Semi Colon ROLL CALL

Joy1216 said:

Oldtimer

I was diagnosed with Stage I colon cancer in March of 2006.  I had a right hemi-colectomy and have been NED ever since.  I have had numerous colonoscopies since surgery.  The last few times polyps were discovered.  A couple were pre-cancerous but the last one was benign so I am now on the 5-year colonoscopy plan.  I often have digestive problems but they are just an inconvenience.  I suffer from survivor's guilt at times when others pass away.  My faith is strong and I believe there's still something God has for me to do on this earth.  Why am I still hanging around here?  Recurrence is still in the back of my mind and I want to know about all the latest treatments.  I also want to hear how others are doing and I pray daily for a cure for cancer, healing, and relief from side effects of treatment.

Joy

My cancer made itself known in July of 2009.  Stage 2 with no lymph node involvement but some perineural  invasion. Infection causing 3 more hospitalizations and 3 IV antibiotics at home for 3 months.  Conflicting opinions re chemo. I chose to forego. NED ever since.  CEA hovers between 3 and 5. Clear scans, clear scope.  Repeat colonoscopy in February.  My Dad and 4 maternal aunts died of CRC but genetic studies have come up negative. In November, I had a small lacunar stroke. Deficits have pretty much gone except handwriting.

I work full time and travel with my job. That will change...one stroke per job is enough :-)

This forum has been very helpful to me, particularly with my initial chemo decision and with an inconsistent CEA. A great place for a soft landing.

CM

StacyGleaso said:

Pretty sure...

I'm pretty sure very few remember me!  Dx 10/03/2001, been clear of stage 4 (liver mets) since 10 hr surgery on 01/26/2002.  No recurrences, nothing.  I'm happy to say I'm boring in the world of cancer these days!

 

Now...let's hear from Spongebob, Scouty, Lisa P, Suzanne, Ron, and the rest of us ancient cats!

 

 

--Stacy

Hi Stacy -

My dad , who is 77, was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in July 2013.  He had oral chemo and radioation, had surgery, then did IV chemo.  We just founf out that his cancer has spread to his liver.  His oncologist said it is inoperable.  He has 1 tumor (1.2cm) on one lobe and 2 tumors (1.8 cm) on the other lobe. He started more IV chemo on 12/22.  Where did you get your suregery done?  Do you think we should seek an opinion about surgery from someone else other than his oncologist?  He aalso has multiple enlarged nodes.  We live in NJ.  Thanks for any help you can give.

Diagnosed 10/25/05 with stage IV colon cancer.

10/31/05 colon resection

12/16/05 liver resection

1/06 to 7/06 12 rounds FOLFOX plus Avastin, NED.

7/07 routine scan showed a new spot on liver

8/07 second liver resection

9/07 to 2/08 10 rounds of FOLFIRI plus Avastin NED

10/11 routine CT showed large mass in liver

12/11 third liver resection, 70% of liver and gall bladder removed plus part of diaphram

1/12 to 7/12 12 rounds of FOLFIRI plus Vectibix NED

2/14 routine scan showed new liver spot, 2 chest wall lesions

3/14 to 6/14 5 rounds of XELIRI plus Vectibix

7/14 y90 radioembolization to liver tumor

8/14 to 11/14 7 rounds of XELIRI plus Celebrex

12/14 cryoablation to remaining liver tumor and chest wall lesions

Scan scheduled for 1/8/15 to see how sucessful the ablations were

John212 said:

One Year In

I found out I had colon cancer just about one year ago (1/14/14) from my first-ever colonoscopy at age 62. That led to an immediate CEA test and a CT Scan and a recommendation that I find a surgeon and an oncologist. It's my sense of humor, I suppose, but I asked the gastroenterologist if the Yellow Pages would be a good place to start. He was less amused than I hoped.

