Port is in,ready for chemo

colon2
colon2 Member Posts: 183
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hello people, I have just signed up on this site. I originally was diagnosed with colon cancer in Oct of 2007. They removed 8 inches of my colon and 100 lymph nodes. They were all clear, so they told me I was OK, no treatments needed. I went back a year later for follow up colonoscopy and there it was again. This time it was a lesion on colon wall, not a polyp, like before. They removed 2 feet of colon and 61 lymph nodes. There was minimal invasion of 1 lymph node, so looks like we get to do 12 treatments of Folfox. I just had the port put in yesterday and start chemo on Monday. I am anxious to get it started, because the sooner I start, the sooner I finish. I have a strong Christian Faith, and I feel God has given me cancer for a reason, I don't know what it is, and I certainly would have preferred to pass , But God id Great and He will be with me every step of the way. I am a 57 almost 58 years old female. I have been married for almost 41 years. I have 3 children and truly I am too blessed to be stressed. I am praying that the side effects from the chemo won't be too bad. But like every thing else in life, we just have to get thru it the best we can. The only other choice is to give up and I won't do that. So if any body has any suggestions or comments please feel free to write me. I would enjoy discussing this journey we are on. I will let you know how the first treatment goes.

Comments

  • CherylHutch
    CherylHutch Member Posts: 1,375 Member
    #2
    Welcome aboard!
    Hiya Colon2! I think you are going to have to give us your name... calling you by your body part just doesn't feel natural

    Yes, we are all on this journey of cancer and various treatments. As you read through the different topics you will see a lot of us have the same fears, questions and different treatments... but we all are warriors who are bound and determined to beat the beast!

    Feel free to jump in to any of the ongoing discussions... and if you have questions, ask away!!

    Hugggggs,

    Cheryl
  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member
    #3
    welcome
    and we look forward to hearing more from you! Your situation and others makes me wonder if it isn't time they rethink their ideas of when it is beneficial to do followup chemo and when not to. Supposedly you were an example of low likelihood of spread, and here you are 1 year later dealing with a recurrence. This beast just is a fighter, but we are stronger. Take care.
    mary
  • Kathleen808
    Kathleen808 Member Posts: 2,342 Member
    #4
    hi
    Hi Colon2,
    Welcome to the board. My husband's port goes in today so he is right behind you. The people on this board have been a saving grace for us the past month. People are great about encouraging each other and given info.
    We are here for you.
    Aloha,
    Kathleen
  • daydreamer110761
    daydreamer110761 Member Posts: 487 Member
    #5
    Kathleen808 said:

    hi
    Hi Colon2,
    Welcome to the board. My husband's port goes in today so he is right behind you. The people on this board have been a saving grace for us the past month. People are great about encouraging each other and given info.
    We are here for you.
    Aloha,
    Kathleen

    hello
    And welcome aboard. Can't really say anything more than what was said before me. Great people, good answers and advice, and as I always say - when the chemo keeps you awake at night, there is usually someone here to talk to!
  • colon2
    colon2 Member Posts: 183
    #6
    CherylHutch said:

    Welcome aboard!
    Hiya Colon2! I think you are going to have to give us your name... calling you by your body part just doesn't feel natural

    Yes, we are all on this journey of cancer and various treatments. As you read through the different topics you will see a lot of us have the same fears, questions and different treatments... but we all are warriors who are bound and determined to beat the beast!

    Feel free to jump in to any of the ongoing discussions... and if you have questions, ask away!!

    Hugggggs,

    Cheryl

    name
    I agree that i am so much more than just a body part, although lately it has taken over a lot of my time. My name is Carletta. I have just found this site and already I know i will be visiting it quite often. It is so helpful to share what is going on with others who are going thru the same thing.
  • tootsie1
    tootsie1 Member Posts: 5,044 Member
    #7
    Stage 1 here
    Carletta,

    I love your name! It's musical.

    I'm so sorry you're facing the BEAST again. As a Stage 1 survivor (just over a year ago), your story makes me a tad nervous, too. It does give me pause about whether they're really, really sure that no treatment is needed after the resection.

    I will pray that everything will go very well for you. Please come by often and let us know how you're doing!

    *hugs*
    Gail
  • Joy1216
    Joy1216 Member Posts: 290 Member
    #8
    Glad you're here
    I'm also a Stage 1 survivor. It will be three years next month since my diagnosis and resection, but recurrence is always on my mind. Praying that all goes well with the port and the Folfox.
    Joy
  • colon2
    colon2 Member Posts: 183
    #9
    tootsie1 said:

    Stage 1 here
    Carletta,

    I love your name! It's musical.

