MOM IS STAGE IV

mopar
mopar Member Posts: 1,972 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Mom just had a colon resection, mets to liver, lungs, thyroid, and one lymph node in the colon. Recovering fairly well from surgery. The oncologist wants her to start in a couple of weeks with chemo (with a port). Is very hopeful and says this can possibly add several quality years to her life. He plans on using Erbitux and Cantosar (spelling??). If she has too much trouble with that he'll go to Avastin and 5FU. I am getting info on all of this, but anyone else have experience with these? Thank you so much for your help and support. I'm a 4 year ovarian survivor, and never thought I would be seeing my Mom go through something like this. Our hope lies in the Lord Jesus, and knowing that he will work through all things - the doctors, chemo, etc. We like her doctors and they are very nice.
Thank you again!
Monika

Comments

  • nettie4
    nettie4 Member Posts: 145
    #2
    monika hello. i am 35 and stage 4 with met to lung. i hve been dealing with this beast since 98 so i pray for strength especially of the soul for your mom. our hope lies in the Lord Jesus as well in this family. as far as what your mom will be on i cant say about but i am on the avastin and 5fu with a pump that i wear for 48 hrs. my treatments last for 3 days total. everyone handles treatment differently so you will probably have to wait and see. they do give you a list of side affects and sometime people have only a few but usually the main one is tiredness. we never do know what we might go through, but we know who will take us through. i hope you will get checked since you are at risk now too, i would assume. by the way your nickname is the car of choice in this family that is all we own. take care monika. the Lords peace and mercy be unto you.

    Blessings
    nettie
  • mikew42
    mikew42 Member Posts: 114 Member
    #3
    Hello mopar,

    I am 42 and had a colon resection in Feb '04 when they discovered mets to liver. I started chemo in late March with 5-FU, Camptostar and Avastin. By early May the liver met had shrunk 50% to 1 cm, but scan this week shows no growth or reduction. Overall, I have been fortunate not to have many side effects and actually feel great and working full time. There is a guy on Erbitux who gets his treatments the same time as I do, and he does have the acne rash, however he does seem to have an active lifestyle (he just got back from a trip overseas). Anyway, as you will read from previuos posts, everyone reacts diffrently to chemo. My chemo nurse says that attitude is a major factor. You and your mom are in our prayers. Mike
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #4
    Well hello Monika. I'm Monika too and I noticed that you spell your first name the same way that I do. Not found too often in the United States. My husband is currently NED of being diagnosed exactly a year ago with stage III colon cancer. I have not had much experience with stage IV treatments and protocol, but there are plenty on this board who do and I'm sure they'll be writing you real soon. Great group of folks...full of humor, knowledge, compassion, and most import, upbeat with a zest for life that is so important when battling this disease (as a cancer survivor, how well you must know that).

    My mom too has lung cancer and is not operable. So far, it's been two years since her diagnosis and she is enjoy relative good quality of life with little symptoms of her disease. If doctors feel they can give your mom several years of quality life, that's fabulous news and who's to say what else they might come up with for treatments in that time period.

    Support your mom in every way that you can...you can probably relate to her better than anyone she knows and come to this board frequently for information or just to dump. I do all the time myself.

    Fondly,
    Monika in Los Angeles who welcomes you to this group!
  • Colon19
    Colon19 Member Posts: 2
    #5
    hello monika.I am 19 years old and was recently back in February diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. They took out most of my lymphnodes and they all tested positive. I am on lucavorin,5FU, and oaxiplatin. I do chemo everyother week. They are all pretty tolerable. I very rarely get sick but with the oxal i am sensitive to the cold for a about a week. I know someone that that was at the same stage as your mom and they didn't think she would make it but she survived and is doing really good. The best thing you can do is pray and think only about the best. always be positive. That is what has been getting me through everything. But congratulations on being a 4 year survivor. I hope everything turns out good and hope i have helped.God Bless you and your mom!
    Amber
  • StacyGleaso
    StacyGleaso Member Posts: 1,233 Member
    #6
    Colon19 said:

