Back from Vacation

HisJoy
HisJoy Member Posts: 113
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hello to all!

Just wanted to let you know that I had a great vacation the past 2 weeks. We went to Williamsburg, VA for the first week. I mostly sat in the hot tub, played in the pool, and played a little miniature golf. We went on a cruise of the York River and walked around Colonial Williamsburg one morning.

The second week, we went to the very far northern part of Wisconsin, which is as close to heaven as I think one can get on this planet. I was disappointed that I couldn't hike and climb like the old days, pre-chemo, but I WAS able to go out on the boat one day and spend a day at Lake Superior. We went to view a couple of waterfalls and the steps about did me in - had to spend the rest of the day sick in bed, but other than that, I was able to lie around the lake in a hammock and read novels. NEXT year, I'll go back and have my strength and health back so that I can hike those forests!

My chemo was postponed this week - liver enzymes are off the chart. I also have a liver disease and it is NOT liking this chemo at all! If all goes well, then, I will have my last two treatments in Sept. I continue with Avastin for another year after that. My colon cancer was Stage IIIC with involvement in 5 lymph nodes. Two additional nodes appeared to be affected, but were too close to a major artery to remove, so we have to get all these little buggers with the chemo. Signet ring cell colon cancer, which is what mine is, is very fast-moving and aggressive, so the stakes are pretty high. Only about 1 in 5 survive 2 years after dx, so it's always great when I hear of people who are NED.

Love to read the posts in here and feel a connection with others who are enduring or who have endured similar circumstances.

Joyfully,
Bonny Buffington
HisJoy

Comments

  • midnte0708
    midnte0708 Member Posts: 166
    #2
    Hi Bonny,

    I read your post and you mentioned "Signet ring cell colon cancer," I was not aware there were different types of colon cancer but curious if you know how many types there are.
    I'm not sure which type my father has or if he even knows. He was originally diagnosed in 1993 and has had many years of remission until recently (dx mets to liver). I believe he was originally stage 3 with lymph node involvement and had similar statistics... But he is still alive and fighting 12 years since original diagnosis....

    Sue
  • HisJoy
    HisJoy Member Posts: 113
    #3
    midnte0708 said:

    Hi Bonny,

    I read your post and you mentioned "Signet ring cell colon cancer," I was not aware there were different types of colon cancer but curious if you know how many types there are.
    I'm not sure which type my father has or if he even knows. He was originally diagnosed in 1993 and has had many years of remission until recently (dx mets to liver). I believe he was originally stage 3 with lymph node involvement and had similar statistics... But he is still alive and fighting 12 years since original diagnosis....

    Sue

    HI! Colorectal cancer comes in many forms, including adenocarcinoma, sarcoma, melanoma, carcinoid, and lymphoma. Adenocarcinoma (cancer that starts in epithelial tissue, like a gland) in the colon is the most common (90-95% of all colon cancers), and comes in two subtypes: mucinous and signet ring cell, depending on what the cancer cells look like under a microscope. Signet ring cell is the more aggressive type and is very hard to treat. It makes up less than 1/10 of 1% of adenocarcinomas.

    The vast majority of adenocarcinomas in the colon begin as polyps and grow slowly. Generally, they have been growing for years before cancer develops in a colon polyp.

    Signet ring cell tumours in the colon are poorly differentiated and begin spreading out and attacking healthy tissue by means of just a single cell or a string of cells. My gastroenterolgist described my colon by saying, "It looks like someone has thrown bombs around down there." Mucinous cell colon cancer is slower growing and the tumour is more higly differentiated from the surrounding tissue, so it's easier to get it all.

    If you're not sure what type of cancer or cell that your dad has, you may look for it in the pathology report. If you don't have a copy of the path report, I would advise you to get it and keep it for your records.

    thanks so much for your interest,
    BB

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