New Diagnosis of stage IV colon cancer

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Comments

  • Lori-S
    Lori-S Member Posts: 1,277 Member

    i'm the sister
    hello everyone, i am quite the topic of conversation today, i have recently learned that my large ovarian cyst was secondary to colon cancer which had spread to lymph nodes. i had a pet scan yesterday and have failed the test, and as a historically good student this alone bothers me. the first words my doctor said were "i don't like it", then bottom line i have 4 large liver masses and a mass in my pelvis which the doctor thinks may be a false positive due to the colon resection. so i am off to Vanderbilt to see Emily Chan thursday. i'm sure i will be a frequent visitor with my soul sisters and brothers here. my sister has really taken care of me both at bedside and a across the internets.

    love to all,

    amber

    Amber
    Welcome to our family of semi-colons. I'm sorry that you have to go through this but, this is a very good place for support and information. We have people here with all kinds of experience to share and that really helps make the journey a bit more managable. I hope that you do well at Vandy. We have another member here who goes there so if you have questions I'm sure he will be able to help. I am wishing you all the best and so glad that you joined the forum!

    PS: what a great sister you have.
  • cwork
    cwork Member Posts: 37

    i'm the sister
    hello everyone, i am quite the topic of conversation today, i have recently learned that my large ovarian cyst was secondary to colon cancer which had spread to lymph nodes. i had a pet scan yesterday and have failed the test, and as a historically good student this alone bothers me. the first words my doctor said were "i don't like it", then bottom line i have 4 large liver masses and a mass in my pelvis which the doctor thinks may be a false positive due to the colon resection. so i am off to Vanderbilt to see Emily Chan thursday. i'm sure i will be a frequent visitor with my soul sisters and brothers here. my sister has really taken care of me both at bedside and a across the internets.

    love to all,

    amber

    Please start a new thread.
    Hey Sissy, Please start a new thread and tell about yourself. So many have already looked at this thread and will not see that you have joined. Many on here are wanting to meet you. I am glad you have come on here. This is where you need to do research, ask questions, and look for advice and encouragement. Doing research on the internet will just scare you because most all of the info on there is out of date. The folks here know the most up to date technology as these are the ones that have decided to educated themselves about colon cancer and not just blindly trust that their doc will know all the latest and greatest. Look over some of the bios when you get a chance and you will see many that have liver and lungs mets that are gone now! I am sure Buzz will be around. He is the one that goes to Vandy and is a wealth of knowledge. I know your news today was not what you wanted to hear, but there is treatment for liver mets. Lots of new things going on that you and I have never heard of. We will learn together! LU
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    Lori-S said:

    Amber
    Welcome to our family of semi-colons. I'm sorry that you have to go through this but, this is a very good place for support and information. We have people here with all kinds of experience to share and that really helps make the journey a bit more managable. I hope that you do well at Vandy. We have another member here who goes there so if you have questions I'm sure he will be able to help. I am wishing you all the best and so glad that you joined the forum!

    PS: what a great sister you have.

    Amber...........
    I have met Cindy and now I get to meet you....Nice to see you although its not in the best of places to meet but in any instance, its my pleasure ....Your Medical Oncologist is Emily Chan, bravo for you, mine is one of the 4 that confer with each other to come up with the best protocol for treatment. I have Dana Bachlund, another Medical Onc that is one of the 4 there...I am very impressed by what I learned just in the hour I was in conference with her. Very, very learned, and very meticulous about what she told me, not leaving any question unanswered that was asked by me. Now, the Dr that you may see (or surgeon) will be different, but allow the Onc to recommend them to you, I will ask my 2 surgeons who they think and then maybe you can compare and make a choice for your self. Or, simply ask for a referral to another facility. I think you will find that you will make a great choice and within these walls (CSN) you will find the best of the best for your needs, both emotionally and physically.......Love and Hope for you and sis...
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    cwork said:

