Colon cancer

tmavasheva

Hi, sorry I wrote my story in one of the comments as I just signed up here minutes ago. Don’t know what I’m doing but maybe someone can share there experience! To help me through the process. I’m 41 yrs old Newly diagnosed with colon cancer. Potentially stage IV as there is spots in liver and lungs. Oncologist presumes it is Mets and still going thru scans and going to see surgeon this week. I feel lost and like I’m in horrible dream and I can’t wake up. Terrified and anxious. Anyone went thru this please share. The tumor is in my sigmoid and it is 5cm will need resection. Thank you 🙏

yazzy

I pray you will get through this. My husband 39yrs of age was diagnosed with colon rectal cancer stage 4 in October 2023. He has Mets in his chest. Since then, he had colon resection on November 1st, 2023 .. had to undergo emergency surgery November 4th, 2023 and ended up with a temporary colostomy bag which took him some getting used to. He’s been undergoing aggressive chemo since the week after Thanksgiving. He remains positive and full of faith. Don’t let this bring you down. Let’s beat this! I’m rooting for you! Many blessings.

Trubrit

No need to apologise. I think practically everyone new to this forum, started off posting in someone else's thread, including me. Plus, this is an odd forum layout to navigate, so you certainly didn't do anything wrong.

Being diagnosed with Cancer, or any life-threatening illness, is such an awful feeling. It sweeps you off of your feet. Feels like a gut punch. Leaves you feeling helpless, scared, desperate. You name it, and I bet we've all felt it.

Once your Oncologist and surgeon come up with a plan, and you are on the road to recovery, then allot of those feeling will disappear. Having a plan take the stress off of your shoulders and in a way, you share it with your medical team. They get to plan your treatment and you get to fight your way through it.

So while surgery, chemo, radiation, all sound frightening; once you get started, you will feel better, because you know you are doing something about it. right now, you are in limbo, waiting for results.

Talking about waiting for results. GET USED TO IT! Blood tests. CT Scans. there will be test after test after test and waiting, waiting, waiting for results. It really sees to go on forever, and the sooner you come to grips with that, the better it will be.

I am an old-timer, here on the forum. Diagnosed in 2012 - resection in December 2012. Started chemo 11 years ago today. Chemo, radiation, clear scans, not clear scans, liver ablation in 2014 and then NED - which means NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE. April 2024 - two months away from being TEN YEARS NED - Stage IV and TEN YEARS NED. Let that sink in, and know that you can do this.

Fight the fight. Plan for the worst while believing the best will be the outcome. I never lost sight of the fact that I could die, but living was my goal.

We will be here for you and with you.

Tru

tmavasheva

Thank you ❤️

tmavasheva

Thank you so much

GDR

Like you, I was Stage 4 on Day 1. That was more than 8 years ago. Still on treatment because it is not curable, but living well and happy with life. Although each person's cancer progression is unique, there are reasons to be optimistic about living reasonably high quality life for years. Several good treatment options will be presented to you although each will have side effects that you would learn to get through. Hopefully you are going to align yourself with a leading, research-oriented hospital, with a strong oncology practice. Wishing you the best! Remember, the glass is half full, not half empty.

Capox Dude

tmavasheva, they told me that I had likely met in my lungs and my liver to go with my large tumor in my colon as well.

They were wrong. After several biopsies, they could not find anything in my lungs or liver, and I’m nearing five years post DX. I’m not here to say they (MDs) are wrong, but I’m definitely here to tell you they are not always right.

Best of luck.

Skirgirl

I don't know if you have an update, but I was in almost your exact same situation a month ago. At first things looked great; my blood CEA was only 2 and the surgeon who removed the big malignant polyp in December thought the remaining lesion didn't look too advanced. So my mood was up: I'll just do surgery and be done with this thing. Then, a CT scan on 12/26/23 showed a spot on my liver, and lung nodules. Scary! So, there was potential for Stage IV. However, the subsequent PET scan on 2/2/24 showed no metabolic activity anywhere outside the colon, and I learned how common benign liver spots and lung nodules are. YAY! So I went into surgery on February 7 as a probable Stage I or II. Was feeling so positive!

They removed 10" of lower sigmoid and a little rectum robotically, and did not have to resort to open surgery. (I luckily did not need colostomy bag.) I'm recovering really well. But...then the pathology comes back...Of 41 lymph nodes removed, one had a tumor, so turns out I'm Stage IIIb. Then I got really down. Such a roller coaster!

Now that I've found a great oncologist and joined some of these discussion forums and read a lot more about recurrence rates, I'm feeling so much better. Soooooo many people have been through this, and much more, and are living healthy, happy lives.

I will likely start chemo at the end of March. I will get through this.

Have you had surgery?

Norm640

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/327556/colon-cancer

Ask your doctor about Ivermectin. There are plenty of studies showing its effectiveness with colon cancer.

SnapDragon2

I agree with norm640. Cancer and parasites (also viruses, bacteria and fungus) share many simularities and pathways.

angielewis1959

I was diagnosed with stage 3 colon/rectal cancer in April 2014. I had a tumor in the rectum and 1 polyp was cancerous. I had 28 treatments of radiation along with a 5fu pump. After that, I had an ileostomy surgery. There were no more signs of the cancer. I then had 8 treatments of Oxaliplatin and then an Ileostomy reversal. At my yearly checkup, my Oncologist said I was cured from the cancer and no longer needed to be checked unless I wanted to. My problem now is side effects from the radiation, I think. My hips seem to be weaker especially on the right side, which seems to be causing knee buckling and hammertoe. I try to stay active with water fitness, gardening, and babysitting grandkids but it's getting harder to "get around". Just wondering if anyone has had nerve problems after Oxaliplatin and radiation? I am having surgery for the hammertoe in April and seeing an Orthopedic surgeon in April also.

Thanks

tnbelle

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1713675#Comment_1713675

My husband is coming up on 8 years with stage 4 colon cancer. Keep your mind positive and stay off the sites that predict how long you can survive with various stages. My husbands odds to live 5 years were 15 percent. He never wanted to know the odds and made me promise him I wouldn’t tell him. He has a good outlook and that is everything. May you be the one that is actually cured! New treatments abound!