    I'm so sorry you're facing the BEAST again. As a Stage 1 survivor (just over a year ago), your story makes me a tad nervous, too. It does give me pause about whether they're really, really sure that no treatment is needed after the resection.

    I will pray that everything will go very well for you. Please come by often and let us know how you're doing!

    *hugs*
    Gail

    stage 1
    Thanks for the compliment on the name, although i guess my mom gets the credit for that one.She named me after my dad, Carl and my aunt Rosetta.

    Yes it was quite a shock to find out that the Beast was back. I had no symptoms either time. I just went for a routine colonoscopy. In fact i asked my Dr to schedule it. So they told me that since I caught it so early, that was a good thing. Which it was, just not as good as we would have liked. When I asked the first time about doing any follow up , the Dr told me that there was nothing there, so treatment wasn't necessary. It makes you wonder. I hope you are one of the fortunate ones, and yours is truly gone.

    I will pray for you and let us know how you do. Hugs to you too, Carletta
  • kmygil
    kmygil Member Posts: 876 Member
    #10
    colon2 said:

    stage 1
    Thanks for the compliment on the name, although i guess my mom gets the credit for that one.She named me after my dad, Carl and my aunt Rosetta.

    Yes it was quite a shock to find out that the Beast was back. I had no symptoms either time. I just went for a routine colonoscopy. In fact i asked my Dr to schedule it. So they told me that since I caught it so early, that was a good thing. Which it was, just not as good as we would have liked. When I asked the first time about doing any follow up , the Dr told me that there was nothing there, so treatment wasn't necessary. It makes you wonder. I hope you are one of the fortunate ones, and yours is truly gone.

    I will pray for you and let us know how you do. Hugs to you too, Carletta

    Welcome
    Hi Carletta,

    I repeat everyone else on the board--Welcome! I'm sorry you have the recurrence. Truly, don't try to second-guess what happened the first time; it will only drive you nuts. Now that you are in the place you find yourself, just take it from there. You sound very strong in your faith and that will hold you up. So will we! Any questions, concerns, venting or just plain chatting are always welcome. We are an enthusiatic bunch mostly and try to keep each others' spirits up and help each other along the way. I would have lost my sanity if this board had not been here.

    So hop on and ride the semi-colon train! You'll get to the end of this journey and do it NED!

    Hugs and prayers,
    Kirsten
  • colon2
    colon2 Member Posts: 183
    #11
    Joy1216 said:

    Glad you're here
    I'm also a Stage 1 survivor. It will be three years next month since my diagnosis and resection, but recurrence is always on my mind. Praying that all goes well with the port and the Folfox.
    Joy

    I'm Glad
    I am glad that you are one of the fortunate ones, and it hasn't come back. Of course I understand that it is always a thought in the back of your mind. At 3 years, it sounds like you have pretty good odds. Did you change any of your lifestyle habits, such as diet or exercise.
    Carletta
  • colon2
    colon2 Member Posts: 183
    #12
    kmygil said:

    Welcome
    Hi Carletta,

    I repeat everyone else on the board--Welcome! I'm sorry you have the recurrence. Truly, don't try to second-guess what happened the first time; it will only drive you nuts. Now that you are in the place you find yourself, just take it from there. You sound very strong in your faith and that will hold you up. So will we! Any questions, concerns, venting or just plain chatting are always welcome. We are an enthusiatic bunch mostly and try to keep each others' spirits up and help each other along the way. I would have lost my sanity if this board had not been here.

    So hop on and ride the semi-colon train! You'll get to the end of this journey and do it NED!

    Hugs and prayers,
    Kirsten

    question
    I guess this is gonna sound stupid, but remeber I'm new here, I have figured out that NED is a good thing, I just haven't figured out what it stands for., and I can't even claim chemo brain until Monday when I start treatments. Can you help a dummy out? Thanks, Carletta
  • taraHK
    taraHK Member Posts: 1,952 Member
    #13
    Welcome!
    Welcome to the group, although I am sorry you have cause to be here. From your first post, I can see you have a great attitude -- and that is a huge help, with whatever journey one has to go through.

    I wish you all the best with your chemo. Please don't hesitate to bring up any questions you have, as you go through. Like many others on this board, I have done FOLFOX, and it can be very useful to share information about symptoms, tips, etc.

    NED = No evidence of disease. Our goal!! Join us as we celebrate when one of our group gets to wear that badge!

