new member

Gosh I don't really know where to start. I just want to say thank you to everyone for the warmth and kindness on your discussion board. I was diagnosed with stage 3a colon cancer in February and have been lurking on the computer reading all your posts for the past 2 weeks.

I live in Switzerland, although originally I am from London, England. I have 2 daughters, 10 and 11 (Amélie & Élodie) and a wonderful husband named Cedric.

10 years ago I had a colonoscopy because my mum had a polyp. ( I am now 43.) The doctor only found hemorrhoids and I was told to come back in 10 years. About a year or so ago I started having blood in my stools. I didn't worry about it as I thought it was the hemorrhoids. When the 10 years was up I went for a second colonoscopy and a polyp was found. (January this year.) In February I had 15cm of my colon, the polyp and 26 lymph nodes removed. The polyp and one lymph node were found to be cancerous.

In March I started my chemo. I am now up to cycle 10. I haven't suffered too much from nerve damage. My biggest problem is my cell counts. I can't remember the names but I have had the 4 injections and the one off injection to try and boost my white cells. Today was the third time my chemo has had to be delayed. For my last 3 cycles the doctor wants a 3 week cycles rather than a 2.

The hardest thing to handle was hearing from my mum and sister after I was diagnosed that my mum had also had a cancerous polyp (no chemo) and my sister a non cancerous polyp. If only they had told me I would not have waited until the 10 year mark for a check. British people are not very good at talking about poos and bottoms!

In the beginning I was scared stiff. My biggest fear was not seeing my girls grow up because the cancer spreads. Since reading all the posts on this site I have been given so much inspiration to think positive and that even if the worst happens and the cancer spreads it might not mean the end.

If any of you have tips to help my cells I would really appreciate it. Today my neutrophile was 0.24, my thrombozyten was 75, white 2.36 and platelets 75.

Anne x