Does chronicle disease mean I have to keep on having surgeries?

zhguo48
zhguo48 Member Posts: 23
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Does chronicle disease mean I have to keep on having surgeries? My cancer just keeps on coming back. After I had surgery in 2005, 07, 08, I'm going to have another surgery at the end of September to remove a 0.6cm( now ) tumor on the surface of my liver and a 0.6cm nodule in my lung (which has not grown for more than half a year, but is more deeper ).
I'm wondering if anyone has had similar experiences and wouldn't mind sharing.
Best wishes to all of you!
faungg

Comments

  • eric38
    eric38 Member Posts: 583
    #2
    Chronic disease
    The term is chronic disease . I am in the same boat and unfortunately it means they don`t expect a cure. They are just out to manage the disease and keep it at bay as long as possible, which can be a long time. Of course, they don`t consider anyone that`s stage 4, except under special circumstances, to be curable but there are many people on this site who have proved them wrong so there is hope and new drugs are coming out all the time. I`m guessing they will do what it takes to keep it at bay so it may mean that you will continue to get surgeries as long as it keeps coming back. It`s tiring but it beats the altrnative. Maybe one day you will get to the point where surgery is no longer necessary.

    Eric
  • kevinpayne
    kevinpayne Member Posts: 17
    #3
    eric38 said:

    Chronic disease
    The term is chronic disease . I am in the same boat and unfortunately it means they don`t expect a cure. They are just out to manage the disease and keep it at bay as long as possible, which can be a long time. Of course, they don`t consider anyone that`s stage 4, except under special circumstances, to be curable but there are many people on this site who have proved them wrong so there is hope and new drugs are coming out all the time. I`m guessing they will do what it takes to keep it at bay so it may mean that you will continue to get surgeries as long as it keeps coming back. It`s tiring but it beats the altrnative. Maybe one day you will get to the point where surgery is no longer necessary.

    Eric

    Chronic disease
    We were wondering the same thing, waiting for a tumor to show up and then remove it? My husband, stage IV at diagnosis in feb. 07 has had 3 major surgeries. CEA levels keep going up from 8 in January to 27 in June and tomorrow we'll get the results of the new test from last week. He feels GREAT, he looks GREAT and his other vitals are wonderful, just continually rising CEA levels. He started taking low dose aspirin today we'll see how that works out. We really appreciate all of the information and encouragement from this discussion board. Thanks guys.
  • sfmarie
    sfmarie Member Posts: 602
    #4
    kevinpayne said:

    Chronic disease
    We were wondering the same thing, waiting for a tumor to show up and then remove it? My husband, stage IV at diagnosis in feb. 07 has had 3 major surgeries. CEA levels keep going up from 8 in January to 27 in June and tomorrow we'll get the results of the new test from last week. He feels GREAT, he looks GREAT and his other vitals are wonderful, just continually rising CEA levels. He started taking low dose aspirin today we'll see how that works out. We really appreciate all of the information and encouragement from this discussion board. Thanks guys.

    Chronic Disease
    I think that is what makes this disease so puzzling. My sister also stage IV, looks great and feels great. She is on a chemo vacation, scheduled to have liver surgery next Wed. In the meantime, since she needs to be off the chemo before they operate, her CEA levels have almost doubled. But she is feeling awesome. I pray new drugs and new information will help find a cure!

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