Here's the rundown:

January, 2014 - Colon resection to remove a distal sigmoid tumor; dx T3 N1, two of twelve lymph nodes involved

February, 2014 - Install a Mediport in advance of chemo treatments

March, 2014 - Begin 12 rounds of FOLFOX with 5FU on a two-week cycle turnaround

June, 2014 - During treatment #7 I had a violent reaction to the oxaliplatin so we dropped it from the regimen

August, 2014 - Completed the FOLFOX treatments

January, 2015 - One-year followup colonoscopy and CT Scan scheduled for later this week

I have to say that I've been lurking on a few of the cancer forums and I've found this one to be especially warm and  welcoming. I plan to stick around - here and in life in general. I live in a suburb of Chicago.

I am glad you like this forum and the folks here. Welcome. I might suggest that you start a new post introducing yourself so more people are likely to read it and get to know you.

My story....

Before being diagnosed, I had an incident where one night in the summer of 2012 I had a really sharp pain in my abdominal area.  It went away and I thought it was just gas or something I ate.  Fast forward a few months into September/Octoberish, after a BM, I saw a lot of red in the toilet water.  I was alarmed but thought maybe it was related to the tomato sauce dinner I had.  But this put me on alert to watch for another occurance.  A week or two later, it came back again.  I decided this wasn't right and set up an appointment with my primary care doctor.  He did a FOBT and it came back positive for blood.  He put me on some medication for possible upper GI bleeding due to the NSAID type medication I was taking for my chronic neck pains.  But he didn't want to take any chances and referred me to a GI specialist.  I set up the appointment and saw a nurse practitioner.  She went through my family history and I mentioned my mom having polyps removed which were benign.  She didn't mess around and said I needed a colonoscopy.  I set one up for January but called back and got them to move it up to December 18th 2012.  The doctor didn't think anything would come of the colonoscopy and thought it's probably hemmoroids.  After the procedure was when my world changed when he came and broke the news to us.  He found a 3 cm mass and feels strongly it's cancer at the age of 42.

Over the next couple of  days, I had a CEA test (13.9), CT scan, and consulted with a colorectal surgeon.  The following Monday I had a PET scan done due to two 3 cm lesions found in my liver.  Even though a STAT order was put in for the radiologist to read the PET scans, we didn't get them that day....Christmas Eve.  Christmas wasn't much fun as you all can imagine.  On the 26th, I went to consult with a liver specialist and that's when we found out the PET scans came back negative.  He still wanted to be sure the lesions were just hemangiomas so he postponed his holiday trip to be in the OR with my colorectal surgeon the next day (Thursday).  The surgery was done by LAR and the liver surgeon did a biopsy of the two lesions.  The biopsies came back negative.  So he was done with his part and didn't have to perform a liver resection.  My colorectal surgeon took out about 7" of my descending colon and 17 lymph nodes.  I was out fo the hospital that Saturday about 2 days after having surgery.  The pathology came back as low grade, T3N1 (1 node)....Stage 3B.  Off to chemo I go.  Some testing was done to see if I was Lynch positive which came back with a high probability I was not.

A port was placed after one failed attempt.  I did 12 rounds of FOLFOX6; 11 of which were with Oxali.  The 5FU bolus was removed halfway into treatment due to low blood counts.  The Oxali was also reduced at around round 8 due to neuropathy.  Oxali was removed on round 11 and added back in for the last round.  I was able to stay on schedule with the treatments though at a couple of rounds it was very iffy on whether I would get treatment or not.  During treatment, I also tried Celebrex at 400mg once a day.  The Celebrex was causing issues with my liver after about a month and half of being on it.  My liver enzymes were spiking.  My oncologist took me off of Celebrex and ordered an ultrasound of my liver.  The ultrasound came back negative for any metastisis.  I completed chemo the first week of July 2013.  I had my port removed a month later.  I hated the thing and the saline injections to clear out the port were making me nauseous.

