Wife newly diagnosed

Hi Andy,

I'm sorry about the diagnosis, cancer really sucks (and that's an understatement!). I am a stage IV survivor that has done some research (my initial oncologist did not want to treat me when the scan picked up the mets.). I think the FOLFOX treatment is the way to go for Stage III. The side effects are normally tolerable (although the neuropathy can be annoying). I found oxali/5FU/leucovorin much more tolerable than the FOLFIRI protocol that I am currently on. If you really wanted to go aggressive, you could maybe ask about Erbitux and Avastin (two monoclonal antibodies).

I just wanted to congratulate you on the positive attitude and rational approach. I firmly believe that educating yourself about the cancer is crucial. Good spirits are just as important as any treatment - but I also believe that cry fests and the occasional pity party are also healing. If you have any questions about side effects or if you want to vent, don't hesitate to post. The people here are fabulous!

Good luck,
Andrea

Hi Andy,

Just wanted to welcome you and your wife to the " Semi- Colon Club ". I'm sorry you both had to come here but you are now in good company...
My name is Lisa and I had surgery March 20,2002 for a stage 3 rectal cancer at the age of 40. Like your wife I also had 10 positive lymph nodes out of 14 and no metastasis. My treatment consisted of 23 infusions of 5-FU only and 28 radiation treatments. If I could have been treated a little more aggresive I would have, but it was not a option to me here in Canada.
So far everything is going fine and I am greatful for that.

Lisa

PS, My husbands name is also Andy...

Hi there,
As you can see you came to the right place. This network is a great place for support. My mom was diagnosed with stage 3 (node involment) in March. She is currently on a rest during her chemo treatment. Day by Day - It will get better. Your wife will have her ups and downs but everything will be just fine. Check out the personal web page - there are A LOT of great stories!

julie

all the best,
julie

Hello There!!!! Sorry to hear of your wife's diagnosis. The people here are GREAT!!!!! My husband was diagnosised A year ago in Sept. and I don't know what I would of done if I hadn't found such super friends here!!!!! This is a GREAT source for info and support!!!!! Hang in there and posted whenever you feel you need to talk or have a question no matter how small we will be here!!!! Keep a positive attitude and take one day at a time and don't forget to take care of yourself!!!!!!

Best Wishes and Prayers coming your way!!!!

Sue

Welcome Andy from the UK- yes we are spread wide and far but with the same aim in common: to support eeach other through what is a difficult but not impossible journey.

My story is similar again- age 31, stage 3 with 2 nodes adn am 2 months into my six month chemo regime. It really isn't that bad (although I am not having oxaliplatin- a difference between Uk and US). I work full time and get a bit more tired and some nausea during the week I have chemo (I have it one week a month although the other common regime is a day each week) but the rest of the month feel fairly normal.

I would encourage you to educate yourself but be cautious about info that isn't from a reliable source- cancer is one of those things where there is a huge range in the qulaity of info available- any doubts or queries are often best checked here- usually somebody knows the answer

Hope things are going well and your wife is recovering from the op well- it does take time and patience and if she has a stoma it does take some getting used to.
Let us know how things progress and feel free to email people for more specific info.
Best of luck, Steve

MJay said:

Hi Andy-
Lots of good advice and support to be found here. Another site to look at re: APR and the resulting colostomy.... uoa.org. Check out the discussion boards. Both sites are invaluable to me.

MJay

Hi andy,

Welcome to the boards. What a wonderful husband you are to come here on your wife's behalf. She has half the battle won with you as her support!! BRAVO!

I was Stage 3 lymph pos zero mets colon cancer. I was told to do the 5-FU/leucovorin protocol.

I declined.

That's right. I said NO to chemo. I had my reasons....and they were many....the first and foremost being that I watched my sister die of this 9 years before my dx and I was not going to go her route.

Secondly the use of chemo does not line up with my belief system on how the body heals. It did not make sense to me to poison the body in order to heal it. Where in medicine do they do that? (except in vaccinations maybe) (which I do not do either).