    hello monika.I am 19 years old and was recently back in February diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. They took out most of my lymphnodes and they all tested positive. I am on lucavorin,5FU, and oaxiplatin. I do chemo everyother week. They are all pretty tolerable. I very rarely get sick but with the oxal i am sensitive to the cold for a about a week. I know someone that that was at the same stage as your mom and they didn't think she would make it but she survived and is doing really good. The best thing you can do is pray and think only about the best. always be positive. That is what has been getting me through everything. But congratulations on being a 4 year survivor. I hope everything turns out good and hope i have helped.God Bless you and your mom!
    Amber

    Hey Amber...

    Question...are you the Amber that Bob, Judy & I met in Los Angeles in March? If so, glad to hear from you! If not, still glad to hear from you!

    I am a stage 4 survivor, and am doing fine. No more cancer, just getting regular testing. Keep your chin up!

    Stacy
  • mopar
    mopar Member Posts: 1,972 Member
    #7
    StacyGleaso said:

    Hey Amber...

    Question...are you the Amber that Bob, Judy & I met in Los Angeles in March? If so, glad to hear from you! If not, still glad to hear from you!

    I am a stage 4 survivor, and am doing fine. No more cancer, just getting regular testing. Keep your chin up!

    Stacy

    Many heartfelt thanks to all of you for your speedy and sincere responses. I look forward to reading all of these success stories, and just even words of encouragement. Yes, as a survivor myself I know how important it is to have that 'positive attitude'.
    Amber, I'm so sorry that someone as young as you has to endure this. Can you tell me if anyone in your family had this or are you the first?

    Monika, this is the German spelling of my name (my Mom is from Dusseldorf). Is that how you got your name?

    Thank you, Mike for your prayers too! And Stacy, keep up the good work!

    Nettie, my screen name was actually suggested to me by a friend and I haven't found anything better yet. It sure has drawn a lot of attention! The reasoning was this: MOnikaPARker. Guess I just can't think of anything better!

    All of you are in my prayers. Let's keep in touch! God Bless you all.
    Monika
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #8
    mopar said:

    Many heartfelt thanks to all of you for your speedy and sincere responses. I look forward to reading all of these success stories, and just even words of encouragement. Yes, as a survivor myself I know how important it is to have that 'positive attitude'.
    Amber, I'm so sorry that someone as young as you has to endure this. Can you tell me if anyone in your family had this or are you the first?

    Monika, this is the German spelling of my name (my Mom is from Dusseldorf). Is that how you got your name?

    Thank you, Mike for your prayers too! And Stacy, keep up the good work!

    Nettie, my screen name was actually suggested to me by a friend and I haven't found anything better yet. It sure has drawn a lot of attention! The reasoning was this: MOnikaPARker. Guess I just can't think of anything better!

    All of you are in my prayers. Let's keep in touch! God Bless you all.
    Monika

    Yes, mine is German too. My husband is from Essen, about 20 miles east of Duesseldorf and my entire family, including yours truly, comes from Heidelberg...I was born there but grew up in Ottawa, Canada and today live in Los Angeles, California. Now the mystery of the "Monika" is solved.

    Regards to you Monika and keep in touch.

    Monika, who must admit it is very odd writing to someone with the same name...feels so wierd :)
  • AuthorUnknown
    AuthorUnknown Member Posts: 1,537 Member
    #9
    Thank God that you are there to care for, support, and lift up your mother in prayer. I will pray for both of you when I sit in candles tonight. I believe the Lord is our greatest refuge in times like these. Do you or your Mother ever listen to gospel? A Minnesota group called the sounds of blackness have a CD called "A time for healing." There is a cut on that CD called "familiar waters." It is a great inspiration when you feel horrible. Try it.

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