Scans.  After the initial CT and PET scans, I didn't have any other scans (other than the ultrasound and another CT done on New Years 2013 due to severe abdominal pains I thought was from the surgery....turned out to be a kidney stone).  I had my first follow up scan with chest X-ray in December 2013...about a year after the initial diagnosis.  I was extremely nervous about the results.  The CEA test was done and came back at 3.11.  The CT scan was all clear except for a 10mm lesion showing up in my left kidney.  The oncologist wasn't worried about it and felt it was just a cyst...said it was common for cysts to form in kidneys of those with hemangiomas in their liver.  Was told he'll see me in 6 months.

May 2014 arrives and I have my follow up with my oncologist coming up.  I get the blood work done.  I get the results of the blood work before seeing the oncologist.  3.72.  I freek out.  I expected my CEA number to continue to go down and now it's higher than my lowest at 3.11.  Is this a start of a recurrence?  I tried to get some answers from my oncologist over the phone and couldn't get them to return my calls.  I decide to get a second opinion.  I see a new oncologist and he re-runs the CEA test.  It comes back at 3.28.  We both feel it's probably just a blip and there is no recurrence.  But he feels I should probably have another scan to be sure.  I see my original oncologist not mentioning I had sought a second opinion.  He says the CEA number was within the variability expects from the test and feels everything is fine.  Says to see him in 6 months for another CEA test and X-Ray/CT scan.  I go back and forth on whether I should dump the original oncologist and go with the new one.  The new oncologist was just great and even gave me his personal cell number in case I needed to get a hold of him.  But in the end I decide to stay with my original oncologist since everything he has said has panned out to be true.  But will not hesistate to switch over to the new oncologist if things go south.  Also in hindsight the slight jump in my CEA might have been from an activity I was doing a couple of weeks prior to getting the CEA test done.  I was at the track running around on a motorcycle for 2 days.  I suspect all the exhaust fumes I was inhaling might have inflated the CEA results.

December 2014 arrives and I have my CT scan and X-ray done first.  I always get the radiology report before seeing the oncologist.  With how nervous I am, we pester the radiology department that day and were able to get the report a few hours after the scans were done.  Still NED except the radiologist noted the liver lesions seem to be a bit larger but said it could be due to the angle of how the scan slice was done by the CT machine.  I see my oncologist and he doesn't feel anything more needs to be done but orders a CEA test and blood panel.  I go in person to get the results a day or two later.  I freak out when I see my CEA number flagged as abnormal and at 4.2.  Then I read the notes from the lab stating they had changed their testing methodology and anything 5.1 and under is normal.  The original scale was 3 and under.  Oncologist calls and confirms this with us.  I'm relieved and my next follow up will be in 6 months.

Sorry for the long winded post.  Since I never posted my past history, I think this might be useful for some that might be in a similar situation as me.  Through all this mess, I feel I have been blessed.  The speed at which the doctors moved to get me from initial diagnosis and onto the operating table was simply amazing...especially since this happened during the Christmas/New Years holiday.  My employer was very supportive of me during my treatments as were my coworkers.  I got engaged before the diagnosis.  My fiance stuck it out with me and we go married in 2013 about a year after my cancer diagnosis.  Because Colon Cancer is still viewed as an old person's disease, there hasn't been much research on the affect of FOLFOX on reproduction or genetic abnormalities with offspring.  The rule of thumb given to us was to wait about a year after chemo to try to conceive.  We didn't wait the year but tried about 6 months after chemo.  My wife was able to get pregnant and she just delivered our baby daughter.  So far everything seems healthy with our little girl.  But as a backup, we did do sperm banking before I started treatment.

With all this, I should be very positive with things and counting my blessings.  I have had many dark moments in my recovery.  I have sought out help with counseling and with anti-depression medication.

Again, I hope this post helps someone in some way.  I know during the early times of dealing with this disease, I was looking for posts like this to gather some sort of hope.  I would be beyond ecstatic if I were able to provide that hope/relief to some one.

Hello...Some may remember me from awhile back...

Colon cancer remission 7 years in February after resection and chemo and radiation....

Liver cancer 6 years after resection and  12 chemos...

Lung cancer nearly 5 years after laproscopic suregery and 6 chemos.....