    I was diagnosed with rectal cancer 6 years ago. I have had a couple of recurrences. But, I am doing great, living well -- and happy to be here!

    Best wishes,
    Tara
  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member
    #14
    colon2 said:

    question
    I guess this is gonna sound stupid, but remeber I'm new here, I have figured out that NED is a good thing, I just haven't figured out what it stands for., and I can't even claim chemo brain until Monday when I start treatments. Can you help a dummy out? Thanks, Carletta

    No Evidence of Disease
    There's a thread in here that has all the terminology spelled out, I'll try to locate it and bump it to the top
    mary
  • colon2
    colon2 Member Posts: 183
    #15
    msccolon said:

    No Evidence of Disease
    There's a thread in here that has all the terminology spelled out, I'll try to locate it and bump it to the top
    mary

    thanks
    Thank you for the info, now it makes perfect sense, and it sounds Good. I appreciate the response.
    Carletta
  • sheri22
    sheri22 Member Posts: 273
    #16
    Welcome
    Sorry you have to go thru this , this is a great site though, I was dignosed with stage
    4 ca last month I just completed my first cycle of chemo and go for more Mon, it is scary so far I have been doing ok with mine, I hope you will too, this site gave me a lot of if that helps you the people on this site are very helpful, good luck Mon, Ill be thinking bout you

    Sheri
  • colon2
    colon2 Member Posts: 183
    #17
    sheri22 said:

    Welcome
    Sorry you have to go thru this , this is a great site though, I was dignosed with stage
    4 ca last month I just completed my first cycle of chemo and go for more Mon, it is scary so far I have been doing ok with mine, I hope you will too, this site gave me a lot of if that helps you the people on this site are very helpful, good luck Mon, Ill be thinking bout you

    Sheri

    1st chemo
    I read where you finished your first treatment and are getting ready for the second one. That is what is on my mind. The first one,I keep wondering what side effects I'll have and how they will affect me. I know everyone is different, and I'm hoping that I'll be lucky. I guess we will know more after Monday. I'm glad your first one wasn't too bad and I"ll be praying for you and everyone else. You are right about this site though, it has been a real help. In fact I have a question if anyone knows, Can you lift things without risking pulling something loose around the port. I just had it put in and I'm wondering if I can carry my granddaughter. She weighs about 21 lbs. I don't want to cause any damage, but i sure do want to hold that little girl. Thanks, Carletta
  • sheri22
    sheri22 Member Posts: 273
    #18
    colon2 said:

    1st chemo
    I read where you finished your first treatment and are getting ready for the second one. That is what is on my mind. The first one,I keep wondering what side effects I'll have and how they will affect me. I know everyone is different, and I'm hoping that I'll be lucky. I guess we will know more after Monday. I'm glad your first one wasn't too bad and I"ll be praying for you and everyone else. You are right about this site though, it has been a real help. In fact I have a question if anyone knows, Can you lift things without risking pulling something loose around the port. I just had it put in and I'm wondering if I can carry my granddaughter. She weighs about 21 lbs. I don't want to cause any damage, but i sure do want to hold that little girl. Thanks, Carletta

    Port
    I have a port too, but I had mine put in 3 yrs ago when I had stage 2, I really dont remember when I was allowed to lift . What you could do is just call the hospitol where you
    had it done snd ask to speak to someone about it they should be able to let you know
    if it ok to hold your grand daughter when you call tell them you had a port put in and you have some questions about it no use wondering about it all weekend right
    good luck Sheri
  • Shayenne
    Shayenne Member Posts: 2,342
    #19
    sheri22 said:

    Port
    I have a port too, but I had mine put in 3 yrs ago when I had stage 2, I really dont remember when I was allowed to lift . What you could do is just call the hospitol where you
    had it done snd ask to speak to someone about it they should be able to let you know
    if it ok to hold your grand daughter when you call tell them you had a port put in and you have some questions about it no use wondering about it all weekend right
    good luck Sheri

    My port...
    ...was put in just last month and they told me to not do any strenous activity and lifting heavy objects for 3 weeks, and also shower with your back to the shower, don't let it beat onto the area with the port.
  • colon2
    colon2 Member Posts: 183
    #20
    Shayenne said:

    My port...
    ...was put in just last month and they told me to not do any strenous activity and lifting heavy objects for 3 weeks, and also shower with your back to the shower, don't let it beat onto the area with the port.

    port
    Thanks, they did tell me about the showering, but not lifting. Carletta

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