how can you be sure

msviclav
msviclav Member Posts: 9
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I was diagnosed with colon cancer on the 21 of July after they found the tumor try to take care of what started out to be a abcess, when the abcess cleared they found the tumor. It was a incased tumor, nothing in the nodes. But because the tumor had been there quit awhile and had attached itself to the colon wall, they are tell me I have to have chemo to have a better chance that it will not show up somewhere else later. So twelve treatment lasting 6 months, 2 hours in the clinic and 48 hrs on a pump at home, this is to be repeated every two week. How to you know that being sick for that long is worth it when at the present time you don't have cancer. My family tells me that is worth it, but truthfully I just want my life back to normal and not taking the chemo seems to be the only way to get it that way.

Comments

  • Muzzy
    Muzzy Member Posts: 175 Member
    #2
    you can't
    You cann't be sure, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
    Read some of these posts. People get it back two monthes after they are NED.
    No one can make up your mind for you,but for my life i'd rather be safe then sorry.
    To know that i did everything that i could be beat the beast we all fight.
    I finished my treatments in June and sure it was tough,but i glad i did it.
    Jeff
    JUst Happy to be here
  • Fight for my love
    Fight for my love Member Posts: 1,522 Member
    #3
    My opinion is taking the
    My opinion is taking the chances and options when you still have.Once you have cancer,you should know that this is going to be a long fight.It's worth to recieve the chemo,it will kill all the cancer cells left in your body and you can be cured.Once you are cured,life would be back to normal.Take care.
  • Kathryn_in_MN
    Kathryn_in_MN Member Posts: 1,252 Member
    #4
    I don't want to start the
    I don't want to start the statistics debate here again, but personally I would suggest that you talk to your oncologist and ask him to show you the specific outcomes (from past studies) for your status with no chemo, or with chemo. Look at the years with no recurrance and the overall survival.

    For me it is a no-brainer as far as doing chemo. But I used these figures to make a decision about a specific drug being added to the chemo regimine, and found it helpful in making my decision.

    There are a few online tools you can access - you need to know a few specifics about your tumor to answer the questions and get your results.

    Ask yourself the question - if you don't do chemo now, and a 1/2 year from now, or 2 years from now you end up with matastisized colon cancer (in your lymph system, liver, or lungs), how will you feel about your decision? Will you be able to shrug it off, or will you beat yourself up over it for the rest of your life (which may be shortened a lot more than you expected)? I know these are tough decisions and tough questions, but you've been put in a position where you have to address them.

    Good luck to you whatever you choose.
  • grammadebbie
    grammadebbie Member Posts: 464
    #5
    knowledge is power
    Knowledge it power. It's just not that simple to think that when you have surgery and they cut the tumor out that it's gone. It's not like removing your tonsils or appendix. Please read thru this forum and see how people fight to stay ahead of this desease. They are amazing and wonderful people. Make sure you read all you can and really understand what the facts are before you make a decision. I'm so glad you found this forum. There is much wisdom and understanding, compassion etc. here. Please ask any questions you can think of that will help you make this decision. There are people here who have no more choices. We all wish that our lives could be the same as before we were diagnosed with cancer. Life can be and is wonderful but it is never quite the same (actually in some ways it's better). No one makes this journey unchanged. The great thing about this forum is you will have support no matter what your decision. No one is here to judge you just to help you along the path that we have already been down.

    I am so glad you're here. I will be praying for you and your family.

    What are your doctors recommending? What stage are you?

    God Bless You,

    Debbie (gramma)
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    #6
    grammadebbie said:

    knowledge is power
    Knowledge it power. It's just not that simple to think that when you have surgery and they cut the tumor out that it's gone. It's not like removing your tonsils or appendix. Please read thru this forum and see how people fight to stay ahead of this desease. They are amazing and wonderful people. Make sure you read all you can and really understand what the facts are before you make a decision. I'm so glad you found this forum. There is much wisdom and understanding, compassion etc. here. Please ask any questions you can think of that will help you make this decision. There are people here who have no more choices. We all wish that our lives could be the same as before we were diagnosed with cancer. Life can be and is wonderful but it is never quite the same (actually in some ways it's better). No one makes this journey unchanged. The great thing about this forum is you will have support no matter what your decision. No one is here to judge you just to help you along the path that we have already been down.

