What's one thing?

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  • teamzach
    teamzach Member Posts: 35
    #22
    Phil64 said:

    on second thought

    I REALLY REALLY wish I knew...

     

    What causes colon cancer or cancer in general.

    And how to cure it!!!

     

    I think we ALL would want to know this.

    Maybe someday we (mankind) will know???

     

     

    Me too Phil... ME

    Me too Phil... ME TOO.

    Janelle

  • teamzach
    teamzach Member Posts: 35
    #23
    LivinginNH said:

     
    My wish would have been

     

    My wish would have been that Rick's new doctor would not have jokenly told him six months before his diagnosis, "Oh, you're lucky, you don't have to get a colonoscopy for at least 8 years!"  Grrrr....   However, due to his diagnosis, I decided to get a colonoscopy at 45 yrs old, and guess what - they found two pre-cancerous polyps!  Rick's oncologist told me that I would definitely have developed cancer before I turned 50, and so I probably would have been blind sided by a Stave IV diagnosis myself.  So, my darling Rick saved my life....but sadly, lost his own.    :'(

    All my best,

    Cyn  

    I wish there was a big giant

    I wish there was a big giant cancer detecting machine that could test everyone yearly!... PET scans for all! Sigh.

    I loved reading all the posts. Thank you all for making me feel so welcome!

    Janelle

  • annalexandria
    annalexandria Member Posts: 2,571 Member
    #24
    I wish I would have known

    that the symptoms of colon cancer aren't always obvious.  I had absolutely none of the typical digestive problems, but I did have severe anemia.  That was the clue that I was bleeding internally, and no one picked up on it.  I should have been scoped to check things out, but never was...and I was sick for 6 months before I finally landed in the ER, and got a dx from my emergency surgery.

    I was too "young" at 43 for anyone to think about colon cancer.

    And yes, PETs!  If I had gotten one of those when I first had gotten sick, what a difference it would have made.  I had a CT scan but it didn't pick up the cancer.  I think that's actually common for colon cancer.  The insurance companies really drag their feet about them, though, in my experience...too expensive.

  • annalexandria
    annalexandria Member Posts: 2,571 Member
    #25
    teamzach said:

    I wish there was a big giant

    I wish there was a big giant cancer detecting machine that could test everyone yearly!... PET scans for all! Sigh.

    I loved reading all the posts. Thank you all for making me feel so welcome!

    Janelle

    And this was a great idea for a post...

    there is a lot of good info here!

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,804 Member
    #26
    annalexandria said:

    I wish I would have known

    that the symptoms of colon cancer aren't always obvious.  I had absolutely none of the typical digestive problems, but I did have severe anemia.  That was the clue that I was bleeding internally, and no one picked up on it.  I should have been scoped to check things out, but never was...and I was sick for 6 months before I finally landed in the ER, and got a dx from my emergency surgery.

    I was too "young" at 43 for anyone to think about colon cancer.

    And yes, PETs!  If I had gotten one of those when I first had gotten sick, what a difference it would have made.  I had a CT scan but it didn't pick up the cancer.  I think that's actually common for colon cancer.  The insurance companies really drag their feet about them, though, in my experience...too expensive.

    Expensive pets

    Yeah, my insurance company wouldn't pick up on my PET scan. Still paying it off. 

  • Chelsea71
    Chelsea71 Member Posts: 1,169 Member
    #27
    I wish I would have joined

    I wish I would have joined CSN sooner.  The support would have been great but also I would have known to have had Steve take Cimetidine after his hipec surgery.  Might have made a difference.  

  • ron50
    ron50 Member Posts: 1,723 Member
    #28
    I wish I had have known

      The winning lotto numbers. I never knew how much it costs to have cancer. After fifteen hard years of survival I never realised how many body parts and bodily functions can stop working or not work properly and still leave a person functional. I might write a  weight loss book bout body bits you can live without!   Ron.

  • Phil64
    Phil64 Member Posts: 838 Member
    #29
    ron50 said:

    I wish I had have known

      The winning lotto numbers. I never knew how much it costs to have cancer. After fifteen hard years of survival I never realised how many body parts and bodily functions can stop working or not work properly and still leave a person functional. I might write a  weight loss book bout body bits you can live without!   Ron.

    Ron Thank you...

    Thank you for the laugh this morning.  See the cartoon on my blog (http://pscamihorn.me).  Your comments seem to synch up with the cartoon too. lol

    Laughter is such a wonderful thing.

     

    :-)

     

     

  • Phil64
    Phil64 Member Posts: 838 Member
    #30
    jen2012 said:

    Hey Phil - my husband too was

    Hey Phil - my husband too was stage 1 and I wish we thought about whether he should have done radiation.  There's no going back though.   It was kind of strange because when he was diagnosed with CRC, we asked about whether there may be a link to the previous radiation - the onc and surgeon said they didn't think so.  However, we met with a radio onc and posed the question to him and he said absolutely...without any hesitation....that he thought this was from the radiation.  My friend is a urologist and she agreed.   Also, my mom knows the nurse that worked for the radio onc that treated my husband for the tc back in 1999 and when my mom told her about the CRC, she was not surprised, but thought it came on earlier than what they would expect.   Expect??  How come no one told us??  Frustrating.  He was 46 at diagnosis of stage 4, and only had symptoms for a month or two.  Narrow stools basically was the only symptom and then he did have some bleeding right before the colonoscopy.  His doctor did the stool test the month before diagnosis and didnt find any blood in the stool. 

