down under

2bhealed
2bhealed Member Posts: 2,064 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Welcome kangatoo!!

SO glad you came out of hiding and joined us. Now you get to join in the group hugs, the venting sessions, the juicing lectures, the banter, and the support we all need to make it through each day as cancer survivors. The other night I was extremely crabby (the night before I went to Mayo Clinic to have my tests done) and I was so frustrated with my family. They just don't get it---my kids mostly but sometimes my hubby too. All I could think of was running into my office and popping in here for a reality check and some fellowship with those who GET IT! So it's a great place to be I know.

peace, emily who can never keep her mouth shut long enough to be a lurker! haha

Comments

  • 2bhealed
    2bhealed Member Posts: 2,064 Member
    #2
    for some goofy reason this made its own new thread rather than go under kangatoos!

    argh!! @#$*!!!
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #3
    G'Day, kangatoo!

    Never mind emily, she's krabby ALL the TIME...

    (not really)

    Anyway, since you are young and your cancer was on the ascending side, have you been tested for HNPCC? It's a genetic condition that causes colon cancer. Knowing if you have the gene won't really do anything for you, but it means your kids have a 50-50 chance of having it. Armed with that knowledge, you can be certain to start having them tested (colonoscopy - not a flex-sig) early (like 17 or 18) and regularly (like every 2 years). Just a thought... I have more info if you're interested.

    Welcome to the semicolons!

    Oh, and contrary to what anyone here will tell you, I NEVER cry nor feel afraid. I am made of stainless steel! A sponge made of steel? OK... Steel wool.

    - SpongeBob
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #4
    2bhealed said:

    for some goofy reason this made its own new thread rather than go under kangatoos!

    argh!! @#$*!!!

    Yeah, I started to reply with my own new discussion, too, but just dovetailed into yours.

    BTW, I'm very glad to see you read the @#$% newsletter that advised asked us to stop #$^ing swearing on the !@#$ net. !@$% I swear Jose is so !#$$#@! sensitive!

    All I have to say os !@#$#@!$#@!$#@!$#@!#@!#

    (can you tell I'm a sailor?)
  • kangatoo
    kangatoo Member Posts: 2,105 Member
    #5
    spongebob said:

    G'Day, kangatoo!

    Never mind emily, she's krabby ALL the TIME...

    (not really)

    Anyway, since you are young and your cancer was on the ascending side, have you been tested for HNPCC? It's a genetic condition that causes colon cancer. Knowing if you have the gene won't really do anything for you, but it means your kids have a 50-50 chance of having it. Armed with that knowledge, you can be certain to start having them tested (colonoscopy - not a flex-sig) early (like 17 or 18) and regularly (like every 2 years). Just a thought... I have more info if you're interested.

    Welcome to the semicolons!

    Oh, and contrary to what anyone here will tell you, I NEVER cry nor feel afraid. I am made of stainless steel! A sponge made of steel? OK... Steel wool.

    - SpongeBob

    Thanks Emily and Spongebob for your welcome.I have not been tested for the genetic "thingy" but will ask on mondays 1st visit to the clinic.Nonetheless, I have talked to my kids about it as my mother died 4 years ago (brain tumour)and I have been quite adamant that there is def. something in it so far as genetics is concerned.
    We do have a forum here in Aus. which is quite good but nothing I know of that is cancer specific which is why I came here--at least one can choose a discussion pertaining to a similar ilness.
    My wife is very supportive-so are the kids--but it is impossible to relate to them what it is really like to fear for ones future--kinda like trying to tell my very supporting friends what it is like to do chemo--thats impossible to explain because it is like nothing I have ever felt before--very strange!
    How the guys n gals here cope with far worse effects and more advanced cancers and treatments is beyond me-but after reading many extracts from this forum I can see that we are not alone---geee--what a horrible disease!!!!

    I was very sad to discover that in the states your treatment costs a heap and that private insurance is a necessity--over here there is private insurance--if one can afford it!--however-all cancer treatments and medication are free here/In the case of medication, I only have to ask for it and get it-no questions asked.Cancer patients here are always reviewed at each session and asked about side-effects--then "given" appropriate meds.The "angels" at our clinic are truly that!
    The real main expense we are up for is the initial tests ie;exrays/cats./colonoscopies/barium enemas/ultra sounds/blood tests etc. etc.These are somewhat subsidised but still leave us having to pay between $100-200 per test.I travel aprox. 200ks. round trip each day for my chemo.
    Thanks again guys--and be sure the hugs are coming across the briney to you all!!!
  • Sheepy
    Sheepy Member Posts: 48
    #6
    kangatoo said:

    Thanks Emily and Spongebob for your welcome.I have not been tested for the genetic "thingy" but will ask on mondays 1st visit to the clinic.Nonetheless, I have talked to my kids about it as my mother died 4 years ago (brain tumour)and I have been quite adamant that there is def. something in it so far as genetics is concerned.
    We do have a forum here in Aus. which is quite good but nothing I know of that is cancer specific which is why I came here--at least one can choose a discussion pertaining to a similar ilness.
    My wife is very supportive-so are the kids--but it is impossible to relate to them what it is really like to fear for ones future--kinda like trying to tell my very supporting friends what it is like to do chemo--thats impossible to explain because it is like nothing I have ever felt before--very strange!
    How the guys n gals here cope with far worse effects and more advanced cancers and treatments is beyond me-but after reading many extracts from this forum I can see that we are not alone---geee--what a horrible disease!!!!

