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Stories of Beating Stage 4 Cancer???
Hello all. I’m wondering if any of you would be able to share any documented accounts of someone beating stage 4 cancer (either no evidence of disease or long term remission) Preferably colon cancer but any cancer story would be appreciated.
I would like to know what that person did to beat it and maybe I can do the same thing.
Thank you all in advance and good luck in your own journeys.
Comments
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My wife was diagnosed Aug 2019 - surgery for sigmoid tumour, 4 rounds of chemo and then in October 2019 her follow-up scan showed 2-3 liver lesions. Back to surgery. Then 12 more FOLFOX treatments. NED with one probably false positive in 2021/2022. Currently she is alive and thriving with no follow-up treatments or anything. Just regular CT follow-up scans every 6 months.
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Stage IV colon cancer metastasized to liver but not yet to the lungs, January 2016.
12 rounds of chemo interrupted mid year for surgery to removed middle part of colon, most of liver, and gallbladder.I was 63 at the time, which meant I wasn't yet frail, but was also older, so my cells reproduce more slowly (including cancer cells).
Prior to cancer, I ate health foods, exercised regularly, and did not smoke or drink.
I was near the Kellogg Cancer Centers in the Chicago area.
At the centers they had pamphlets offering free genetic testing for colon cancer. I had it done and it showed I did not have any then-known genetic propensity for colon cancer.
At the time of my diagnosis, a daughter who earns a good living as an analyst/advisor told me of my stage IV prognosis:
This just means that you are one of 10 people in a room, and you just have to be one of the 2 who walk out. -
Hi this is my first time on here came across this post and said Wow. I got diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer then had surgery, then after 3 months had a checkup, another colonoscopy and ct scan, and they said had spread to liver, had more scans and a spot on my lung, right to stage 4. My surgery looked ok, said chemotherapy I said how long will I have to do chemotherapy he said forever. Why would I want chemotherapy forever, chemo is not easy, I can’t be cured, he said all it will do is help with symptoms, why chemotherapy, make me sick all the time to help with symptoms. I was feeling pretty good at the time, I just couldn’t see chemo forever making me sick, and I ask how long he not sure a year maybe 2. I just couldn’t understand why do chemo forever. Sounds like you have had success, I have never got any of your hopes, I have got nothing but to the liver stage 4 chemo the rest of your life. That’s not very hopeful to me. I’m having many days of not accepting this, I’m 62 yrs old, I say repeatedly This isn’t fair, this not right, giving up. Sorry for going on, guess I came here because I feel at this point not many I can talk to anymore.
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Hi marg29L,
I can relate to your feelings and state of mind right now, because you have expressed them so clearly.
Aren't there newer types of chemo now for cancer patients that have fewer side effects and so make it worth staying on them indefinitely?
Have you asked your doctor how the recommended chemo would compare to your previous chemo?
I am now 71 and have 2 little grandchildren ages 1 and 3, who make life delightful at times.
At age 63, when I was dealing with chemo and surgery etc., I did not expect to ever have grandchildren, and could not have imagined how I would feel about them.So, if I had to deal with chemo again, I most likely would at least begin it.
Today was cold, windy, dark, and stormy, but just now the sun came out for a bit.
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I can relate to your story. My wife was diagnosed Stage III CRC almost 5 years ago. She had resection and 12 rounds of chemo after which she had clear scans for 2 1/2 years. Then a CT scan showed enlarged lymph nodes which tested positive for cancer under biopsy. 12 more rounds of chemo and she was again clear in scans, however, a CTDNA (liquid biopsy) came back positive. 7 months later, a spot showed up on her liver and the chemo started again. The spot didn't grow, but it didn't sink either. She had radiation and now the doctor says she is once again in remission, but the latest CTDNA scan is a higher positive number. She is on a "chemo holiday" right now and is getting another CT scan in early March. We will go from there. If no evidence of disease we will pursue some clinical trials we have found for people with MRD and CTDNA+. There aren't many but we will keep looking. The alternative seems to be chemo forever, which my wife cannot accept. I guess the bottom line is continue to look for non-chemo alternatives and do not give up hope.
