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Chemo but no radiation?
For Stage 4, does Chemo and radiation go hand in hand? Reading some of the posts it seems like chemo is used regularly for treatment but not too many mentions of radiation. Is Chemo without radiation an option some oncologists go with? Obviously it depends on the person but just trying to get any overall idea. Thanks!
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Chemo and readiation
I had 8 chemo treatments (Folfox plus Avastin) followed by 28 chemo-radiation treatments (radiation plus a 5FU pump) then more chemo for my stage 4 rectal cancer. The radiation shrank the rectal tumor to the point that it was no longer showing on CT scans, so I haven't had surgery for the rectal tumor. The chemo was initially to shrink the liver mets so they would be small enough for an ablation and the chemo worked well for that. I'm sure there's residual cancer there, but we're taking a watch and wait approach for now and I'm still receiving chemo ( currently 26 treatments with Erbitux plus irinotecan) two years after diagnosis. I feel almost guilty because my experience has been very much easier than so many of the other members here. Neither the chemo nor the radiation have been pleasant but my side effects have been very minor and manageable compared to what some have described.
Grace/lizard44
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