last chemo yesterday and here is the plan ....

i will have a CEA every 3 months..a follow up, colonoscopy, and ct scan down in rochester with my surgeon in july, and then back here for a petscan after that althought i am wondering if they won't just do one down in rochester..but either way my doctor said i can't have one until my bottom heals because it will light right up on the scan.. since radiation back in sept/oct i have had issues every single day with excruciating pain going to the bathroom. she looked at the area yesterday and i have skin tag, hemorrhoids, and dark excoriated skin still.. she thinks after this cycle of chemo is over that it should start healing up..anyway.. so after that i am not sure.. she said according to the NCCN guidelines for my stage it is one scan a year... i think i would be more comfortable with every 4-6 months for awhile...i will see what they say down at mayo....
I have my mammogram the end of this month, and my yearly pap and pysical scheduled for early may.. hopefully he can even do it with the radiation shrinkage.. but i have not had a period since radiation ended and am anxious to discuss hormone replacement therapy and what their thoughts are... i still have lots of research to do...even though my last 2 scans showed nothing, my first scan had showed tiny cysts on my ovaries likely physiologic.. and because so many on here have had problems with mets to the ovaries, i am a little nervous about those "cycts' so i am maybe going to ask for an ultrasound and see if they can see anything. My grandma did not have ovarian cancer, but she had cancer "on: her ovaries if that makes any sense..so that makes me even more leery. I am also going to ask to get my vit d levels checked.

The studies for exercise reducing chance of recurrence are so overwhelming, that i am going to make every effort to exercise an hour a day.. i am looking into the curcumin and medicinal mushrooms thing..definitely probiotics daily..vit d with calcium, i have already cut down on the red meat to practically none, don't eat nitrites anymore..will not grill unless highly marinated first...etc etc...plan to do everything to get my immune system in tip top shape like reducing stress/am buying myself a jacuzzi, and plan to do tae chi .watch a lot of funny movies..pray alot... so if the cancer thinks it is going to reside in this body again... then at least i know i have done all i can...I have done 12 cycles of chemo plus 5-6 weeks chemoradiation.. if that doesn't kill it then it wasn't meant to be.43 y/o Diagnosed Stage IIIa (T1 N1 of 26 M0) July 2008
LAR July 24 2008
Supposedly benign polyp with
invasive tubulovillous adenocarcinoma
Folfox starting August 26th 2 cycles then
continous 5 FU with radiation
then 10 more fulfox