My husband has stage 4 colon cancer

Ladyboots
Ladyboots Member Posts: 6 Member
edited December 2016 in Colorectal Cancer #1

On December 5 I took my husband to Vanderbuilt hospital ER with sever pains in his stomic area. He had seen a hemotoligist on Decemebr 2 due to our PCP's suggestion. My husbands hemoglobins were ar 6.4 and we were told to go to the ER. The ER did a CT Scan and admitted him right away. The next morning the floor doctor came into our room and told us that my husband had a large mass in his colon and his beleif was that it was cancer. He said spots were also seen in the Liver, and a biopsy of the liver was scheduled for the next day. One week later a mass was removed from my husbands colon large enough to only have an opening the size of a soda straw. Lymph node biopsys came back positive for cancer, as well as in the Liver. We wanted to know if he had possible additional areas of cancer concerns, and he was scanned for the upper chest... yes, spots in the lungs too.  

Talk about coming out of the blue!! Healthy as a horse, no cancer in the immediate family.... Then colon, liver, lungs, lymph nodes. Damn!

We go to see the same hemotoligist/oncoligist (not affiliated with Vanderbuilt) on Jan. 17, 2017 to discuss a treatment plan. 

To borrow a quote from a T.V commercial for a cancer treatment center, "No one has an experation date stampted on their foot", can anyone offer advice for us? My husband's situation sounds very advance to us, however, we admit we know NOTHING on this subject. 

Comments

  • javier_garcia123
    javier_garcia123 Member Posts: 28
    #2
    for what I am used to do, the

    for what I am used to do, the date that were give for you is larger than expected, and creates some uncertainity, even more in this special season, but I understand some people can't get a sooner date where they live, but you could at least make a provisory consult with a doctor that has some relationship with you

    well if you are new and want some hope take a look at: https://csn.cancer.org/node/302695 but take into account that usually there are fighters who go on

  • JanJan63
    JanJan63 Member Posts: 2,478 Member
    #3
    Your husband is stage four

    Your husband is stage four because of the lung and liver involvement. I was stage three because of the lymph node involvement but did not have it metastisized into the lungs or liver. A stage two would be someone who has no other involvement otger than the original colon mass. When the liver and/or lungs are involved the cancer in them is still colon cancer, they do not become liver or lung cancer. I'm assuming you've already been told this but just in case I wanted to explain. Much of what I've learned was in the 3 years since my diagnosis.

    Your husband has just had surgery so they're going to wait to do any treatment such as radiation or chemo so the wait is not a worry, they just want him to heal. And they'll make some decisions on how to go about treating him. Now that the colon tumour has been removed they will likely mostly focus on dealing with the mets. Know that the liver will regenerate itself to a certain extent. There are various treatment for the liver and lungs including but not limted to radiation, chemo, surgery, ablation, and some others I can't think of right at the moment. The radiation and chemo can be very targetted.

    If you read though some of the stories on here you will find that stage four is not an automatic death sentence. There are a number of people who have lived long past when they originally would have anticipated. And there are people who were lower stages who are no longer around. Cancer is a very individual thing and it behaves differently for every patient, responds to treatment differently, and the results are different. Please do not go on Google and look at the stats or read the doom and gloom stories. Often the information is old or only pertains to a small group. There is always hope for this cancer.

    Please make sure to come on here and ask questions. The doctors know what they read on paper but they don't know what it's like to live with this. They can be inhibited by what their hospital offers rather than other options. Some of the treatments are not the best option despite what the specialists say. Please try to take things as they come and know that the first and most important treatment has been done. He's had the surgery. Try not to let this break you emotionally.

    And what you said is very true and is often said on this forum regarding how long we may or may not have to live. Unless the doctor is going to come to your house with a gun, they have no idea how long you have to live. Personally, I'd try to avoid asking the question. Only recently did I find out what my new oncologist thought and it hit my like a ton of bricks. It took weeks for me to get to the frame of mind where I was thinking 'yeah, right, I'll show you'. Now I'm back to feeling positive again. I was diagnosed 3 years ago and she said I might have ten more to go. So 13 years after diagnosis isn't bad, really, but I intend it to be longer. And the truth is that they're coming up with new treatments all the time. Ten years is a long time in the medical technology world.

    Anyway, sorry for blathering on. I just hate the idea of anyone going through those first emotions after diagnosis. I wish I'd found this forum sooner than I did. I hope you will both find peace and comfort in this forum. It's not all doom and gloom.

    Jan

  • Joan M
    Joan M Member Posts: 409 Member
    #4
    Colon cancer is called the "silent killer"

    Because it is often times diagnosed with no prior symptoms.  That is how it has been for many of us, including myself, diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer the end of February 2016.  Looking back, I can see some of the signs that I ignored and explained away as due to some other cause.  

    It is good they operated to remove your husband's colon tumor.   He will most likely get chemotherapy when that has healed. Of course there are many other treatments used, but when the cancer is spread they try to get it under control with chemo to shrink tumors.  

