NEW TO THIS BOARD, DIAGNOSED OCT 20, 2012

johnsnowden

janderson1964 said:

Welocme John. Seems we have a

Welocme John. Seems we have a lot in common, Good attitude towards this, exercising, diet, and animal lover. You can read my profile.

BTW we(My wife and I) have  -dwarf goats, 2-dogs, 3-ducks, 3-chickens, and 1-parrot.

great profile

wonderful attitude. taking control of doctors is helpful too, i agree, i have gone to have second opinions from hundreds of miles away. don't be bogged down by 'my insurance this and that'. pay cash for a consultation, 2 or 3 hundred. get all medical records yourself, they are free. 

and love those animals, they are sentient beings, like us.

 

nice to meet you!

Nana b

johnsnowden said:

great profile

wonderful attitude. taking control of doctors is helpful too, i agree, i have gone to have second opinions from hundreds of miles away. don't be bogged down by 'my insurance this and that'. pay cash for a consultation, 2 or 3 hundred. get all medical records yourself, they are free. 

and love those animals, they are sentient beings, like us.

 

nice to meet you!

Welcome, and may you continue

Welcome, and may you continue to have success in your journey!  

 

 

wawaju04976

johnsnowden said:

great profile

wonderful attitude. taking control of doctors is helpful too, i agree, i have gone to have second opinions from hundreds of miles away. don't be bogged down by 'my insurance this and that'. pay cash for a consultation, 2 or 3 hundred. get all medical records yourself, they are free. 

and love those animals, they are sentient beings, like us.

 

nice to meet you!

Welcome, this is a great

Welcome, this is a great forum!!!

Judy

lp1964

ABOUT YOUR EX-CANCER.

Hey John,

My age and cancer is almost identical to yours, but I am at the very beginning of the process.

I have a Stage 2-3 adenocarcinoma right above the sphincter. It's 5X4 cm and penetrated the wall

of the rectum. I'm starting radio and Chemo next week and surgery at the end of summer.

I feel strong and I have healthy lifestyle so I'm shooting to heal this cancer without surgey.

My questions for you:

What did they use for chemo at the beginning and how was the process?

Everybody tells me that without surgery if the cancer comes back it will be lot worse. What do your doctors say and do you

think its worth going throught the surgey and what comes after or wait and see?

Your response would be greatly appreciated. Laz

Trubrit

lp1964 said:

ABOUT YOUR EX-CANCER.

Hey John,

My age and cancer is almost identical to yours, but I am at the very beginning of the process.

I have a Stage 2-3 adenocarcinoma right above the sphincter. It's 5X4 cm and penetrated the wall

of the rectum. I'm starting radio and Chemo next week and surgery at the end of summer.

I feel strong and I have healthy lifestyle so I'm shooting to heal this cancer without surgey.

My questions for you:

What did they use for chemo at the beginning and how was the process?

Everybody tells me that without surgery if the cancer comes back it will be lot worse. What do your doctors say and do you

think its worth going throught the surgey and what comes after or wait and see?

Your response would be greatly appreciated. Laz

Welcome.

I know you asked John specifically but I have to add my pennies worth. 

have you posted an introductory thread?

this is a great community, sadly it's a fight for your life forum, but we do it well and you'll get great response from your own thread. 

That being said, my resection went really well. because I was healthy, I healed very e quickly. I would go for the surgery just to cover your bases. Just my opinion.  

Good luck With your battle. 

SUE

johnsnowden

lp1964 said:

ABOUT YOUR EX-CANCER.

Hey John,

My age and cancer is almost identical to yours, but I am at the very beginning of the process.

I have a Stage 2-3 adenocarcinoma right above the sphincter. It's 5X4 cm and penetrated the wall

of the rectum. I'm starting radio and Chemo next week and surgery at the end of summer.

I feel strong and I have healthy lifestyle so I'm shooting to heal this cancer without surgey.

My questions for you:

What did they use for chemo at the beginning and how was the process?

Everybody tells me that without surgery if the cancer comes back it will be lot worse. What do your doctors say and do you

think its worth going throught the surgey and what comes after or wait and see?

Your response would be greatly appreciated. Laz

hello friend

although i answered your question in detail in the PM you sent me, i will answer here as well, perhaps in a more simplified manner.

i feel that the quality vs. quantity of life decision is extremely personal. i do not suggest trading a long, perhaps fulfilling life for a shorter, more comfortable and less 'disfigured' life. my decision is based on the idea that i may have as much a change of recurrence without the permanent colostomy as i would with it, yet a doctor at UCLA was very adamently against that. perhaps if it 'comes back' i could then have the major surgery and more conservative treatment, or maybe it will come back worse than before. i have not heard that it necessarily comes back 'worse than before' from from either oncologist.

however, my condition is different in that i have had the so-called 'complete pathologic response' from radiation and chemo treatment (chemo pills, Xeloda). when my scar tissue was removed and biopsied in 10 sections no malgnancies were detected. therefore i have very good odds from here forward.

i sincerely wish you the best of luck, to be free of fear and to find peace and love.

barbebarb

johnsnowden said:

hello friend

although i answered your question in detail in the PM you sent me, i will answer here as well, perhaps in a more simplified manner.

i feel that the quality vs. quantity of life decision is extremely personal. i do not suggest trading a long, perhaps fulfilling life for a shorter, more comfortable and less 'disfigured' life. my decision is based on the idea that i may have as much a change of recurrence without the permanent colostomy as i would with it, yet a doctor at UCLA was very adamently against that. perhaps if it 'comes back' i could then have the major surgery and more conservative treatment, or maybe it will come back worse than before. i have not heard that it necessarily comes back 'worse than before' from from either oncologist.

however, my condition is different in that i have had the so-called 'complete pathologic response' from radiation and chemo treatment (chemo pills, Xeloda). when my scar tissue was removed and biopsied in 10 sections no malgnancies were detected. therefore i have very good odds from here forward.

i sincerely wish you the best of luck, to be free of fear and to find peace and love.

The bestJ
John - just saying hello and it sounds like you are doing all the right things!
Wishing you the best in moving forward.
Barb
I like your verse of finding peace and love...