17 Years Ago

Annabelle41415

Hello everyone. It's been awhile since I've been on, but I hope that you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving. My back story for those of you newer members that don't know me. I went in for my first colonoscopy the day before Thanksgiving in 2008 because of finding blood in my stool. My doctor thought it was hemorrhoids but it turned out to be rectal cancer. I then went through chemo/radiation, then they did surgery where they removed my rectum and gave me an ileostomy. 2months later I went back in for more chemo. I ended up having a reversal of my ostomy 9 months later.

It has been 17 years and I just had another colonoscopy this summer and although finding some polys which had the possibility of turning into cancer, those were removed and I come back again in 3 years.

I'm so fortunate that I listened to myself and got in to get that colonoscopy. I had just turned 50 so I'm glad that they lowered the age to 45 now. It's important that people turning 45 get in as soon as they can. The rise in colo/rectal cancer has risen and early detection is paramount to saving your life.

Because of my rectum being removed, I still have bathroom issues every day. Sometimes I wish I had my ostomy back instead of the reversal, but I just have to deal with my “new” way of living. I'm still here,17 years later, and have had so many new grandchildren during that span. I've been able to spend 17 more years with my children,husband, and other family members.

There is always hope. Medicine and technology has come a long way, even in the 17 years since my diagnosis. Cancer stinks and there is nothing that can spare you from the shock when you hear that “you have cancer.” My faith in God, the support from my family and this group got me through a lot of emotional and rough times.

If you ever want to ask me a personal question about my history or my journey then or now, please don't hesitate to message me. God Bless you all and wishing you all healing and peace.

Hugs! Kim

bibliophile

Thanks for telling your story. I was diagnosed two years ago, at age 46, with Stage IV colon cancer. There is one thing that can spare you some of the "shock" of hearing you have cancer. That is being misdiagnosed, having surgery, having the tumor discovered as the real cause of your surgery, and having the surgeon tell you that it is cancer while you are still coming out of anaesthesia. That does take the edge off a lot of the initial shock. 🤣 (Sorry, laughing at the hard things is one of the ways I have kept my spirits up.) It has been a tough two years, and I go a week from today for what feels like a really major surgery that they are calling "organ preserving" (even though they are removing all or parts of at least 3 organs) and debulking of my abdominal lining because of spread that includes peritoneal carcinomatosis. My oldest son just got married a month ago and I have kids still in college and high school, so I can only hope that I have the same good outcome as you and get to see lots of grandkids some day. I do have really good family and community support, so just taking one day at a time. Thank you for the encouraging post and congratulations on still being cancer free! ❤️

Annabelle41415

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1725480#Comment_1725480

So sorry to hear of your diagnosis and it would be a total shock to wake up to find out that you had cancer. It's frightening that they missed diagnosing you correctly. Really the only way for a positive conclusion is a biopsy, but most of the time they can just tell by looking at it. I'm glad that you have support from your family and community. This board is so super helpful - at least it was when I was going through it. They changed the format of their message boards and it got harder for me to follow along with people and that's the reason I quit responding on here. There would be someone on here 24/7 no matter what time of the day when I first started here. I'm not even sure they would have the same cocktail of chemo that I had anymore. I had oxyplatin and it was absolutely terrible. Having a sense of humor is a great way to handle it. I'm glad you can laugh at some of the situation you've been in. Wishing you the best.

Kim

bibliophile

Oh, they still use oxalyplatin. It's not great, and the neuropathy and cold sensitivity is no fun, but it's not nearly as bad as the irinotecan they added on top of the oxalyplatin + 5FU this time around. That combo was somethin' else. 😊 This surgery will give me the best chance of a longer progression-free interval, though, so here's hoping and praying! Thanks for your response. This board has been super helpful and the group on the evening live chat has been terrific. I'm so thankful for everyone. Hopefully some day I will be on the other side helping people have hope like you all are! Although there's still hope in the day to day 😊.

hopeal

Thanks to both of you for sharing. It really is the most helpful to hear from those who have gone through and are on the other side as well as those still in the thick of it.

Annabelle41415

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1725486#Comment_1725486

Yes, that was the cocktail I used through my whole treatment. Glad the board is helpful. Wishing you the best going forward. And yes, there is hope in every day. Keep up the great attitude.

Kim

Annabelle41415

Come on this board often. You will find a lot of helpful information here. Wishing you the best.

SnapDragon2

Congrats, Kim! It's wonderful news that after 17 yrs still cancer free.

Annabelle41415

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1725508#Comment_1725508

Thank you! :)