My husband is 34 with stage IV

Happy Mom said:

my husband is young too

I read your post and thought, wow, I guess there are many in this situation! My husband was just diagnosed a few weeks ago, but today we got a plan going. He is stage 4 because he does have some small round nodes in his lungs. We saw the surgeon first today who said-ok, well there are mets and there are mets-this is minor, but we can hit you with the agressive chemo for a bit, shrink it all, then take out the tumor-which is like 3 cm??? So, he said to us that he sees this every day but that he sees a ton of cures now with young people especially becasue they are generally very healthy. Then we went to see the oncologist and she kept saying "well, we wont know if we can go for the cure because it's harder and you know it might be better to just treat it chronically..." well, that isnt going to happen, we are going to get him to a cure-his odds were given to be about 33% for a cure-but if not a cure at least 5 years of treatment...first agressive chemo, then a maintanance dose of chemo. I know it's crappy, but from what the oncologist told us the chemo for rectal/colon is really not bad...and most patients lead normal lives and work full time. My husbands tumor is adenocarcinoma which i guess is very common for rectal, so therefore they have lots of meds to choose from. His CEA was 9, and the surgeon said that is fine, but the oncologist said they like it to be about 5. Well, geez, I wish he didnt have cancer at all, but I will take 5+ years and a possible cure!

I am sorry to hear that your husband has been diagnosed Stage IV. 

It would be wonderful if you could start your own thread, so that we can all welcome you without building up Pina2012's  thread. Here is the link to the forum page

http://csn.cancer.org/forum/128

I do want to warn you though. You say  I know it's crappy, but from what the oncologist told us the chemo for rectal/colon is really not bad...and most patients lead normal lives and work full time.  Chemo can be horrific. Chemo can be a breeze. Until your husband gets his chemo, there will be no way of telling which it will be for him.  I went in to Chemo a very healthy woman, yet it floored me. I was sick from head to toe, a list as long as your arm (I have a thread, but will not share here). 

Others here can tell you how they breezed through chemo, working until the end. I pray that will be the case for your husband. I tell you this because in my opinon, being prepared is important. There were things that happened to me, that I wish I had been told about. 

Good luck to you both, as you move forward. 

I hope you visit often, as we're a very helpful bunch, both patients and caregivers. 

Trubrit

Trubrit said:

Welcome Happy Mom.

I am sorry to hear that your husband has been diagnosed Stage IV. 

It would be wonderful if you could start your own thread, so that we can all welcome you without building up Pina2012's  thread. Here is the link to the forum page

http://csn.cancer.org/forum/128

I do want to warn you though. You say  I know it's crappy, but from what the oncologist told us the chemo for rectal/colon is really not bad...and most patients lead normal lives and work full time.  Chemo can be horrific. Chemo can be a breeze. Until your husband gets his chemo, there will be no way of telling which it will be for him.  I went in to Chemo a very healthy woman, yet it floored me. I was sick from head to toe, a list as long as your arm (I have a thread, but will not share here). 

Others here can tell you how they breezed through chemo, working until the end. I pray that will be the case for your husband. I tell you this because in my opinon, being prepared is important. There were things that happened to me, that I wish I had been told about. 

Good luck to you both, as you move forward. 

I hope you visit often, as we're a very helpful bunch, both patients and caregivers. 

Trubrit

Sue is right. While it can be helpful to go into it with a positive attitude the fact is that he's likely going to have some sort of side effects from it. Even just fatigue can be pretty bad. Neuropathy is horrible if he gets it. It's most likely he won't be able to work full time if at all during it. If he does, great, but please hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Also, telling someone that it can be so easy can make that person feel like they're being weak or not tough enough if it is bad. The last thing a cancer patient needs is to feel bad about what's going on with them. Take care and I hope your husband does well!

Jan

Pina, 

I was diagnosed at the age of 39, my cancer discovered during a routine c-section of our 3rd child.  I had 5 liver mets across my liver, the largest 5 cm.  I sought the expertise and care of Dr. Nancy Kemeny at Memorial Sloan Kettering.  After chemos, surgery and HAI implantation I have remained cancer-free for over 7 years.  My next scan is in June.

The little one that saved my life through her birth is now a spunky, funny and wonderful 7 year old.  

My advice to you is that after this round of treatments he will have a scan.  Before that scan secure a second opinion with Dr. Kemeny to see if the HAI pump is right for him.  HAI has been a life-saver for many people.

PM me if you would like more detail.

Amy