    Please start a new thread.
    Hey Sissy, Please start a new thread and tell about yourself. So many have already looked at this thread and will not see that you have joined. Many on here are wanting to meet you. I am glad you have come on here. This is where you need to do research, ask questions, and look for advice and encouragement. Doing research on the internet will just scare you because most all of the info on there is out of date. The folks here know the most up to date technology as these are the ones that have decided to educated themselves about colon cancer and not just blindly trust that their doc will know all the latest and greatest. Look over some of the bios when you get a chance and you will see many that have liver and lungs mets that are gone now! I am sure Buzz will be around. He is the one that goes to Vandy and is a wealth of knowledge. I know your news today was not what you wanted to hear, but there is treatment for liver mets. Lots of new things going on that you and I have never heard of. We will learn together! LU

    AWWWWWW........
    ain't that sweet........so start asking.....and Amber....did you know that the liver regenerates itself ?

    did you know that most colon cancer if it mets it mets to the liver and that rectal cancers if they met, met to the lungs........ok class over for now..........LOL......Buzz
  • lostit2003
    lostit2003 Member Posts: 53
    cwork said:

    Please start a new thread.
    Hey Sissy, Please start a new thread and tell about yourself. So many have already looked at this thread and will not see that you have joined. Many on here are wanting to meet you. I am glad you have come on here. This is where you need to do research, ask questions, and look for advice and encouragement. Doing research on the internet will just scare you because most all of the info on there is out of date. The folks here know the most up to date technology as these are the ones that have decided to educated themselves about colon cancer and not just blindly trust that their doc will know all the latest and greatest. Look over some of the bios when you get a chance and you will see many that have liver and lungs mets that are gone now! I am sure Buzz will be around. He is the one that goes to Vandy and is a wealth of knowledge. I know your news today was not what you wanted to hear, but there is treatment for liver mets. Lots of new things going on that you and I have never heard of. We will learn together! LU

    another TN girl
    Hi Amber and cwork. I live in West Tenn. so hello neighbor. My husband was dx last December with stage IV colon cancer, he has mets on his liver. He has been taking treatments since the end of Jan. and has currently stopped treatments for a while. he has been taking them at a local clinic because we learned that pretty much everyone starts with the same treatment. It worked well for him. His CEA numbers dropped and his lesions show inactive. If that changes we will be going to Vandy for a second opinion on which treatment to start next. Hope all goes well and remember ask all the questions you need to.
  • AnneCan
    AnneCan Member Posts: 3,673 Member

    i'm the sister
    hello everyone, i am quite the topic of conversation today, i have recently learned that my large ovarian cyst was secondary to colon cancer which had spread to lymph nodes. i had a pet scan yesterday and have failed the test, and as a historically good student this alone bothers me. the first words my doctor said were "i don't like it", then bottom line i have 4 large liver masses and a mass in my pelvis which the doctor thinks may be a false positive due to the colon resection. so i am off to Vanderbilt to see Emily Chan thursday. i'm sure i will be a frequent visitor with my soul sisters and brothers here. my sister has really taken care of me both at bedside and a across the internets.

    love to all,

    amber

    Welcome Amber!
    I am so glad you came here. I have found this to come for support, education, laughter etc. I was diagnosed with 2 colorectal tumours, underwent radiation + chemo for 5 weeks (summer of '09), was supposed to have surgery in the fall but they realized I had liver mets, anenlarged ovary + a very tiny lung spot which they are monitoring. They have me on chemo. My two primary mets are not detectable on the scan + I have had shrinkage on the liver. I feel pretty good except for fatigue. It sounds like you are going to a good cancer centre; that is really important. It sounds like you have a very caring sister. Remember, things are not the same as 20 years ago! I have met a~15 year stage IV colon cancer survivor + talked to a 20+ years one. There are also many on this forum who are doing really well after after an advanced diagnosis.
  • herdizziness
    herdizziness Member Posts: 3,624 Member

    i'm the sister
    hello everyone, i am quite the topic of conversation today, i have recently learned that my large ovarian cyst was secondary to colon cancer which had spread to lymph nodes. i had a pet scan yesterday and have failed the test, and as a historically good student this alone bothers me. the first words my doctor said were "i don't like it", then bottom line i have 4 large liver masses and a mass in my pelvis which the doctor thinks may be a false positive due to the colon resection. so i am off to Vanderbilt to see Emily Chan thursday. i'm sure i will be a frequent visitor with my soul sisters and brothers here. my sister has really taken care of me both at bedside and a across the internets.

