Stage II colon cancer

Dee61

My mom was diagnosed with stage II colon cancer, with "suspious" (2) spots on her liver. The doctor said they are too small to determine if they're cysts or cancer by CTscan alone, so yesterday she went for a Pet Scan. The oncologist didn't mention anything about her kidney, but the surgeon told us they also found one spot on her kidney. We get the results tomorrow (8/28), but we are so nervous they will say it's cancer. Has anyone experienced this, and what were the plans for treatment if it was cancer. Any heads-up I can get on this is appreciated. We are very scared to say the least. Even if they are cysts, we don't know treatment either yet.

Thanks!

grammadebbie

cysts
Hi Dee,

I was staged IIIc 8/38 lymph nodes positive. Had emergency surgery for blockage and found lemon size cancer - had resection and 6 months chemo. I also had spots on my liver but they have been there for at least 5 years (from previous CT scans) and were determined to be cysts. The doctors are keeping an eye on them and since there has been no change they have not treated them.

What treatment is your mom having for the cancer? Please keep us informed. This is a great place to come for support and information. I'm sure someone with Stage II will reply and give you more information. Ask any and all questions. You're in my prayers.


Debbie (gramma - there is another Debbie so I added gramma)

Patteee

hi
Guess I am confused on
hi
Guess I am confused on the dx of stage 2 when they don't have the PET scan back yet? They are already saying something on liver and/or kidney, but stage 2 isn't that at all. Did a colonoscopy show cancer in the colon? And now they are wanting to do tests to determine the extent of it?

I was dx stage 3b after colon resection. They could tell the cancer was getting outside the cclon wall, just barely. 3 out of 12 lymph nodes were cancerous. They didn't visually see any involvement in the liver or lungs. It had not spread. This is why it was staged 3B. The PET scan was done a month later and showed no evidence of cancer.

So, staging is a process. My colorectal surgeon refused to speculate the stage other than to say that since the tumor was so large I was probably looking at stage 3 or 4.


There is a difference on treatment with stage 1 and 2 vs stage 3 and 4.

To respond directly to your fear and uncertainity. Expect it to be cancer. Accept that it is cancer and begin to prepare yourself with the knowledge you will need, the questions to ask, and begin to get your ducks in a row as far as what to do now. Yes, it is frightening as hell. And we have all beeen there, unfortunately. I believe a cancer dx can and does make people stronger. You can't run from it, you have no choice but to stay and face it head on. Stand tall, have faith and take the attitude that no matter what your Mom is going to get through this.

PGLGreg

I guess she is in roughly
I guess she is in roughly the position I was after my colonoscopy in Nov. of 2005 found cancer, and then after a CT scan a few days later. They thought it was stage 2 colon cancer and the scan showed a suspicious spot in my liver. The surgeon scheduled an ultrasound on my liver, with the idea of opening me up a little further to go after the thing in my liver if it was cancerous, but the ultrasound diagnosed it as merely a cyst. My cancer turned out to be in the rectum rather than the colon (so I had to have radiation).

At this point I don't think your doctors can be very specific about your mom's treatment. If it is a stage 2 tumor, there's probably going to be some chemotherapy.

--Greg

talleydad

Patteee said:

hi
Guess I am confused on
hi
Guess I am confused on the dx of stage 2 when they don't have the PET scan back yet? They are already saying something on liver and/or kidney, but stage 2 isn't that at all. Did a colonoscopy show cancer in the colon? And now they are wanting to do tests to determine the extent of it?

I was dx stage 3b after colon resection. They could tell the cancer was getting outside the cclon wall, just barely. 3 out of 12 lymph nodes were cancerous. They didn't visually see any involvement in the liver or lungs. It had not spread. This is why it was staged 3B. The PET scan was done a month later and showed no evidence of cancer.

So, staging is a process. My colorectal surgeon refused to speculate the stage other than to say that since the tumor was so large I was probably looking at stage 3 or 4.


There is a difference on treatment with stage 1 and 2 vs stage 3 and 4.

To respond directly to your fear and uncertainity. Expect it to be cancer. Accept that it is cancer and begin to prepare yourself with the knowledge you will need, the questions to ask, and begin to get your ducks in a row as far as what to do now. Yes, it is frightening as hell. And we have all beeen there, unfortunately. I believe a cancer dx can and does make people stronger. You can't run from it, you have no choice but to stay and face it head on. Stand tall, have faith and take the attitude that no matter what your Mom is going to get through this.

Stage IIB Colon Cancer
At 34 years of age, my husband was diagnosed with Stage IIB Colon Cancer. Doctor did a sigmoid colon resection of approx 6 1/2 inches on August 13, 2009...none of the 21 lymph nodes showed cancer... nothing attached to any other organ; however, it did "perforate" the colon wall. So, yes, there is definitely a process in staging. The problem (if you can call it that) with ours is there is a 10% reoccurrence w/o treatment...7.7% chance of reoccurrence with treatment. We go for a 2nd opinion at Vanderbilt. It seems on the surface that it's reasonable to refuse treatment; however, our 4 year old and 2 year old boys might beg to differ, as do I. Any opinions are appreciated.