    I was very sad to discover that in the states your treatment costs a heap and that private insurance is a necessity--over here there is private insurance--if one can afford it!--however-all cancer treatments and medication are free here/In the case of medication, I only have to ask for it and get it-no questions asked.Cancer patients here are always reviewed at each session and asked about side-effects--then "given" appropriate meds.The "angels" at our clinic are truly that!
    The real main expense we are up for is the initial tests ie;exrays/cats./colonoscopies/barium enemas/ultra sounds/blood tests etc. etc.These are somewhat subsidised but still leave us having to pay between $100-200 per test.I travel aprox. 200ks. round trip each day for my chemo.
    Thanks again guys--and be sure the hugs are coming across the briney to you all!!!

    Hi kangatoo, greetings from Pommy land.
    Like you I benefit from our 'free' health service, though over here the intial tests are all 'free' as well - trouble is, you have to convince the doctors that you could have cancer - and at my age (38) they all said it was unlikely. Fortunately I had insurance, so could go straight to a colonoscopy - otherwise I might have wasted months going through FOBT, sigmoidoscopy, barium enema etc.

    I'm not sure about SpongeBob's comment over HNPCC - I think you said your tumour was near the sigmoid, whereas a tumour near the caecum would more strongly suggest HNPCC - only a thought, it doesn't exclude HNPCC.

    One thing I wonder - do only nice people get cancer, or does cancer bring out the best in people?
  • kangatoo
    kangatoo Member Posts: 2,105 Member
    #7
    Sheepy said:

    Hi kangatoo, greetings from Pommy land.
    Like you I benefit from our 'free' health service, though over here the intial tests are all 'free' as well - trouble is, you have to convince the doctors that you could have cancer - and at my age (38) they all said it was unlikely. Fortunately I had insurance, so could go straight to a colonoscopy - otherwise I might have wasted months going through FOBT, sigmoidoscopy, barium enema etc.

    I'm not sure about SpongeBob's comment over HNPCC - I think you said your tumour was near the sigmoid, whereas a tumour near the caecum would more strongly suggest HNPCC - only a thought, it doesn't exclude HNPCC.

    One thing I wonder - do only nice people get cancer, or does cancer bring out the best in people?

    Hiya sheepy--yes the cancer was above the sigmoid.Initial exploration by a sigmoidoscopy(big word-he he) showed 3 growths, but the malig. tumour that caused all the concern was only just viewable during this test-it was too high up to see clearly.--I had to have the barium enema and colonoscopy to determine its size.As it turned out it was a blockage to the bowel and had gone thru the bowel wall--stage b they called it over here.(stage 2 in USA??)I was never told about any interference with lymph nodes so on that subject I don't know.
    "nice people"?---guess we all live our lives thinking "it won't happen to us!"
    However a bad car smash in 94 made me realise that
    today may be the last day of our lives!So attitude changed somewhat even back then.I think there is good in everyone--some people just don't realise it until too late.
    In truth I don't think I am pre-occupied with the thought of dying so much--more so the thought of leaving loved ones behind--kinda like how I felt when both my parents passed on.
    cheers kanga
  • kangatoo
    kangatoo Member Posts: 2,105 Member
    #8
    kangatoo said:

    Hiya sheepy--yes the cancer was above the sigmoid.Initial exploration by a sigmoidoscopy(big word-he he) showed 3 growths, but the malig. tumour that caused all the concern was only just viewable during this test-it was too high up to see clearly.--I had to have the barium enema and colonoscopy to determine its size.As it turned out it was a blockage to the bowel and had gone thru the bowel wall--stage b they called it over here.(stage 2 in USA??)I was never told about any interference with lymph nodes so on that subject I don't know.
    "nice people"?---guess we all live our lives thinking "it won't happen to us!"
    However a bad car smash in 94 made me realise that
    today may be the last day of our lives!So attitude changed somewhat even back then.I think there is good in everyone--some people just don't realise it until too late.
    In truth I don't think I am pre-occupied with the thought of dying so much--more so the thought of leaving loved ones behind--kinda like how I felt when both my parents passed on.
    cheers kanga

    Hey, spongebob---you never did tell me what HNPCC stands for---bit dumb here---the braincells also got affected by the chemo--he he
    cheers kanga
  • pattieb
    pattieb Member Posts: 168
    #9
    kangatoo said:

    Hey, spongebob---you never did tell me what HNPCC stands for---bit dumb here---the braincells also got affected by the chemo--he he
    cheers kanga

    Welcome Kanga
    We call that chemo brain lol
    Pattie
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #10
    kangatoo said:

    Hey, spongebob---you never did tell me what HNPCC stands for---bit dumb here---the braincells also got affected by the chemo--he he
    cheers kanga

    Ahoy, Kanga -

    HNPCC stands for "Hereditary Non-polyposis Colo-rectal Cancer".

