Clean scans, Buttt

Chris....

Enjoy life and forget about tomorrow and yesterday, live it for today.

Once diagnosed with cancer we all are made aware of the expiration date that we all have but never noticed before. It's always been there, so remember that.

Now that you have been reminded that you are only here temporarily, you can move forward with much more seriousness, if you choose to do so. Most of do not, however.

I prayed that I could live a few more years to settle matters and make things better for my wife; get my papers in order....

I lived a lot more than a "few years', but all my clutter remains.

I am presently faced with an operation that many do not survive. I could have taken the time I had been given to get things in order, but I neglected to do so, thinking I would live forever.

When you wake up tomorrow, do what you know is the right thing to do. Face your mortality head-on. Understand that life is not eternal, you too have an expiration date.

It's a wake-up call that none of us desire to face, but face it we must, sooner or later.

I lived more than 5 years past my prognosis, I'm overdue and being called.

You may live 50 years more than me. But know that you do not know that you will.

Don't live in fear, live with direction.

Be well, I'm pulling for you

John

ron50 said:

G'day John

I deduce from your post that you may not be doing so well. If that is the case then I can only wish you well and hope that things go as well as they possibly can for you. Cancer has continued to leave me alone but alas the rest of life keeps on attacking from all sides , all the best from an old timer.    Ron.

Cancer’s after effects….

After they ravage our body removing cancer that they can find, we continue to be ravaged, if not by more surgery or chemicals, it’ll be by the ramifications of both.

I’ve always been amazed at your strength Ron, and I hope Chris can get some helpful insight from the experiences of those that have managed to endure this debacle. Sometimes it helps to see just how far others have pushed the envelope; how far we can go in spite of a lousy diagnosis of this stupid condition.

I’ve been fortunate that I never had to fight the chemicals and radiation used in western medicine, taking a totally different route than anyone here, but it hasn’t been much different for me otherwise. Cancer and surgery steals from us, and once we lose body parts and organs, we suffer. I guess we all learn over time, that cancer cells can be the least of the problem; cause and effect…. With the effect often being worse than the cause.

Chris…. Not to depress you here, but you’re into a life-changing experience that may never seem to end. It’s not the end of the world, or your life, it’s just something different than you may have wished for.

Those of us (and there are more than you think) that have battled this and lived with this longer than predicted, will likely tell you the same thing: Live life. Enjoy it more. Don’t allow fear to stifle you or change your direction. You remain in charge of your life, as long as you take charge of your life.

When we first notice the “sell-by” date that’s been stamped on our forehead, we worry. Have no fear, it’s just a “sell-by” date, not the expiration date.

Not one of us knows what the expiration date is. Live Chris. You’ll do fine!

John

I am an the same boat as you, with a rising CEA. 

Right now, our CEA is still in range, and my Oncologist is not at all worried. I am though, and know how you feel. 

There really isn't much we can do at this moment other than lead a healthy life style (Honestly, I still fight with that) and watch. Watch and hope that the CEA drops, watch a wonder if it will continue to rise. 

Cancer has to get to a certain size before scans start to pick it up, so that is probably one of the reasons why you Onc is playing the wait and see game. Now, why he is waiting six months I don't know. I've always been on a three month schedule for blood work, six months after I got one year out from clear scans. 

I know there is no point in telling you not to worry. I found out my CEA had risen for the second time two months ago, and I worry every single day. Sometimes I fancy I can feel Cancer growing, but I'm sure its just imagination. What I don't do is let that worry control my life. I will wait until my next blood test (end of January) and we'll go from there. I enjoyed Thanksgiving, I will enjoy my birthday and Christmas, I will ring in the New Year and then I will see what is going on. 

2.9 is still in range. Keep telling yourself that and enjoy the Christmas season and pray for health and happiness as we move into 2016. 

Sue - Trubrit

Don't they tie your future and sense of wellbeing to flipping numbers. Year 2 after colectomy my cea went from 4ish to forteen and everything, including a liver biopsy came up negative. Six months later another biopsy finally found the mets. Fast forward to now and my cea is 1.8 and my mind says yay, BUT, now it's got no where to go but up. Can't let that kind of thinking take hold, Chris, it will just eat you up. Cea moves around and isn't reliable unless it just keeps going up over time. John's right, face it, do what you need to, then put it on the shelf. Easier said then done, I know, but that's the battle. Luck to you, and John, and us all..................Dave

mom_2_3 said:

Chris

Chris, 

 

At diagnosis my CEA was over 300.  By the time I had surgery 4 months later my CEA was 100.  After my liver resection my CEA fell to the 2.1-2.2 range.  It hovered in the range of 2.2 anod 2.5 for about 2 years.  I did have an occasional spike to 2.8 and even 3.2 but the numbers came down again.  in the past couple of years my CEA has normalized around 3.4.  I have plotted my numbers in Excel and have seen a slight increase over the past 7 years with occasional spikes.  My doctor told me that the CEA is affected by intestinal distress (perhaps explanation for the spikes) and also age (explains the gradual increase over time).  Here I am, seven years since my diagnosis of Stage IV and 6 1/2 years since my surgery and NED.  Despite those spikes way back when and that gradual increase I still remain NED.  My last scan was this last June and my next is June 2016.

It is hard right now to cut and paste all my CEA numbers from the hospital portal but if I could, you would see a lot of variation in the numbers and hopefully be reassured that this slight increase is not concerning for you.  But I live in the world of post-cancer fear and realize that it is very difficult to simply forget about your worries and move on.  Perhaps you could ask for another CEA test in 2 months to help reassure you.  When my doctor finally released me to yearly scans in my 5th year I was very scared, and my doctor and I agreed we could relieve my anxiety by having a CEA test every 2 months.  I have since become more comfortable about getting CEA every 6 months.  It was a gradual process.  

 

Wishing you peace, 

Amy

It warms my heart and soothes my qualms to read this post. 

Thank you for being one of the many years NED friends who continue to post. It means the world to those of us just starting out and just starting our own NED part of the journey. 

Sue - Trubrit

John23 said:

Hi Sue!

Rather than post a new “waa-waa” thread, I simply added to my “blog” at http://74.115.230.41/tcm/tcm.html

and updated my new health status.

 

We all have our problems and we all must find our own resolve. We support each other in whatever way we can, but at times, it just isn’t enough.

 

Life is short; too, too short for many of us, and regardless of age….. we never desire to see it end.

 

Cancer isn’t the enemy; seeing the end of life coming, is.

 

Prepare for it. Know it is as real as life can be. It does not go on forever for anyone.

 

Live life for today; attempt to make it better for those to follow.

 

Never look back with regret for what you have done to perfect.

 

Be well.

 

John

John - Wow, what a roller coaster ride you've been on.  I'm saddened by what you're going through right now.  It's a great reminder to all about second opinions and continuing to get colonoscopies/sigmoidoscopies. I hope that that the surgery goes well for you.  I'll be praying for you.

I've missed your occassional TCM posts.  The longer I'm around the more I'm dipping my toes into other modalities.  I have a friend that has also used chinese herbs to keep his bladder cancer in remission for many years.  I wish you all the best.  Traci