Oncologist initial visit for Colon Cancer Stage III

ReeRee2

Hi,

I was diagnosed with colon cancer on the 22nd of September after my resection. During my normal colonoscopy my doctor said, the carpet polyp is back and larger. He took a biopsy that came back negative. He had already sent me to a surgeon for the resection when it came back negative.  I was in disbelief that I was told I had cancer after the resection. My surgeon said, I am not sure how it went from benign to stage III. 

i have some questions written down to ask tomorrow but what questions did anyone else ask? I am scared of all the side effects of chemo. I was told I will not lose my hair. 

Thank you

Mikenh

I finished 28 days of chemo

I finished 28 days of chemo (and radiation) on September 8, 2017. I worked throughout the time, worked out as well as I could, and, didn't lose my hair (I actually had a lot of facial hair to deal with as I wasn't supposed to shave while on chemo). I also had 50 minute tennis practices once a week through that and I was pretty tired at the end but it felt great. I took the oral form of 5FU so I just had to take pills in the mornng and the evening. Some people have very little in the way of side-effects (I think that I'm in that camp) and some people have more side-effects.

Watersprite3

First Visit

I saw my oncologist within 48 hours of my colonoscopy.  The doctor who did the procedure had the pathology done on the tumor, and by the time I saw the oncologist I knew that it was malignant.  I didn't know the stage until after my surgery since more tissue was removed to biopsy, as well as lymph nodes.  

I managed to make it through all 12 sessions of Folfox, but we had to reduce the dosage of one of the drugs toward the end because of the side effects.  In my case it was neuropathy and we didn't want it to progress any further.  My hair thinned out for a while, then just stopped growing.  I have thick curly hair so it was barely noticeable.  I did cut it shorter.

I also kept a notebook where I maintained a journal of everything I felt after each session.  I would start writing down anything you want to know so that you can ask your oncologist tomorrow. If you are going to be getting Folfox,  there are some things that almost everyone gets to some degree and your team should prepare you.  They will be able to deal with any side effects you might have.   Chemotherapy affects each person differently.

Best of luck tomorrow,

Eileen

 

Trubrit

Its all very scary

I am sorry you are on this journey. 

I did have bad side effects and I did lose my hair. Not shiny bald, like breast Cancer patients, but I'd say 90% of it fell out, so I ended up looking like Gollum. Thats when I took the razor to it. 

I rocked the bald look, and didn't bother with hats or scarves and definitely not a wig (I'm too claustrophobic).  I will confess, when it started to fall out, I was quite disheartened, but once I shaved it, all was well. 

Each person reacts differently to the chemo and there is no telling which way the cookie will crumble for you. That is why I think it is important for you to hear both sides of the story. Some, breeze through the chemo, working and exercising and doing pretty much everything. Some find it a trial, and others - like myself - went through hell and back. The key is we came back, and came back swinging. 

I have a detailed list of my chemo side effects, if you're interested. I'll post at your request. 

I wish you good luck as you move forward. Its a long journey, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, and we're here to help you through. 

Tru

 

ReeRee2

Trubrit said:

Its all very scary

I am sorry you are on this journey. 

I did have bad side effects and I did lose my hair. Not shiny bald, like breast Cancer patients, but I'd say 90% of it fell out, so I ended up looking like Gollum. Thats when I took the razor to it. 

I rocked the bald look, and didn't bother with hats or scarves and definitely not a wig (I'm too claustrophobic).  I will confess, when it started to fall out, I was quite disheartened, but once I shaved it, all was well. 

Each person reacts differently to the chemo and there is no telling which way the cookie will crumble for you. That is why I think it is important for you to hear both sides of the story. Some, breeze through the chemo, working and exercising and doing pretty much everything. Some find it a trial, and others - like myself - went through hell and back. The key is we came back, and came back swinging. 

I have a detailed list of my chemo side effects, if you're interested. I'll post at your request. 

I wish you good luck as you move forward. Its a long journey, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, and we're here to help you through. 

Tru

 

Side effects

yes, please tell me your side effect. What about eating? I make smoothies now. 

aoccc2015

They told me i will lose my

They told me i will lose my hair, they were very sure of it. One year of chemo later i have hair in places i never did and my hair afros up(white guy) and is crazy thick. Did the oxy/5fu/avastin combo for 6 months and my feet were bad but after dropping the oxy I dont even notice the 5fu and the avastin, i think i even have more energy that week. Worst thing about it is sitting 3 hours for them to mix 1 hour of chemo and pump. It is so random for everyone, just think positive through it all and the side effects will not matter. Eating will also depend on you, they have so many different things for your mouth if it gets sore or you have muscle cramps, don't be afraid to ask them.You will do fine:)

Trubrit

ReeRee2 said:

Side effects

yes, please tell me your side effect. What about eating? I make smoothies now. 

https://csn.cancer.org/node/292593

Its a doozy list for sure, but I'm four years out from treatment and three years out from my liver surgery, so I'm not grumbling. 

Lets just say, it was hard but it was worth it. 

Tru

darcher

A couple things to watch for.

A couple things to watch for.  You may lose hunger and thirst.  It comes on very subtly and you may not even notice it. If it happens, you should put yourself on a eating and drinking schedule.  You may also have problems with short term memory.  You could forget to take your chemo pills or think you did when in fact you did not.  Get one of those m-f weekly pill bottle things to put them in. The exact side affects vary from person to person and quite a bit.  The most common one is fatigue which may be from the chemo or just the anguish of thinking about this disease so much.  Another one is sensory perception.  My sense of smell got stronger which I don't think is on the list.  The hissing sound in my ears got louder (a preixisting condition)   When drinking water at one point it tasted like a mouthful of pennies.  Food lost a lot of its tatste for a while.