    I think it's a matter of cancer bringing out the best in people in my opinion.

    Carpe diem!

    - SB
  • kangatoo
    kangatoo Member Posts: 2,105 Member
    #11
    spongebob said:

    Ahoy, Kanga -

    HNPCC stands for "Hereditary Non-polyposis Colo-rectal Cancer".

    I think it's a matter of cancer bringing out the best in people in my opinion.

    Carpe diem!

    - SB

    thanks and hi pattieb---now I can use that as an excuse for being "braindead" when Jen and the kids say dad's "lost tha plot"!--he he
    Tks Spongebob---I was afraid the "thingy's" name would be so "clinical" I wouldn't be able to spell it!--and YES we have told our kids(all adults now) that they need to get checked regularly,
    Great to be with you guys
    cheers kanga
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #12
    Hey Kangatoo:

    Sorry I didn't have time to officially welcome you but if you gotta be somewhere when fighting this awful demon, glad that you are here.

    Thanks for your very, very good wishes for my "mum" and your hugs too. Now send those hugs on their way for hubby Bert and that'll put a smile on his face (hahaha). He's ex-Navy himself and one of those macho men...at least on the outside, but such a soft heart on the inside. Heck, he cries at some Hallmark TV commercials (don't anybody say that I told you that...he'd be red as a beet.

    Again, welcome to our group. I will post this message under your introduction as well...just in case you don't go back to this post and read it.

    Hugs,
    Monika
  • dinkydi8
    dinkydi8 Member Posts: 41
    #13
    kangatoo said:

    Thanks Emily and Spongebob for your welcome.I have not been tested for the genetic "thingy" but will ask on mondays 1st visit to the clinic.Nonetheless, I have talked to my kids about it as my mother died 4 years ago (brain tumour)and I have been quite adamant that there is def. something in it so far as genetics is concerned.
    We do have a forum here in Aus. which is quite good but nothing I know of that is cancer specific which is why I came here--at least one can choose a discussion pertaining to a similar ilness.
    My wife is very supportive-so are the kids--but it is impossible to relate to them what it is really like to fear for ones future--kinda like trying to tell my very supporting friends what it is like to do chemo--thats impossible to explain because it is like nothing I have ever felt before--very strange!
    How the guys n gals here cope with far worse effects and more advanced cancers and treatments is beyond me-but after reading many extracts from this forum I can see that we are not alone---geee--what a horrible disease!!!!

    I was very sad to discover that in the states your treatment costs a heap and that private insurance is a necessity--over here there is private insurance--if one can afford it!--however-all cancer treatments and medication are free here/In the case of medication, I only have to ask for it and get it-no questions asked.Cancer patients here are always reviewed at each session and asked about side-effects--then "given" appropriate meds.The "angels" at our clinic are truly that!
    The real main expense we are up for is the initial tests ie;exrays/cats./colonoscopies/barium enemas/ultra sounds/blood tests etc. etc.These are somewhat subsidised but still leave us having to pay between $100-200 per test.I travel aprox. 200ks. round trip each day for my chemo.
    Thanks again guys--and be sure the hugs are coming across the briney to you all!!!

    stage 3 b sigmoid cancer
    I am an aussie too, dont know whether you still read this forum, however my husband has just been diagnosed with stage 3 sigmoid cancer. He has had a 50mm tumor removed along with 12 inches of sigmoid colon. The pathology read, invasive moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of sigmoid colon 50mm in diameter, infiltrating through muscularis propria into pericolic fat, without serosal involvement, without lymphovascular and perineural invasion, with lymph node metastases (2/35) clear of resection margins, no evidence of further spread. He is about to start chemo and I wonder what sort of chemo you had and how you handled any side effects. I would be happy for any one on the forum to comment, if they can help us. Dinkydi8
  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    #14
    dinkydi8 said:

    stage 3 b sigmoid cancer
    I am an aussie too, dont know whether you still read this forum, however my husband has just been diagnosed with stage 3 sigmoid cancer. He has had a 50mm tumor removed along with 12 inches of sigmoid colon. The pathology read, invasive moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of sigmoid colon 50mm in diameter, infiltrating through muscularis propria into pericolic fat, without serosal involvement, without lymphovascular and perineural invasion, with lymph node metastases (2/35) clear of resection margins, no evidence of further spread. He is about to start chemo and I wonder what sort of chemo you had and how you handled any side effects. I would be happy for any one on the forum to comment, if they can help us. Dinkydi8

    THIS IS A THREAD FROM 2004
    .

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