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Thank you for your response, sorry for you and your wife struggles, cancer seems to not pick and choose. I’m not sure if you can read me ‘about page tells pretty much my last 2 years. I think of those years, how it has changed so and what I have gone through, and about 6 months ago or so, my daughter said to me, Mom I don’t know how you have done this, but thank you for not giving up. That ‘not giving up alone, is a hard battle itself. Seems like your wife has gone through so much, so brave to have done all she has. The chemo forever stopped me as well, I was ready to fight more until he said that, my cancer spread to my liver and the location said is not able for surgery, is in my bile duct so they had to put a stent in to have duct remain open, the part I have to have that removed and replaced every 3 months, for some guess is not a bad procedure, for me is the worst procedure I have done through all this. So I decided against chemo, since surgery cannot happen, and he said chemo will just help with symptoms, which I have few good days, 3 or 4, then a few bad, but I think that’s good I don’t want chemo making me feel worse. I hear people have success and of course makes me think I’m not trying hard enough. I have not heard of the non-chemo alternatives, sure hope you and your wife can find something, and I Pray she is still able to have those “Good days, mean so much. Sorry for going on but i hope you two can keep that hope together!
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oldforumposter, Thank you for responding, if I read right you are in 10 years of remission. Wow, and I see been through a heck of alot, you sound you led a better life than I, definitely not the most healthy person but not horrible either, I worked alot. The “I Wish I Could Do Over” for me is being more proactive, doing those preventative checks my doctor would advise me to do and I would say ya ya, one being a colonoscopy. Well guess everyone is different on treatment they can have, he made it sound I was not eligible for surgery, only could be a liver transplant. All unbelievable to me really. I continually as of today say, I am only 62 I am to young for this, it is not fair, then I’ll go do the dishes or something. I am fighting my symptoms I do have pretty much on my own, so far I have been pretty much ok. Day By Day! So glad for your success.
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Something to think about regarding "chemo forever":
It might not be "forever" if they come out with new therapies in a few years, especially gene therapies and hormone therapies like they have for some types of breast cancer already.So choosing to continue chemo now might be more like the one-day-at-a-time perspective that addicts adopt, only you (or I) would be taking chemo one-day-at-a-time instead of abstaining from something for one-day-at-a-time.
And we would be doing it only until either a different, better option was available, or until we decided we could not bear it anymore.But if that time at which you cannot bear chemo anymore is now, I respect that too.
I hope that makes sense.
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Hi fellow warriors, I am new here. I was diagnosed with Stage IV CRC almost 4 years ago, unknown primary, metastasized to distant lymph nodes, not to organs as of yet. The diagnosis hit hard. I was not yet 50 and in good health, no symptoms or warning signs.