    love to all,

    amber

    Welcome Amber
    I'm sorry to have to welcome you, but glad you have found us.
    There are soooo many that can help you understand the chemos, the surgeries, etc...
    I too, am Stage IV Colon Cancer, mets to liver, uterus, etc...
    It's a shock when you find this out. But, as the road continues, you realize you can live through this, and live well.
    The masses in my liver meant that I could not have surgery, ever, they said.
    8 months later, they have shrunk so much that only two remain detectable, and they said they can barely see them. I'm being scheduled for surgery to remove the remaining tumors from my liver (as well as colon and uterus)next month.
    The tumors in ovary and kidney have disappeared, etc....
    My life is good, and I'm darn thrilled to be living it!!!!
    It's tough, it's unbelievable, it sucks when you find out you have cancer. I don't know how many times I woke up in the night, and started crying, and whispering to God, over and over, one word; No, no, no, no, no, no, no, much like a chant.
    You will feel helpless, hopeless, at times, but you will also feel HOPE, JOY, and enjoy the mornings as the sun gently shines through the window to awaken you to a new day, and a renewed vigor to fight this disease.
    My wishes that the hope and joy stay with you through this fight. And I'm glad you have your sister at your "side".
    Winter Marie
  • herdizziness
    herdizziness Member Posts: 3,624 Member
    Bumping
    Bumping up.
  • trishisintune
    trishisintune Member Posts: 5

    i'm the sister
    hello everyone, i am quite the topic of conversation today, i have recently learned that my large ovarian cyst was secondary to colon cancer which had spread to lymph nodes. i had a pet scan yesterday and have failed the test, and as a historically good student this alone bothers me. the first words my doctor said were "i don't like it", then bottom line i have 4 large liver masses and a mass in my pelvis which the doctor thinks may be a false positive due to the colon resection. so i am off to Vanderbilt to see Emily Chan thursday. i'm sure i will be a frequent visitor with my soul sisters and brothers here. my sister has really taken care of me both at bedside and a across the internets.

    love to all,

    amber

    Hi Amber,
    I'm 52, stage 4,

    Hi Amber,

    I'm 52, stage 4, got 12 inches of my colon/rectum removed and recently had 2 tumors removed from my liver. The good thing about liver tumors is that if they can be removed, it's possible that you can be "cured" of your cancer (assuming you have no other tumors elsewhere). If they're too big or numerous to cut out, chemo can sometimes shrink them and then they can be removed. The docs can cut out up to 80% of your liver and it will grow back. With any luck, this is a likely scenario for you, and then you're on you're way to a complete cure, barring any further microtumors that pop up. But chemo can often deal with some of those.

    So hang in there. There's a decent chance you will survive this. We both know that statistically, we're both toast (that's pretty much what stage 4 means), but treatments have gotten much better in the last five years, and statistics are outdated. And individuals differ. So fight hard. People do survive.

    On the plus side, cancer has taught me to live in the present. I actually live more fully today than I did before my diagnosis. After my colorectal surgery, my friend Lisa sent me a card with the following thought: "Think only of today, and when tomorrow comes, it will be today, and then we'll think about it." (St. Francis de Sales) That has become my motto. Funny how the thought of having less time makes you really focus on the important things. That has been an extremely valuable lesson for me. So enjoy and celebrate each day as the gift that it is.

    In the short run, find out everything you can about your cancer. Make a binder, keep track of new information, consult with many docs. Choose a course of action. But after all is said and done, don't forget to close the binder and make the most of your life. Don't let cancer rob you of the present.

    Best of luck,
    Trish