Just found out I have cancer

Good move getting it done as squeaky wheel - and early on when being hit with this news is always a good time to do that to get answers and plan.

  I was in a similar position . I was 48 and had a mass in my transverse and descending colon. GI could not get the scope past it. i had immediate surgery due to the likelihood of colon rupture. It turned out to be an aggressice stge 3 tumour into 6 nodes. My surgeon thought he got it all but was unsure if it had reacged the fatty tissue at the base of the flange > I had a year of intense chemo and have been cancer free since then.  22jan 2018 will be my 20th anniversary of surgery still cancer free. Best of luck Ron.

darcher said:

Cancer sucks

    I recall all too well the day I found out,  June 19. I was a complete mess, still am to some degree but a little more polished and composed. Your about to go through a lot of life changing events.  There is no way around it but keep in mind that what ever you do.  DO AS THE DOCTORS TELL YOU!   Most of them have a lot of experience, training, etc, and know exactly how to handle this.  We don't.  No matter how much reading you do you'll never catch up on 10 years+ of education and training.  If you're given an option take the one that results in more treatment, not less.  The better you are at that the better you'll finish.

  I'm sure you've read survivor stats.  We all did at first. Here are some facts they don't disclose that skew them.  After talking to the medical staff I've learned a few things. A good portion of the people who don't survive don't because they did not keep all their appointments, did not take all their pills, or wandered off thinking some ancient chinese herb or some other unproven nonsense is going to cure them.  Two examples.  While I was going to radiation I was told a lot of people quit before they're done.  Another is while waiting to pick up a load of chemo pills I saw a short clip on the TV in the waiting room that said only about 20% of the prescriptions issued are taken as prescribed.  Also, a number of those survivor stats are based on older people (70+) getting this from 20 years back. Not to seem morbid but some of them were going to die within the 5 or 10 years anyhow plus what we have now in procedures is a lot better.   At 40, even if it's stage 4 you'll make it through just fine.  Age and physical make up matters a lot. 

  Dealing with others whether it be wives, husbands, relatives, co-workers etc, keep this in mind.  They do not have cancer, you do. That was a mistake I made expecting a certain level of compassion  That's impossible and until a person has this there is no comparison to something else.  You'll get mad, sad, and all sorts of other things.  I've got a garage door and dryer with big dents so a little anger is perfectly fine and normal. 

  Time will be your enemy for the moment.  It's also ok to push for sooner appointments.  Be dramatic if need be on the phone. It worked for me in the beginning to get some of the tests done quicky.  Depending on several factors you could have an ultrasound, PET scan, CT scan, MRI, or others.  Purpose is to get the treatment ball rolling as soon as possible. 

  The treatments can start with surgery or could be radiation and chemo prior to surgery.  It will depend on where the tumour is and of course its size and so forth.  In case you're wondering, if yours is up as high as you indicated you won't end up with a bag.  That's also everyone's big fear.  I had chemo and radiation at the same time up until Sept 11.  I then had surgery which was just 2 weeks ago.  Side affects from any of that can vary wildely from person to person.  Some of them will sneak up on you without you realizing so it's a good idea to have someone monitor your drinking/eating habits.  I lost my sense off thirst and hunger plus the added bonus of getting forgetful as someone with dimensia.  I'm not convinced it's tied to the chemo entirely since a good portion of your thoughts are going to be one thing, I've got cancer. It's inescapable and will cloud your judgment and just about everything else for a while until you've got solid answers and know the course of action.  If you've got a hobby or some activity try to put as much time to it as you can.  It's not perfect but you'll find it can distract you from this for a while.

  I'm now waiting to start the post surgery chemo and ran head on into a disagreement between the surgeon and oncologist.  The surgeon said there was no lymph node involvement and it didn't appear there ever was.  The oncologist said he didn't buy that since the chemo/radiation I had prior to surgery MIGHT have masked it.  He said it was exceedingly rare to have a tumour the size I did and it not be invasive.  He wanted to give me the standard stage 3 follow up.  The purpose of which is to ensure the next PET scan doesn't show it's moved to greener pastures.  I told him I know enough to know I don't know so what ever he suggests I'll go along with. For the next four to six months I'll be a little miserable again but in the long run there won't be any regrets.  My comfort is knowing I've done what I'm supposed to.   

