New to this
Six months later the surgeon wanted to do another colonoscopy and another polyp was removed and it came back with no cancer cells. The surgeon wanted to do another colonoscopy a year later but I did not do it. Every year it seems that I keep putting off having another colonoscopy and people are continuously trying to get me to have another one and my problem is this. I know that I do not want another one and I would like to know that there are no other problems for sure but if I do have another diagnosis of cancer I am not sure that I am willing to go through with another surgery and the treatment. I did not have any treatments the first time nor did I have surgery for cancer but I have had surgeries in the past and I am not sure that I want to do any more.
I know that you are going to encourage me to go through with the colonoscopy and face the music that may be ahead, but for some reason I JUST DO NOT WANT TO. I really do not feel that I had cancer just a bad mark on my medical records that will haunt me forever. If I do have cancer again I am not afraid of dying but just the thought of going through surgery and the treatments are something that I do not want to face.
This is the only place that I feel that maybe someone will understand what I am going through and can give me the strength and knowledge to convince others that it is OK to feel the way I do.
Comments
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My best friend's Mom...
had the exact same rectal cancer that I had. Same size, same place, same everything. She did the surgery, chemo, radiation, had a permanent colostomy. I was lucky there and my ille was able to be reversed. This started with her Mom in late 2006. She finally got pissed off and fed up and stopped all treatment. Wouldn't even have her port taken out or flushed. She had just had it. In March of 2008 she was rushed to the hospital. The radiation had blocked off both of the femeral (sp?) arteries in her legs. She was throwing clots and rushed into surgery. She never woke up and died a week later.
I was diagnosed the last week of April 2008. One month after we buried Rella. I respect all of her decisions. But God I have missed her. Going through all of this, it would have been so nice to have had her here to confide in and to tell me to stop whining.
I miss her horribly and I'm not even her blood daughter. I've also felt horrible to have her daughter go through this with her mother and then with her best friend.
I have said many times that I wish I would have never had the colonoscopy done. I was only 45 and it would have killed me before the routine one at 50. When I say it, I mean it. Sometimes I can't imagine not being here for my son and my family. I'm still so tired and sick from 3 major surgeries and 7 months of chemo aka poisoning in 10 months that if I was told right now it was back; I don't know if I would/could start the fight again.
I get you. I want to tell you to fight no matter what. I know that you know that so many people in your life love you so much. But I get you too. It's always ok to feel how you feel. Maybe tomorrow you will feel different. This is also being written by a depressed, drugged, half crazy lady. But I do understand. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Pam0 -
Thank youpamysue said:My best friend's Mom...
had the exact same rectal cancer that I had. Same size, same place, same everything. She did the surgery, chemo, radiation, had a permanent colostomy. I was lucky there and my ille was able to be reversed. This started with her Mom in late 2006. She finally got pissed off and fed up and stopped all treatment. Wouldn't even have her port taken out or flushed. She had just had it. In March of 2008 she was rushed to the hospital. The radiation had blocked off both of the femeral (sp?) arteries in her legs. She was throwing clots and rushed into surgery. She never woke up and died a week later.
I was diagnosed the last week of April 2008. One month after we buried Rella. I respect all of her decisions. But God I have missed her. Going through all of this, it would have been so nice to have had her here to confide in and to tell me to stop whining. I miss her horribly and I'm not even her blood daughter. I've also felt horrible to have her daughter go through this with her mother and then with her best friend.
I have said many times that I wish I would have never had the colonoscopy done. I was only 45 and it would have killed me before the routine one at 50. When I say it, I mean it. Sometimes I can't imagine not being here for my son and my family. I'm still so tired and sick from 3 major surgeries and 7 months of chemo aka poisoning in 10 months that if I was told right now it was back; I don't know if I would/could start the fight again.
I get you. I want to tell you to fight no matter what. I know that you know that so many people in your life love you so much. But I get you too. It's always ok to feel how you feel. Maybe tomorrow you will feel different. This is also being written by a depressed, drugged, half crazy lady. But I do understand. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Pam
I was afraid that people may think that I am a joke but I really do feel what I said and I do not know if it is worth going through all the pain, and all the pain my family will have to go through with the sickness and treatments. Sometimes I think that even if I do die with this then they will be able to go on with their lives and with time they will miss me but it will get easier. Is this what others feel sometimes. I am not afraid because I am a christian and will be going to heaven. Heaven will be so much better than what life on this earth is becoming.0 -
i was one that didn't when I should have.