    I am so glad you're here. I will be praying for you and your family.

    What are your doctors recommending? What stage are you?

    God Bless You,

    Debbie (gramma)

    My opinion only ..and what I chose
    It was the same choice I had to make...I thought why should I be sick for 6 more months just for something that "might" show back up somewhere else....My battles with this back and forth ended when my daughter told me that she never wanted me to die and leave her alone.........shes 4.........it became a no brainer for me then.....I have done my 6 months and not without discomfort, but done nonetheless and am NED (No Evidence of Disease) right now and I was after surgery, but an added 5-15% increase in non reoccurence was well worth the extra 6 months.....Than again, it was my option and that is simply the one I chose ...Good Luck to you in Your decision....Clift
  • mom_2_3
    mom_2_3 Member Posts: 953 Member
    #7
    The question is how can one be sure of anything....
    One thing I wanted to add to the discussion here is how do you know you will be sick? The thought of chemo can be challenging but as I had no option for whether I would or not I would have it, I went into it with "enthusiasm." I have 3 treatments left of systemic chemo and other than an allergic reaction I had, I have experienced no debilitating effects from the treatments. I don't get nauseau or other bowel problems. It's a bit inconvenient wearing the fanny pack for 2 days but the morning my husband takes it off I celebrate. I did have some sensitivity to cold (from the Oxaliplatin) but I found that treatments weren't really that bad. So maybe you should take the advice of your doctor and start the treatments. You can always stop....

    Hope all goes well,
    Amy
  • dixchi
    dixchi Member Posts: 431
    #8
    mom_2_3 said:

    The question is how can one be sure of anything....
    One thing I wanted to add to the discussion here is how do you know you will be sick? The thought of chemo can be challenging but as I had no option for whether I would or not I would have it, I went into it with "enthusiasm." I have 3 treatments left of systemic chemo and other than an allergic reaction I had, I have experienced no debilitating effects from the treatments. I don't get nauseau or other bowel problems. It's a bit inconvenient wearing the fanny pack for 2 days but the morning my husband takes it off I celebrate. I did have some sensitivity to cold (from the Oxaliplatin) but I found that treatments weren't really that bad. So maybe you should take the advice of your doctor and start the treatments. You can always stop....

    Hope all goes well,
    Amy

    Not Bad
    I was able to get by without chemo the first time I had
    colon CA since it was caught in early stage but when it
    returned to my liver, it was a no brainer for me too.....
    and actually, now that I look back on it (treatments
    ended in Dec) they were not bad....I was fortunate not
    to have any serious problems with the chemo except the
    usual side effects...and when
    it was over I actually missed the support I was getting
    from the nurses at treatment time.....crazy?!!

    Now that I am currently NED, I know I made the right decision.

    Barbara
  • grandmafay
    grandmafay Member Posts: 1,633 Member
    #9
    Uncertainty
    There are no guarantees in life except that sometime, somehow, we will all move on. Cancer changes your life. As a caregiver and not a survivor, I can't really understand where you are, but I can tell you where your family is coming from. We want you to stay around as long as possible. We don't want you to be sick and hurting. Recurrences are not fun physically or mentally. If chemo will prevent them or delay them, it's worth it to us. But we're not the ones who get to make the decision. That's hard, too. On a lighter note(?), my husband says if he gets run over and killed by a bus, he is really going to be unhappy. He's been fighting this cancer too long to be killed by a bus. The reality is that we can all get hit by a bus anytime. We do try to prevent that by crossing roads safely. Think of chemo as your crosswalk. Fay

    P.S. Note the change in picture. I thought I'd give one of our dogs equal time with our cat.
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    #10
    Of Course there is always
    not doing the follow up chemo and finding out that the cancer is back and REAL pissed off now. So you then may have the possibility of a permanent colostomy bag, you may have to have 70% of your liver removed, and maybe a bunch of sections of your lungs removed too. Or, you can listen to your doctor based on his experience. He probably does this for a living and follow your doctor's(and family's) advice and do the follow up chemo like 99% of us who are still around have done.