  

Thank you! I had thoughts that maybe that is why the stats are as they are since my surgeon and oncologist seem bery confident I can be cured and make it through. I know there are always possible factors to mess that up, but I feel confident that this is all worth it to be a survivor. I also understand why some won't do the finish up chemo after the surgery, but I plan on getting mine. I want all possible bad cells killed. I have two infusions down. My colon tumor was removed before chemo, had to be. After my 4th infusion, if the liver lesions have shrunk enough, I will have surgery to remove them, then finish the last 8 infusions. It is tough and I have my bad moments, but I try to stay positive. I am lucky that my surgeon and oncologist keep me feeling confident.

ScaredButFighting said:

Bad news

Had surgery a couple of days ago to resect cancerous portion of bowel.  Unfortunately, they found multiple mets in the peritoneum that werent seen on CT, and sewed me back up.  Stage IV Signet Ring Cell.  Start chemo soon.  So lost and hopeless.  I’m only40.  I‘ve lived a resonably healthy life and I dont want it to be over.  WTF?!?!  (Tears and expletives)

Do you know what your cancer mutation is? There may be some targeted options based on mutation.

ScaredButFighting said:

Bad news

Had surgery a couple of days ago to resect cancerous portion of bowel.  Unfortunately, they found multiple mets in the peritoneum that werent seen on CT, and sewed me back up.  Stage IV Signet Ring Cell.  Start chemo soon.  So lost and hopeless.  I’m only40.  I‘ve lived a resonably healthy life and I dont want it to be over.  WTF?!?!  (Tears and expletives)

Allow yourself the horror of this news, and then, when the time is right, pull out those fighting gloves. You ARE too young, and this doesn't need to be 'the end'. Once you get past these new, raw emotions, get yourself into a good place of positive thoughts and determind fight. 

We are here to help you through, if only with words of encouragement. 

Sending my best thoughts and good vibes. 

Tru

ScaredButFighting said:

Contradiction

Thank you for the kind words.  How does one maintain hope in the face of very tough odds?  

I'm not facing very tough odds - just a lot of long and often painful treatments. But I do see lots of folks that do fight very hard against very tough odds. There's a thread on Colon Talk called Wives of husbands with Stage IV Colon Freaking Cancer and there are a lot of brave women over there fighting for their husbands. You might read through Zig2017's notes - her husband went through normal stage 3 treatments and then they found mets while doing Adjuvant Chemo. He has BRAF V600E which is extremely aggressive and has poor prognosis. There are other mutations like KRAS G12V that have poor prognosis too and you'll find individuals and spouses doing their best to fight through these more difficult mutations. So these folks might be good to chat with to see how they manage. There are, of course, folks here with stage 4 (or that had stage 4) and they're folks to talk to as well. And of us at stage 3 or 2 could become stage 4 as well so we do have anxieties and worries about survival.

http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18704&p=468442&hilit=wives#p468442

ScaredButFighting said:

Contradiction

Thank you for the kind words.  How does one maintain hope in the face of very tough odds?  

I'm going to beat this, unless I don't. 

So yes, you're right, it is a contradition. BUT, that is exactly how I face life. I believe I'm going to be one of the lucky ones, while knowing that my present, good, situation could change on a dime.  Its a 'place' you have to find, in yourself. It doesn't happen over night, you have to look for it, sometimes you have to look deep. Some folks never find it.  Does it mean you will beat the Cancer? No, but it means that you will have joy in the 'hope' of beating Cancer. 

If I am going to die, then I damn it, I am going to die happy. 

But first, take time to come to terms with the news you've just recieved. Its OK to hurt. To cry. To be angry. Just not to wallow in it, because it will bring you down, and when you're down, your body won't have what it needs to fight. 

Upward and onward. 

Tru

Hi.i was diagnosed nov 3 and here I am one week after the surgery already. The surgery was laparoscopic and minimally invasive.i am 47 years old and can honestly say that the c section I had may have been worse. I meet w my surgeon on the 14th again. I am not privy to the different types and stages and had never even heard of signet...I hope that we all are on the road to long lasting health and I am thankful to read these posts during my insomnia...I get this often since my diagnosis.