she hadn’t been to the doctor in 15 years.

I always ate my veggies (favorite part of my meals) and was regular everyday. Was always pretty much a healthy eater, low fat, no fried, low sugar, mostly baked or grilled all meals. So having cancer was a big shock.

On January 7, I started chemo (Xeloda pills) and radiation daily (weekends off). I finish my treatments on Friday, February 13 (lucky day for me). Surgery after 6-8 weeks, then 4 months of chemo (with a port).

I am scared. I am terrified of this new journey in my life. I wasn’t ready for this to be thrown in my life. But I have so many people praying for me and so many encouraging stories on this page that it puts my mind to ease somewhat.

I have a 50/50 chance of having a permanent colostomy. At my initial surgical appointment it was a given, now it is 50/50, but I told the surgeon first and foremost I want to be cancer free. I have only told one of my 8 children because she is in the medical field and I knew she would know with this colorectal cancer.

You all are in my prayers. If you pray, keep me in yours as well - that I combat this beast known as the little “c” and that the Big “C” Christ takes over and I become cancer free soon.

God Bless and keep you in His Healing hands!
Kim

jsabol

Best of luck
Hi Kim,
I just posted right after you; I had no symptoms prior to my baseline colonscopy in '03, but 1 positive polyp and 1 positive node. I lived at these boards during treatment, and find myself posting again when follow up test anxiety gets the best of me.
At my initial post, I was reassured that I would get through this, one day, one treatment at a time. I was terrified, too; even being a nurse didn't help!. I am so grateful to report that I will be officially 5 years out of treatment come July, and have been No Evidence of Disease since surgery. There are many success stories here.
(My 80 year old aunt has been treated for anal cancer; she had a colostomy 3 months ago after her second surgery. Tonight she told me "You know, honey, it's just not worth all the worry I went through, I'm managing just fine!)
Stay strong and focused; wishing you strength to fight through this battle. Judy

Unknown

jsabol said:

Best of luck
Hi Kim,
I just posted right after you; I had no symptoms prior to my baseline colonscopy in '03, but 1 positive polyp and 1 positive node. I lived at these boards during treatment, and find myself posting again when follow up test anxiety gets the best of me.
At my initial post, I was reassured that I would get through this, one day, one treatment at a time. I was terrified, too; even being a nurse didn't help!. I am so grateful to report that I will be officially 5 years out of treatment come July, and have been No Evidence of Disease since surgery. There are many success stories here.
(My 80 year old aunt has been treated for anal cancer; she had a colostomy 3 months ago after her second surgery. Tonight she told me "You know, honey, it's just not worth all the worry I went through, I'm managing just fine!)
Stay strong and focused; wishing you strength to fight through this battle. Judy

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

kimby

Welcome
Welcome, Kim! What a beautiful name I hope you find everyone here as informative and welcoming as I have.

Kim

KathiM

My first estimate was 50% chance of colostomy....
I called around, found a surgeon that specialized in low bowel resection (my 2" tumor was in the first rectal fold). He gave me a 3% chance of a temporary colostomy, less than 1% chance of permanent one.

I ended up not even having a temporary, but I understand that now (almost 4 years later) he does do more with temps...gives the wound more time to heal...I was 'using' my new plumbing (J-pouch...replaced my rectum which was totally removed) the night after surgery...

Welcome!

Kathi

tootsie1

Hi
Welcome to our board, Kim. I'm glad you found us, because I think it will be so beneficial to you in this cancer journey. Please keep us up to date on you're doing.

*hugs*
Gail

daydreamer110761

tootsie1 said:

Hi
Welcome to our board, Kim. I'm glad you found us, because I think it will be so beneficial to you in this cancer journey. Please keep us up to date on you're doing.

*hugs*
Gail

welcome
to the boards, you've come to the right place!

VickiCO

Welcome
Kim,

Your journey and mine are almost identical. I was DX'd 10/22/08, tumor in the rectum only 3-4cm inside the anus. 6 1/2 weeks of chemo/radiation (I had 5FU - finished 12/29), told I had a 90% chance of permanent ostomy. I had my surgery Feb 4 (last week)....NO OSTOMY, NO LYMPH involvement, downgraded to stage 2. I will now do 6 months of 'mop-up' chemo and they are using the other 'c' word - cure. IT CAN HAPPEN.

Keep coming here for encouragement. This is the best place ever, and everyone understands just what you are going through. Ask any question, get angry and vent, or just read and be encouraged.

