saw oncologist

Can't speak to the rest of it, since I haven't had chemo or rectal surgery, but I can address the red meat issue. I stopped eating red meat long ago, way before I had colon cancer. I think it's been at least 12 years now (wish it had protected me from this mess!). I love the things like soy bacon and sausage products, and I use turkey burger for things like spaghetti sauces. I'm also very apt to just cut up chunky vegetables like zucchini and peppers and such to add to tomato sauce. Even my carnivore husband says it's good. Give yourself time, and you'll forget you ever liked red meat.

Gail

I can't answer a lot of your questions, but I can tell you that I sympathize with the shingles, I got them after I was done with treatment, but they went away both times. The sore bottom does get better. I had a colon resection so I don't know anything about ostemy sites etc. But I did have a port put in - it is not bad, a little sore at first but such an easy thing later in. I don't understand why your surgeon and oncologist wouldn't tell you what stage you were, but since they aren't talking about mets to other organs - sounds like it won't be so bad , but as everyone suggested get your reports. If you are having folfox, its pretty widely used these days. I had a lot of trouble with the oxalyplatin, but I was in the minority. Make sure that you insist on the best meds for nausea, etc. and drink plenty of water. For nausea I used amend, zolfran, compazine and attivan along with a steriod for a few days after treatment.
They didn't offer up the amend on my first few rounds, but it really worked. Attivan, if you have trouble with nausea can also work really well for mild nausea, anxiety etc. But really push your doctors for the best meds for you. Ironically, I got much better at managing the side effects as I got further into treatment (there is a cumulative effect). I also found my chemo nurse to be a great source of information on how to manage side effects. I wish you all the best and ask all the questions you want. Everyone here has been there.

They may be waiting to stage you. My docs weren't positive that i was a stage III until they actually did the pathology on the lymph nodes they took out, which wasn't until after my surgery. They suspected i was a III because the nodes showed up as enlarged on the MRI. So until then, my staging wasn't much talked about. Most of my problems were with my onc's nurse. Not only would she not tell me about important issues regarding my treatment, she would downplay the events, and therefore leave me unprepared for many things. She told me to "concentrate on the positive". I'm glad she was transferred early on in my treatment! So yes, you will get some health care professionals that will over sympathisize with you, and not tell you what you need to know. All i can say is, ASK. And if you're not satisfied with what they tell you, ask someone else until you are satisfied.

As for your folfox treatments? Like others have said here, it all depends on you, and how your body takes it. I've only had two treatments, and i get the neuropathy immediately during treatment. It's more weird and annoying than painful, though this last time was much more pronounced. I'm REALLY tired the first week, and then seem to have a good week. Hopefully that will last. I have heard some people say that they had no side effects at all with this treatment, so that is just as likely to happen for you.

Oh, and the anal discharge thing! OMG, what a nightmare! Nine days after surgery i had clumps of blood coming out for about a week, then it lessened, and stopped completely for a while. That was all remnants from the surgery. Now i have anal pain, and gurgling and gas in my abdomen since i started the adjuvant. I'm sure it will go away with the ileostomy reversal.

Now what is going on with this lesion? Is it a tear, a polyp, and what are they planning on doing about that?

Keep us posted!
Many hugs,
Krista