And I think the mets to the lungs makes it a Grade 4.

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/colonandrectumcancer/detailedguide/colorectal-cancer-staged

But s---w the grading.  Like the stats, just numbers which can do more harm than good to us emotionally.   My Onc told me even if it is mets to lungs for me, he will just go in and knock it out  (I am IIIC, heavy lymph nodes, went through wall.  Otherwise really good health.  Go figure. )  

Hang in there J.J.

refer to it as restaging.   You were diagnosed at  stage 3B  then restaged as  Stage 4 once the mets  were  found. It's less complicated for me, I was diagnosed with stage 4  from the initial PET scan  showing a  lit up liver spot right after the colonoscopy and  biopsy of the rectal tumor.  Hoping all goes well with your radiation therapy.

JanJan63 said:

Thanks you guys, I should

Thanks you guys, I should have said stage, not grade. I love how people on here keep things in perspective. I'm still feeling very positive and think that I'm going to beat this. Most of the time, anyway. I had to ask for anti-depressants the last time I was at the doctor's because I'm having some really dark days more often than I think is normal. Just to get me through for a while.

Jan

I was 3b, but if asked I say stage 4, which is metastasis to other, distant points or organs, seems more of an accurate expression of the situation, even if not in line with medical jargon. As far as taking medication to help you through one of the tougher things folks deal with in this here life, I say, what ever works, what ever gets you through........................Dave

John23 said:

Cancer Stage Stigma

Cancer Stage Stigma

One issue that we don’t talk about much, is the stigma attached to a stage four diagnosis.

As one physician mentioned to me - some institutions, and most insurance companies treat a stage four a bit differently, since the “terminal” aspect is more pronounced with a more “serious” stage of cancer. For that reason, being considered as “terminal” can work against the cancer patient.

Just his opinion perhaps?

I personally know of too, too many stage one and stage two cancer victims that have died within two years of their diagnosis. As far as I’m concerned, cancer is terminal. Some live longer than others, but if the body allows a defective cell to remain, sooner or later it will be a problem once again.

It always bothered me to hear an individual tell a cancer patient, that they’ll be OK because a stage 1 or 2 can be cured. My neighbor died not too long ago of “stage 1 melanoma” just about a year after his DX. Another friend died of stage 1 colon cancer not quite a year after his DX.

But telling someone you’re stage four brings gasps….. It’s the stigma.

Just more %^&* to think about in the idle moments we don’t think about cancer.

Eat well, be healthy.

John

 of a stage 4 diagnosis is not as great as it once was as more people learn about  cancer. I still have people  say, upon learning that I have  stage 4 cancer,  they hope I'll be cured, but most  seem to understand that while a stage 4  diagnosis is not a  sentence of imminent death, and although  miracles do happen, it is not  generally  a curable condition, either, but more like a chronic disease that can be managed. The long term stage 4 survivors who post here here are proof  that it can be  managed or held at bay for  quite a few years and that  people can enjoy a  relatively good  quality of life despite the cancer. As more people learn about  highly visible people  like  Coach Bruce de Haven of the Panthers, country singer Wade Hayes and President  Carter who  are  living productively with  stage 4  cancer, I think   the stigma will eventually  go away.  I know  cancer  will kill me - maybe soon, maybe later.  But I could  get  hit by a car or struck by lightning or killed in a random shooting first.  It's not something I worry about all the time because worrying about dying  interferes with  my mind and keeps me from living as full a life as I can for as long as I can.  Which is all any of us can do, with or without cancer.  The treatments we go through to manage  our disease are no fun, admittedly.  But when I read about  the treatments, surgeries,  setbacks others have gone through, then see them post about their  good news and the hope  they project it gives me hope, too and I'm very  grateful to them for sharing. And maybe that's the secret- as more stage 4  survivors share their stories,  more people wil learn, and as they learn, the fear and the stigma will fall away.

Grace- lizard44

None of us get out alive. 

I use the staging to suit my needs. 

I tell people I'm stage IV and watch the amazment in their faces, because there is still the belief that you're dying when you are stage IV and I want to prove them wrong. OK, I might be dying next month, but this month I'm not and I feel good and I want them to know it; so that one day, when they are diagnosed or their child or loved one, they will think 'Stage IV doesn't mean an instant death sentence'.

Oh sure, I do get a kick out of seeing the amazment, because really, I'm quite special  , but for the most part its because I want them to know its not all bad. To give hope when hope has faded. To try to impress upon people that they should live life with joy. 

Yeah, I'm full of it. 

Sue - Trubrit

Trubrit said:

Life is terminal.

None of us get out alive. 

I use the staging to suit my needs. 

I tell people I'm stage IV and watch the amazment in their faces, because there is still the belief that you're dying when you are stage IV and I want to prove them wrong. OK, I might be dying next month, but this month I'm not and I feel good and I want them to know it; so that one day, when they are diagnosed or their child or loved one, they will think 'Stage IV doesn't mean an instant death sentence'.

Oh sure, I do get a kick out of seeing the amazment, because really, I'm quite special  , but for the most part its because I want them to know its not all bad. To give hope when hope has faded. To try to impress upon people that they should live life with joy. 

Yeah, I'm full of it. 

Sue - Trubrit

I'm with you, I want to be able to say I beat this when it was really bad, stage 4, because that would be a great example to other victims of this stuff, that there is hope. If it doesn't play out that way, the labels won't matter much anyway......................................Dave