Been through alot as I know you have been too....

Cancer to me is like and old coat that just doesn't fit anymore....

I  am very blessed and know it...I live each day as a new day of life with  continued good health and another day with no cancer...

I have a small cabin in the northern mountains in Pennsylvania, and it is there that on a cold Winter's day that I light a fire in my wood stove and relax in front of my window and watch nature at work in the snow fall...so comforting....I will do this tomorrow again.

I wish all of you strength, peace, happiness and love.... Jim

Friendinpenn said:

Greetings! I am a SURVIVOR !!!

Hello...Some may remember me from awhile back...

Colon cancer remission 7 years in February after resection and chemo and radiation....

Liver cancer 6 years after resection and  12 chemos...

Lung cancer nearly 5 years after laproscopic suregery and 6 chemos.....

Been through alot as I know you have been too....

Cancer to me is like and old coat that just doesn't fit anymore....

I  am very blessed and know it...I live each day as a new day of life with  continued good health and another day with no cancer...

I have a small cabin in the northern mountains in Pennsylvania, and it is there that on a cold Winter's day that I light a fire in my wood stove and relax in front of my window and watch nature at work in the snow fall...so comforting....I will do this tomorrow again.

I wish all of you strength, peace, happiness and love.... Jim

 

 

Still here !!

Last chemo session Nov '09

No more scans says my onc.... only a colonoscopy due this month....

Friendinpenn said:

Greetings! I am a SURVIVOR !!!

Hello...Some may remember me from awhile back...

Colon cancer remission 7 years in February after resection and chemo and radiation....

Liver cancer 6 years after resection and  12 chemos...

Lung cancer nearly 5 years after laproscopic suregery and 6 chemos.....

Been through alot as I know you have been too....

Cancer to me is like and old coat that just doesn't fit anymore....

I  am very blessed and know it...I live each day as a new day of life with  continued good health and another day with no cancer...

I have a small cabin in the northern mountains in Pennsylvania, and it is there that on a cold Winter's day that I light a fire in my wood stove and relax in front of my window and watch nature at work in the snow fall...so comforting....I will do this tomorrow again.

I wish all of you strength, peace, happiness and love.... Jim

 

 

cancer has tried hard to nail you glad to see you are still dodging and ducking. Same here ,I start year 17 on the 22nd.Lots of other thins apart from cancer trying to take me out . Stay well mate. Ron.

traci43 said:

7 1/2 years

Diagnosed 6/2007 at 45, married just 2 years.  Stage IV colon cancer with mets to ovaries and omentum.  Removed 1 inch of colon, hyseterectomy and omentum.  They thought I have ovarian cancer due to acites and 5 lb tumor. Found the colon cancer when removing a sponge at the end of surgery. I had stomach bloating that would not go away. Did 12 rounds of FOLFOX, clear in January 2008.  CEA started rising late 2009.

Started chemo again in early 2009 due to CEA rise and PET scan showing mets.  Had HIPEC surgery in June 2009, removed appendix, gall bladder and three mets in a piece of omentum left from first surgery.  6 rounds of FOLFOX and CEA 0.9 end of 2009.

Fast forward 12 months (early 2010) and CEA rising, tumors showing up in rectal area.  14 or 16 rounds of XELIRI and CEA down to normal.

Another year later (early 2012) CEA rising, tumors back.  More XELIRI, and finally surgery to remove rectal tumor and part of tail bone (to access the tumor) in October 2012. No post surgery chemo this time.

Another year later, you get the picture.  More XELIRI, stopped Feb 14, 2014.  Surgery in June 2014 to remove two tumors, permanent colostomy, and since then CEA steady at 1.5.  Colostomy was to be temporary but due to blood loss (needed 2 pints) and a 9 hr surgery, they made it permanent.  If I remain NED, I may try to get it reversed.  No post surgery chemo, CEA taken every two months.  Next draw beginning of February.

 

Im glad u are doing well

michelle -angel