It made more sense to me to heal the body rather than decimate it. Heal it by finding the root cause of my cancer be it emotional, physical, spiritual....nutritional imbalances etc.

80% of colon cancers are dietary related so I started there. I changed my diet. in my research a couple things kept repeating themselves....DETOXING and LIVE ENZYMES.

I started juicing organic veggies, adding protein powders and a green powder full of wheat and barley grasses and other live foods. I cut out all animal products. Cancer feeds on sugar so I even quit honey (I hadn't had white sugar or refined sugars for 20 years).

I found a Traditional Chinese Medicine practioner who advocated a holistic approach to healing and went for my "treatments" weekly for 6 months. She did acupuncture, massage, lymphatic drainage, herbs etc. It was fabulous.

I never puked, lost my hair, was hospitalized for dehydration, I am not sensitive to hot and cold things, I am not fearful of secondary cancers due to chemo or radiation, I did not suffer from chronic diarrhea, and my heart and kidneys have suffered no chemo damage. I cannot claim "chemo brain".

i have never been healthier feeling in my life. I am 43.

I have survived for three years now. For me this has worked.

If you would like to research more on your options (the ones your onc does not want you to know about) I suggest the following:

Questioning Chemo by Dr. Ralph Moss (former researcher with Memorial Sloan-Kettering) quit after the laetrile cover-up.

A Cancer Battle Plan by anne Frahm she was on her death bed sent home to get her affairs in order and she discovered juicing and diet changes. She lived to tell of her healing.

A Cancer Battle Plan Sourcebook by David Frahm.....husband who continues the mission after she died of a liver disease contracted by too many blood transfusions due to her chemo.

The Makers Diet by Dr. Jordan Rubin he healed his "incurable" Crohn's Disease by eating this way and taking HSO's (live food) (Crohns is an intestinal disease)

Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Balch and Balch

When Hope Never Dies by Marlene McKenna

and my personal favorite:

Beating Cancer with Nutrition by Dr. Patrick Quillin

This last one is a must for any cancer survivor's library. It doesn't matter which route you decide to go--it helps you navigate the nutritional supplements that can help either way.

www.drday.com
www.gardenoflifeusa.com
www.hacres.com
www.curezone.com


This is but a fraction of what there is out there!

i know this is totally against the tide here but as blood letting has fallen into disgrace I hope shall go chemo some day.

peace, emily who has to speak her mind

andyc56 said:

Thanks everyone for your wonderful support and useful information! Kim continues to recover well from surgery and we have started obtaining second opinions from oncologists. It looks like one of the FOLFOX variations will be the recommended course.

I am keenly interested in the dietary changes and supplements that some have recommended. Any additional information and personal success stories in this regard would be appreciated. I am in the process of locating several of the books mentioned above. Thanks again, you guys and gals are super!

Andy

Hi andy,

I send anyone who wants my protocol---my list of supplements etc of what I did.

Quillin's book helped me alot in this dept.

The Sourcebook by Frahm is a "how-to" resource.

Anne's and Marlene's books will give you the personal testimonies.

There is another book (but not sure how easy to get tho I have a few copies) "Your Child Does Not Have to Die by LeAnne Sorteberg (sp) whose child was sent home to die from Mayo and they put a tube in his stomacha nd just pumped carrot juice and supplements and he is still alive today (over 10 years I think). She was in my former homeschool group so I know her personally. She and I have both since moved. her son had tumors entangled in his major organs that could not be removed. They had these octopus like tentacles that wrapped around his heart. After they started juicing the tenticles retracted and the tumors died. They are encapsulated and not removable but they are dead. Isn't that AWESOME??

It's worth looking into don't you think?

peace, emily who is here to help

Andy, I am two years survivor of stage 2 colorectal cancer, was resectioned in June of this year. I went back to work full time and fell pretty good most of the time. Keep the faith and follow the Dr. If you don't like what the Dr. said, then get another opinion.

Check out www.gacoloncancer.org, it is an new organization that I am working with in Atlanta to help folks.