Recently diagnosed

Yes, the surgeon got the visible cancer, but once its in your lymph nodes, it has ready access to circulate throughout your body.  Radiation can help eradicate cancer in the area of your tumor (and nearby remaining lymph nodes) and chemo can go after the cancer that is streaming through your lymphatic system.  

Is there a guarantee that this will prevent recurrence?  No.  But knowing that the cancer has gone beyond localized tumor is why they want to do more treatment.  However, ultimately the decision is yours to make:  chemo? radiation? neither? both?  Find out what advantages each might give you and then determine if the negatives of the treatments are worth the potential benefits.

Tru:  you offered a well-said response.  So much so, that if I did not have RC then I would want to get it to be able to join this group!

Greg: you received some "experienced" responses.  I am in between chemo/radiation (neoadjuvant) and resection surgery, which will be followed by mop-up chemo. My latest CT scan indicates that my tumor has been reduced/eliminated such that the CT no longer detects it.  When the oncologist shared that with me I questioned the need for surgery and mop-up chemo.  The answer was cancer at the cellular level is still cancer and because it is so small it may not be detectable. 

Roll the dice.  Don't follow the advice of the medical community or follow it? 

My decision is to get after it hard and fast right now.  As the days/weeks/months/years pass our bodies age and our ability to respond to and recover from treatment declines.  I am in the best moment "right now" to take aggressive action to eradicate this disease from my body.  I do not want to do this, but I did not want to go to the 1st grade either.

Cancer presents so many unknowns and that truly degrades our clairity of thought.  At a time when we absolutely need vision and confidence, we have a tendency to "freeze up" and escape from the situation.  What I have experienced on multiple ocassions with both prostate cancer and rectal cancer is that once I make a decision (choose a course of action; select a day for a procedure; etc.) then my confidence level increases and my stress level decreases.  The cancer is still there, but the "fog of war" has partially lifted and I have direction.  To quote John Paul Jones, a U.S. naval hero, "damn the torpedoes - full speed ahead."

Remain an active member of this list and you will quickly benefit from the experience of others.  Plus, don't forget that you also have something to share with others as they join this group and this list.

I wish you luck my friend.

Jim

I'm sorry you have to be here.  If you have had 8 lymph nodes involved you can consider chemo.  This would be done as a "mop up" to mop up any cells that could have escaped during chemo.  Even people with no lymph node involvement get "mop up" chemo.  When you disrupt the cancer area there is always a chance of cells getting loose.  Don't look at it as a poison but something that can save you from a return to cancer.  My radiologist told me that if there is a return to cancer, chances are very great that it's harder to get rid of.  It's your decision to go and discuss this with your oncologist.  This is my circumstance only but you are the one who is going to make that decision.  My one saying through all of this journey was I'd never want to say "what if".  You need to be comfortable with your decision and think about it.  Good luck on your journey.

Kim