As I’m “not curable”, and there was nothing to surgically do, my only option was lifetime palliative chemo every two weeks to give me quality of life. This seemed counterintuitive to me. Chemo did not seem to equate to any sort of quality of life. While the past 4 years have been extremely difficult and trying, there are bright spots of gratitude and hope. I had a period of progression free disease and got a nice chemo holiday which was a bonus. It’s all so personal. I talk to folks who are on the exact same treatment who have different experiences with side effects. While I can’t ever understand the full picture of someone else’s cancer fight, I’m not sure I understand my own to be honest, there is comfort in community. I’m grateful to have found this place of sharing. -
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Welcome, my story is on here on here,[click the avatar], and there are a good number of them. I'm going on 11 years from last liver resection, not doing anything special or different about lifestyle or diet, if that helps gauge the odds for you. It was the first thing I wanted to read 17+ years back. Best of luck to you…………….Dave
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I am new here. I was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in October of 2024. I'm 49 years old and I am currently going through my second round of chemo. I had surgery to remove part of my acending colon where one tumor was found. I have a few tumors in my left lung that spread through my blood. I'm hoping someone has some good news for stage 4 colon cancer remission 😊
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Hello all,
This disease is so unfair and unpredictable but I did want to throw a chance of hope out there. It is now almost 19 years out from the initial diagnosis (8/2006). Stage 4, mets to liver and lungs. Took long time but I'm still here and doing fine. I know the long term people who I first followed meant a lot. I have no magic formula, just kept going. Lots of trying to do the right things with diet ( low carbs, no sugar) and exercise ( walking and weights in a gym). Prayers and mental health focus seemed to center me along with staying away from toxic people and complications. I wish all well and still stop in to read but do not comment. I should, but it is hard. All my love to all. went to Stanford, 4 thoracic surgeries, colon surgery, liver surgery, 10 months of chemo, two many scans to count. There are more out here than you know, but there is no magic protocol. all my best
Impactzone
Chip
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My friend manages stage 4. She doesnt use the word beat because she constantly lives with random spots. She exercises daily, and I mean daily. She drinks plenty of water. And you will never see Kelly eat anything unhealthy. She doesnt have that privilege. She avoids the no lists...dairy, alcohol, sugar, bbq. She did a complete lifestyle change. She chooses fruit over cake and eats lot of veggies. She looks great. Shes on year 12 or 13 now of maintaining stability. Spots do show up but she doesnt freak out at all. They either stay the same size or they go away. She did chemo at some point. She focuses on cancer fighting foods and eats a mostly mediterranean diet.
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Thanks everyone for sharing their stories. Relatively new to the site. Would love for people to keep updating. Two years into a battle with stage IV. First had a colon resection followed by 6 months of CAPEOX and monitoring lung spots. Lung resection this past March that went well with clean margins, but new spread found on CT and PET in June. Now on FOLFIRINOX for abdominal lymph node metastasis and peritoneal carcinomatosis. Enjoying the good days (went to family camp for a week last week and then mountain hiking in Montana this week with my hubby for our 25th) and enduring the bad days - irinotecan kicks my butt, next infusion on Tuesday. Being able to talk about it with people who get it is nice.
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Hi I just found this support group its my first time every posting on here or anywhere, your story really resonated with me and I think those same thoughts about how unfair this all is! and I can just hear your hurt come through your words and I wanted to validate your feelings and also let you know im scared as hell and I also feel like giving up but i can't say that or the other dark and angry thoughts that sometimes come into my head bc the ppl around me don't understand and don't want to hear it. I have stage 4 colon cancer that spread to my lungs, liver and bile duct and im more afraid of dying now then when i was first diagnosed bc they dr gave me hope and said i could beat this but now im afraid he is just going to let the cancer kill me he said i needed chemo consistantly for 6mons and he would see how i progressed but now hes taking me off chemo and said I was actually fine and don't really have cancer in my lungs, now you might think that is great news right? but there is a back story, theres more to it, so i just wanted to say hi and i feel you and understand and also don;t really have anyone to talk to
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Hi DeeDee3,
Do you currently reside near major medical facilities?
When I had Stage 4 colon cancer 10 years ago, I was fortunate to be living in the suburbs of Chicago, minutes away from one of the Kellogg Cancer Centers, and able to have my surgery at the Northwestern U hospital with top surgeons.
Now I live in Rochester NY, where even the nicest of doctors seem a bit subpar simply because they are overwhelmed with too many patients. I doubt I would have survived here.But even if you are in a small town in a rural area, a former work-colleague who had lung cancer 20 years ago told me about how he took the Amtrak Train to the Mayo Clinic every week to beat it.
Age can also be a factor. Younger people's cells divide more rapidly — their cancer cells do too. But the elderly tend to not heal quickly enough. I was in my early 60s when I had Stage 4 cancer, so that helped.
Also, I was not obese, did not have a history of drinking or smoking, rarely ate meat or junk food, etc. etc. Those habits didn't stop me from getting cancer, but might have helped determine my recovery.I hope this information helps to at least calm your fears of the unknown.
Or not?
❤️🩹💝
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