Many Hugs, Vicki

kmygil

Welcome
Hi Kim,

So very sorry you have to be here, but welcome! This place saved my sanity when I was dealing with my situation, and I still come for reality checks (LOL) At any rate, this place is full of wonderful people who can give loads of great advice, listen to you vent, and encourage you on your journey through this. It is scary when you hear the word "cancer", but take it one step at a time and you will be through it and out the other side to your new "normal." Your life will change, but you will have many positive experiences on your road and new perspectives to think about. We will all be there for you.

Hugs and prayers,
Kirsten

msccolon

welcome
Like everyone else, sorry you had to find us, but glad you found the best board on the internet! I think the surgeons are just covering their behinds when they talk about the likelihood of a colostomy. I suppose it would be better to expect one and not get one than to have never been presented with the idea and have one. However, no matter what they say, they do their BEST not to have to do a colostomy; temporary or permanent.

Nobody is ready to hear they have cancer. It throws you for a loop and it takes a while to get your head around it. Finding out there are others who are dealing with it just fine, thank you very much, really helps. Finding out that your preconceived ideas of how bad cancer can be isn't always accurate helps as well. Don't get me wrong, it does suck big time at times, but it almost always winds up not being as bad as we were expecting! God will be with you and carry you through. I pray that He will comfort you and strengthen you for the battle ahead.
mary

CherylHutch

You are in the right place!
Hey Kim,

Welcome to the place that is going to help with the fear and anxiety that seems to go hand in hand with cancer. This group of supporters will put your fears to rest... and then it's just a matter of getting on with the treatment and more important, your life with all your wonderful family!

I'm sure every one of us, at some point, has questioned "What did I do to bring this on??" And the answer is... there is no answer! There are those who are active, healthy eaters, everyone from the food obsessed to the exercise obsessed... to the exact opposite. There are those who are way too young to be having to worry about cancer in their personal lives and those who are diagnosed well into their 80s and 90s. There seems to be this myth that colon cancer only affects those over 50... but I think you will find a whole group of folk on this board who would disagree with that since they all are under 50. In other words, there's no rhyme nor reason to why this cancer strikes or who it is going to strike... it just does.

So try and put those thoughts out of your mind and not question why or what you did because the answer is probably nothing... it just happens. Instead, use that energy for healing and getting over this bump in the road which is your life. Meanwhile, because of it... you have now met a wonderful new group of online friends who will not only be supportive, but have all got this thing called "cancer" in common so understand exactly what you are going through... and your fears and questions

Hugggggs,

Cheryl

tiny one

journey
Welcome! Sorry it had to be because of cancer. All of us are scared. I had my resection in 07 and had a temporary ileostomy. My cancerous polyp was low. The surgeon didn't know this until he started operating. Take one day at a time. Saying prayers for you. With your family and prayers being said you'll be strong. Focus and take one day at a time and you will get through this. God bless

Annabelle41415

tiny one said:

journey
Welcome! Sorry it had to be because of cancer. All of us are scared. I had my resection in 07 and had a temporary ileostomy. My cancerous polyp was low. The surgeon didn't know this until he started operating. Take one day at a time. Saying prayers for you. With your family and prayers being said you'll be strong. Focus and take one day at a time and you will get through this. God bless

Thank you all for your kind
Thank you all for your kind wishes and warm welcomes. I know this journey has been done many times before, but when you, yourself, have to go through it sometimes it can feel overbearing. I am keeping my head high and know I will get through this just fine. I'm glad I found this board so that I can share my experiences with all of you. Thank you for taking the time to answer. Kim

Shayenne

Annabelle41415 said:

Thank you all for your kind
Thank you all for your kind wishes and warm welcomes. I know this journey has been done many times before, but when you, yourself, have to go through it sometimes it can feel overbearing. I am keeping my head high and know I will get through this just fine. I'm glad I found this board so that I can share my experiences with all of you. Thank you for taking the time to answer. Kim

Hi Kim!
I am also pretty new to this, and just started my first chemo treatment yesterday, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but am sure we could think of other more fun things to do with our lives.

This board of people here are amazing and boy, was I ever glad to find them, they really helped me through my harrowing time when I was diagnosed just a few weeks ago, and have let me felt like there was hope for me, and they were all so supportive and sweet, you'll love it here. Everytime I start feeling down, I know exactly where to go...right here

You will be in my prayers as well, and we'll be taking this journey together as well

Huggsss!
~Donna