    Lin & Sue - thank you for spreading the word to others with TC.  That means a lot!

    Phil - I did some research last year.  Here is one article I had saved about the subject:

    http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/OtherCarcinogens/MedicalTreatments/second-cancers-caused-by-cancer-treatment

    Testicular cancer

    The most common cancer seen in testicular cancer survivors is a second testicular cancer. Overall, 2% to 5% of men who have had cancer in 1 testicle will eventually have it in the other testicle. The second cancer is not from treating the first cancer with radiation or chemotherapy. In fact, those treated with surgery alone still have an increased risk of a second testicular cancer. Also, the chance of getting a second testicular cancer is actually lower in men who were treated with chemotherapy. The rest of this section is about second cancers other than testicular cancer.

    Patients treated for testicular cancer have less than one-half the risk of second cancers than those treated for Hodgkin disease. Compared with most people (the general population), testicular cancer survivors are up to twice as likely to develop a new cancer outside the testicle. The chance of a second cancer goes up over time and also depends on which treatments were used.

    The risk of a solid tumor cancer starts going up within 5 years and doubles after 10 years in those men who were treated with radiation alone. This risk remains high for more than 35 years after treatment. The most common cancers seen after abdominal radiation for testicular cancer are cancers of the bladder, colon, pancreas, and stomach. Radiation to the abdomen also increases the risk of cancers of the rectum, kidney, and prostate. If the radiation field includes the chest (or the part called the mediastinum), the risks of lung cancer and thyroid cancer are increased. (The mediastinum is the middle part of the chest, which contains the heart and its vessels, the trachea, the esophagus, the thymus, and some lymph nodes.) Radiation treatments also increase the risk of melanoma skin cancer and connective tissue cancer (sarcoma). The risks are generally greater with higher radiation doses or if the patient got both chemotherapy and radiation.

    In recent years, radiation therapy for testicular cancer has changed. Lower doses of radiation are used, and preventive treatment to the mediastinum has been stopped. Long-term follow-up studies are needed to see if these changes have lowered the cancer risks.

    Chemotherapy is linked with an 80% increased risk of solid tumor cancers -- slightly less than what is seen after radiation. The risk of leukemia after treatment for testicular cancer is also increased. Most cases are linked to the chemotherapy drugs cisplatin and etoposide (VP-16, Etopophos®, or Vepesid®). Higher doses of these drugs have a higher risk of leukemia. Leukemia is normally a rare cancer, so even though the risk of leukemia after testicular cancer is higher than average, very few patients develop leukemia from their treatment.

    Follow-up care

    Because the most common cancer seen is a second testicular cancer, survivors should perform regular testicular self-exams. They should see a doctor at least once a year or sooner if any problems develop.

    All patients should be encouraged to avoid tobacco smoke.

    Very Interesting

    I find this information very interesting.  I wonder if there is a link between radiation and other cancers???  I remember the radiologist saying that there may be secondary cancers showing up years (10 to 20 years) later. But I really wonder.

     

    In my case I was diagnosed with stage 1 testicular cancer on 10/31/2011.  Then a short six months later I was disagnosed with stage IV crc on 4/23/2012.  Is it possible that the tumor could have started and grown and spread in a six month time-frame???

    Fast forward in my case...

    On Per a 10/21/2013 MRI I had a clear liver.  Then a short three months later, per a 1/24/2014 MRI I have a new tumor in my liver. 

    So who's to say???

    I just WISH I skipped the radiation for the Testicular cancer.  Not saying that it was causative of the crc but I really don't know.

    Love and Light to you all!

     

     

     

     

  • Nana b
    Nana b Member Posts: 3,030 Member
    #31
    Phil64 said:

    Ron Thank you...

    Thank you for the laugh this morning.  See the cartoon on my blog (http://pscamihorn.me).  Your comments seem to synch up with the cartoon too. lol

    Laughter is such a wonderful thing.

     

    :-)

     

     

    I had a colonoscopy at age 45

    I had a colonoscopy at age 45 and cancer at age 50.   they missed my tumor which was right out of the small intestine and in the ascending colon. ONC thinks the gasterologist didn't go all the the way through to where they meet and missed it.  

     

    Wish I had know that the bloating was a sign of cancer I mentioned it to my PCP and he just tossed aside at he time. But later got the colonoscopy, and you know the rest of the story. Stage IV cancer. The new PCP said it was gas, and to do sit ups.  Over two months.   It may never have gotten to my liver if she would have done a colonoscopy like I asked. I was in pain and I could feel a ball on my side. 

     

     

    Rule if thumb is if cancer runs in your family have a colonoscopy 10 years prior to the age you or someone was diagnosed. My daughters have to go at age 40.  

     

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