Advice

KHam
KHam Member Posts: 5 Member
edited September 2023 in Colorectal Cancer #1

I have been diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer which had spread throughout my intestinal wall. It is treatable, but not curable. They have given me 6 mos to 5 yrs. If chemo doesn't help, they say the next step would be pallative/hospice care. I had to have emergency surgery because the stent perforated my intestines and I have a permanent colostomy bag. I am 56 and devastated. I just need some advice from those going through the same thing. The doctors already have me in the grave. My faith in GOD and my family support system are all that are getting me through. And, my family and friends look at me with such sadness in their eyes. I cry at the drop of a hat. I am not a crier and that is new for me. I am on an antidepressant and just prescribed a breakthrough to help me cope.

Comments

  • bigsmile1k
    bigsmile1k Member Posts: 3 Member
    #2
    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/326995/advice

    Hang in there!! It's great that you have family and friends who care and support you! Stay positive! Do whatever you like to do that makes you feel happy!

  • Lily Flower
    Lily Flower Member Posts: 260 Member
    #3

    I don't understand why your doctors are already given you the "death sentence"? We have many stage 4 members here that are still living and being treated for many years and surviving. I would get a 2nd opinion, 3rd opinion until I meet an oncologist that will work with me and give me the hope. Good luck to you and having your faith and a supportive family is a great start!

  • KHam
    KHam Member Posts: 5 Member
    #4
    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1708602#Comment_1708602
    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1708530#Comment_1708530

    Thank you so much for the kind words. Reading the various posts have been a tremendous help. Warm hearts abound on this board.

  • KHam
    KHam Member Posts: 5 Member
    #5

    Thank you for your kind words. I believe that. And, I think you are correct. I need to get another opinion or oncologist with a better outlook on life in general. Thank you for the gentle push.

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,804 Member
    edited September 2023 #6
    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/326995/advice

    I was given five years, ten years ago. Numbers, it's all numbers.

    My situation is different, but the same, in the end.

    I hated the 'sad' look. At one time, I actually blurted out 'I'm not dead yet', because I just could not handle the look, anymore. While I know it was from compassion, it really doesn't help.

    While I do not suggest burying your head in the sand, we all know what 'could' happen, we just need to tell ourselves that we don't know if we are going to one of the lucky ones, so we might as well aim for the positive.

    When I was given the stats, by the Oncologist who visited my hospital room right after bowel surgery, he told me the survival rate was 8%. I figured I would just be a part of that 8%.

    So I will agree with my friend, Lily Flower. Get yourself a second opinion, and do a bit of serious research in the right places.

    Don't worry about the crying, that is a stage many of us go through. Roll with it. It is the last of your worries.

    You have family and friends as support, and now you have us.

    Tru

  • KHam
    KHam Member Posts: 5 Member
    #7

    I have chemotherapy two hours at the chemo center and bring home a pump for two days. I am scheduled to do this every other week. I have done this twice now and since starting this, I have had this odd burning sensation in the areas where the cancer is located. I asked the oncologist about it, but she did not answer or address it. Has anyone experienced any pain and what type of sensation did it feel like? I can't seem to get any answers from my "team" of doctors.

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,804 Member
    #8

    My advice is to ask again, and don't let your Oncologist (team), brush you off.

    Keep a record every single day, describing the pain or the sensation. Be specific. Is it is constant. Is it at certain times - ie. after you eat or walk. How long does the pain lasts. Read this out to your Oncologist, and tell her that you are really concerned about it. Don't let up until she tells you what she thinks - which is likely to be that she has no idea, which is something they hate to admit, thus they ignore the question.

    Case in point. I told my Cardiologist at my last visit, that my blood pressure spiked after I took Turmeric supplements. He just carried on as if I hadn't even said anything; so I told him again, until he took notice. He admitted that he had never heard of such a thing.

    I like a Doctor who is honest. We all deserve a Doctor who is honest. They aren't God's, and they don't know everything, but they can learn by listening to their patients.

    Pain anywhere, needs to be taken notice of. Maybe it is stress pain - I get pains in my chest all of the time, since my heart attack, but it is just me fretting. So, you could be getting some 'fretting' pain, or it could be real, and indicating some kind of problem.

    I wish you the best, and hope that your pain subsides.

    Keep us informed.

    Tru

  • KHam
    KHam Member Posts: 5 Member
    #9
    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1708972#Comment_1708972

    You don't know what your comment means to me. I do have a tendency to be a worrier. I have been STRESSED since this diagnosis with the colostomy bag being my main stressor. And, I have been taking Tumeric and my blood pressure has spiked. Hmmm...

    Thank you for your words of encouragement and wisdom.

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