    I'm sorry, I don't get it. I guess it's because I've been on this board for many years and I've seen people come and go and I sort of get used to the same old questions. Then there are "newbies" now and again that add a whole new dimension to things.
    Don't mean to come off as rude but if you've read the posts and gathered anything from us, I hope you can see that full blown Stage II, II, IV CC really sucks at times. Believe me, most all of us know that cancer is an "inconvenience". Take the time and give yourself the GIFT of many more years of life. It only costs 6 months of your time...
  • msviclav
    msviclav Member Posts: 9
    #11
    mom_2_3 said:

    The question is how can one be sure of anything....
    One thing I wanted to add to the discussion here is how do you know you will be sick? The thought of chemo can be challenging but as I had no option for whether I would or not I would have it, I went into it with "enthusiasm." I have 3 treatments left of systemic chemo and other than an allergic reaction I had, I have experienced no debilitating effects from the treatments. I don't get nauseau or other bowel problems. It's a bit inconvenient wearing the fanny pack for 2 days but the morning my husband takes it off I celebrate. I did have some sensitivity to cold (from the Oxaliplatin) but I found that treatments weren't really that bad. So maybe you should take the advice of your doctor and start the treatments. You can always stop....

    Hope all goes well,
    Amy

    I guess I am just scared of
    I guess I am just scared of the unknown, I watch my aunt die of lung cancer and she had side effects from the chemo, nauseau, mouth sores, lose of hair, for 4 months she suffered and in the end she passed away. I realize no two person are alike and that I am 55 and in good health, never smoked or drank. My cancer is stage 2,and my nodes are all clean, I read some of these posting and I feel like i have a lot more to be thankful then a lot of others. I'm not scheduled to start treatment until October 8, and the port goes in on the 2. I guess I am just having a hard time coming to terms
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    #12
    msviclav said:

    I guess I am just scared of
    I guess I am just scared of the unknown, I watch my aunt die of lung cancer and she had side effects from the chemo, nauseau, mouth sores, lose of hair, for 4 months she suffered and in the end she passed away. I realize no two person are alike and that I am 55 and in good health, never smoked or drank. My cancer is stage 2,and my nodes are all clean, I read some of these posting and I feel like i have a lot more to be thankful then a lot of others. I'm not scheduled to start treatment until October 8, and the port goes in on the 2. I guess I am just having a hard time coming to terms

    It's understandable
    It's not a great thing to look forward to but this chemo is not the same as the chemo for lung cancer. Also, like you said, no two people are alike with how they react to chemo. To me, you sound like you can do this rather easily having not been a smoker, being young(ish) and in good shape. It's just some extra insurance. Just imagine if you don't do this and God forbid something happens. It's not easy to come to terms with it but at the moment these are the cards you've been dealt. Play your hand wisely.
    I truly wish you the best.
    -phil
  • survivor wife
    survivor wife Member Posts: 7
    #13
    My comments as a caregiver
    My comments as a caregiver of a stage 4 husband. Six months is not that long to help assure you many years of good health. My husband has had treatments for over four years. Yes there were some side effects of the chemo but most drugs used for this type cancer have manageable side effects and does not cause complete hair loss, only thinning. My husband was able to continue working (a welder) full time during the first three and half years of chemo.

    You say you want your life back and I understand that. A choice not to have chemo will not erase the fact that you had cancer. If it were me, I would always be worrying about the cancer returning. Should cancer return, your life would then have a new normal and it may include more than a six month span of chemo.

    It is just like purchasing insurance. You hope you never would needed it, but you just want to be sure.

    If it were your loved one facing this question, what would your advice be to them? Wouldn't you want them to do anything possible to stay healthy.

    I wish you well. I am sure that you will make the right decision for you.

Discussion Boards