    I had a port surgically implanted in my chest and had 8 rounds of Oxaliplatin, Leucavorin, Avastin, and went home with a bag and pump with a 46 hour infusion of 5FU. This was every two weeks.   I tolerated it pretty well, did not get very sick like some people do.  I am now on a maintainence regime of Avastin infusion every three weeks and Xeloda pills for two weeks, then one week off.  This will continue indefiinitely for the rest of my life, unless the cancer mutates and I develop more tumors.  Then the doctors will revise my treatment.

    I have had good results with tumors shrinking and dying from chemotherapy alone.  They would not operate on me due to the number and location of tumors in my liver. I have not had any surgery and the colon tumor is barely visible on the CT scans. My doctor at the Mayo Clinic, Axel Grothey, said he expects that I have many good years of life ahead of me, based on my overall health and the success of the chemo so far.  He told me to follow up with my doctors at home, and worked them to develop a treatment plan.  I get anxious and press for surgery or other treatments to eliminate the tumors from my body, but have been told by many doctors that chemo is working to kill them.  I worry about the long term side effects from the medications, so may go to MD Anderson in Houston to see if there is amore targeted treatment options for me that could get rid of the cancer and allow me to get off the chemo.

    Hope everything works out well for you and your husband. 

    Good luck! 

    Joan M 

  • Ladyboots
    Ladyboots Member Posts: 6 Member
    edited December 2016 #5
    JanJan63 said:

    Your husband is stage four

    Your husband is stage four because of the lung and liver involvement. I was stage three because of the lymph node involvement but did not have it metastisized into the lungs or liver. A stage two would be someone who has no other involvement otger than the original colon mass. When the liver and/or lungs are involved the cancer in them is still colon cancer, they do not become liver or lung cancer. I'm assuming you've already been told this but just in case I wanted to explain. Much of what I've learned was in the 3 years since my diagnosis.

    Your husband has just had surgery so they're going to wait to do any treatment such as radiation or chemo so the wait is not a worry, they just want him to heal. And they'll make some decisions on how to go about treating him. Now that the colon tumour has been removed they will likely mostly focus on dealing with the mets. Know that the liver will regenerate itself to a certain extent. There are various treatment for the liver and lungs including but not limted to radiation, chemo, surgery, ablation, and some others I can't think of right at the moment. The radiation and chemo can be very targetted.

    If you read though some of the stories on here you will find that stage four is not an automatic death sentence. There are a number of people who have lived long past when they originally would have anticipated. And there are people who were lower stages who are no longer around. Cancer is a very individual thing and it behaves differently for every patient, responds to treatment differently, and the results are different. Please do not go on Google and look at the stats or read the doom and gloom stories. Often the information is old or only pertains to a small group. There is always hope for this cancer.

    Please make sure to come on here and ask questions. The doctors know what they read on paper but they don't know what it's like to live with this. They can be inhibited by what their hospital offers rather than other options. Some of the treatments are not the best option despite what the specialists say. Please try to take things as they come and know that the first and most important treatment has been done. He's had the surgery. Try not to let this break you emotionally.

    And what you said is very true and is often said on this forum regarding how long we may or may not have to live. Unless the doctor is going to come to your house with a gun, they have no idea how long you have to live. Personally, I'd try to avoid asking the question. Only recently did I find out what my new oncologist thought and it hit my like a ton of bricks. It took weeks for me to get to the frame of mind where I was thinking 'yeah, right, I'll show you'. Now I'm back to feeling positive again. I was diagnosed 3 years ago and she said I might have ten more to go. So 13 years after diagnosis isn't bad, really, but I intend it to be longer. And the truth is that they're coming up with new treatments all the time. Ten years is a long time in the medical technology world.

    Anyway, sorry for blathering on. I just hate the idea of anyone going through those first emotions after diagnosis. I wish I'd found this forum sooner than I did. I hope you will both find peace and comfort in this forum. It's not all doom and gloom.

    Jan

    Thank you to everyone for the

    Thank you to everyone for the uplifting responces. JanJan63, I have read many of your posts, and I find you to be very helpful and kind. Please know that your words mean a lot to people when they read them (as do ALL helpful posts), so keep up the good work!!

  • JanJan63
    JanJan63 Member Posts: 2,478 Member
    edited December 2016 #6
    Ladyboots said:

    Thank you to everyone for the

    Thank you to everyone for the uplifting responces. JanJan63, I have read many of your posts, and I find you to be very helpful and kind. Please know that your words mean a lot to people when they read them (as do ALL helpful posts), so keep up the good work!!

    Aw, thank you! Sometimes I

    Aw, thank you! Sometimes I wonder if I've said the wrong thing or shouldn't ramble so much. I'm thrilled if my words help anyone in any way. I just want us all to live the best lives we can and be as positive as we can. Its not easy but its easier on some days than it is on others.

    Jan 

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