No Adjuvant Chemo

Ray29
Ray29 Member Posts: 1
edited April 2017 in Colorectal Cancer #1

My 17 year old niece , got operated for Stage 4B colon cancer last month. She is not taking adjuvanct chemo as advised by doctors as they are not guaranteeing anything even after chemo. Surgery went well , she is quite active now. I want to know if there are similar cases with no adjuvant chemo? Thank you

Comments

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,796 Member
    #2
    Welcome, Ray

    I am so sorry to hear about your 17 year old niece. So young! 

    I'm sure there are others here who can help, beyond my experience.  Of course, I am WAY older than your young, otherwise healthy niece, but I am Stage IV. Diagnosed in 2012, Bowel Resection, Chemo, Radiation. Reoccurance in the liver in 2014 with liver ablation but NO adjuvant chemo. I have been NED (no evidence of disease since that date - three years this week). 

    Your neices Oncologist should have explained thouroughly why they were not going to follow up her surgery with chemo. There are seeral reasons that could apply.  Things like why was she diagnosed Stage 4B? Did the Cancer spread to the liver, lymph nodes, other organs?  

    If your family is at all dissatisfied with her treatment, or just curious, then I would suggest a second if not third opinion from other Oncologists. 

    I wish her all the best as she moves forward. I hope she is eating a healthy diet and exercising. There are many things to do at home, to better the situation. 

    TRU

  • traci43
    traci43 Member Posts: 773 Member
    #3
    I've done both

    First off, I'm so saddened to hear your teen-aged niece was diagnosed with colon cancer.  She's so young.  Her youth will aid in her recovery.  I've been at this battle for 10 years now, having been diagnosed Stage 4 (no letter) in June 2007 at age 44.  After my first two surgeries I had post-op chemo and had recurrences both times pretty quickly thereafter.  After my last two surgeries I didn't and had recurrences both times but with longer periods in between.  At this point, I am wary of doing more post-op chemo because it doesn't seem to matter and I would rather "save" it for when I know I have tumors, because surgery or chemo are really the two ways we've been keeping the cancer at bay.  For me the cancer had metastacized to my ovaries and omentum originally, and now occassional tumors are found in the peritoneum or lymph nodes, rather than the more common liver or lungs.  The most recent recurrence was two tumors attached to the small intestine.

    I hope and pray your niece gets through this.  Traci

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