I was sent to have one done after talking to my family doctor at the age of 40, because of some problems I was having and the fact that I had a grandma die from colon cancer. I had the script filled for yucky stuff and was going to do it. well, the stuff they had me drink tasted like old dishwater, i couldn't do it threw up the first small sip (they never told me you could mix it with anything but water). I never looked back. I decided on my own that I was fine, I am young, and my problems will go away soon enough. for a little while things seemed to be normal. for the next year and a half, it seemed like I was constantly running to the bathroom, and as much as I was there never felt like i was done. My stomache was growing, yet I had no appetite and hardly ate anything, couldn't figure it out, bought bigger clothes. All the sites and internet research had everything pointing at the cancer, expect the weight loss part, so I still thought I was fine. It took a year and a half from the starting point. the last week of october i was in excrutiating pain, couldn't go to the bathroom at all and went to the doc. they told me i was constipated and told me to try an enema and stool softeners. 2 days later i had hardly gone, was still in alot of pain, and the doc had no time, they told me to go to the er. the er dx'd me with constipation, even after an xray, and gave me a script for nausea, along with something "super" to make me go. I did it. the next morning I still didn't feel right, was getting ready for work anyway, and started to throw up some more. and some more. there was nothing there to come out, and the pain was worse than I had when giving natural child birth.
About 4 hours later my fiance, who is also my boss, couldn't get me to answer the phone (I was curled up on the bathroom floor) came home, dressed me and took me back to the er. I couldn't talk at all, until the morphine kicked in. after an xray and some blood tests, they admitted me. that was tuesday. on wednesday the tests included the ct scan and a barium enema, later that afternoon was the colonoscopy. by this point the drugs took care of most of the pain, but so many tests - i never knew there were that many for that end of the body! On thursday afternnon, the doc came in and told me surgery was scheduled for friday morning, my birthday will never be the same, all i wanted was carrot cake.
I'm just saying that I felt the same way you did, i was going to try, but decided i didn't want to know anyway, just let it kill me. but these things tend to make you really ill first, and then rather than just having the colonoscopy, the other things are worse! even after they told me i had cancer, I was very much contemplating not having the chemo and just taking my chances. my fiance wouldn't hear of that, and promptly called my father (who has a silent way of convincing me even over the phone). Knowing what I know now.....just a thought.0 -
I hear you both
I think we all do. I am a firm believer that we are responsible for being our own advocates and we have the RIGHT to decide what is right and what is wrong not only as we journey along the path of this beast, but in all aspects of our lives. When I was initially diagnosed in 2004 I did the resection and the chemo. The chemo SUCKED big time! I vowed I would never do that again; it would certainly be better to die than to enter into that battle again. I took up eating whole foods and juicing. I exercised to strengthen my body, stayed away from anything that would poison my body further. I took up massage and relaxation. I always said, even though it was hard to live our western lifestyle around these changes it was FAR better than the difficulty of chemo. Then the beast returned in 2006 DESPITE my efforts! At the same time, my mother lay dying in Florida of lung cancer that we had no idea she had. I was too sick to travel to be at her side when she died, but my brother did drive me to Florida for the funeral and I was able to speak at her funeral. I was able to speak to my mother over the phone before she was too far gone to speak, thanks to my twin brother who was able to get to her bedside. In the aftermath of her death, I saw how mother's decisions in the end affected everyone around her. My sisters STILL torture themselves with what ifs... what if mother took chemo, what if she was able to have surgery... My response is that they don't know how it was for mother. Only mother knew what was too much and what was the right decision for her. I don't doubt that God was with her as she made those decisions and welcomed her when her life here ended. But the main thing I learned from her very short journey (8 weeks from thinking she had pneumonia to her funeral) with the beast was that this isn't just a fight for the one who has cancer. We affect all those around us. I owe it to my children and the rest of my family to do what I can to fight this beast for as long as I CAN fight it. Of course, they also understand that I also have the power and will TAKE the power to decide enough is enough, if that time comes. I want my children to know that when the going got tough, I stood and did battle. I want them to understand that life CAN be hard, and when it does get to be difficult, it is our responsibility to do the best we can and STAND.
mary0 -
daydreamer110761 said:
i was one that didn't when I should have.
I was sent to have one done after talking to my family doctor at the age of 40, because of some problems I was having and the fact that I had a grandma die from colon cancer. I had the script filled for yucky stuff and was going to do it. well, the stuff they had me drink tasted like old dishwater, i couldn't do it threw up the first small sip (they never told me you could mix it with anything but water). I never looked back. I decided on my own that I was fine, I am young, and my problems will go away soon enough. for a little while things seemed to be normal. for the next year and a half, it seemed like I was constantly running to the bathroom, and as much as I was there never felt like i was done. My stomache was growing, yet I had no appetite and hardly ate anything, couldn't figure it out, bought bigger clothes. All the sites and internet research had everything pointing at the cancer, expect the weight loss part, so I still thought I was fine. It took a year and a half from the starting point. the last week of october i was in excrutiating pain, couldn't go to the bathroom at all and went to the doc. they told me i was constipated and told me to try an enema and stool softeners. 2 days later i had hardly gone, was still in alot of pain, and the doc had no time, they told me to go to the er. the er dx'd me with constipation, even after an xray, and gave me a script for nausea, along with something "super" to make me go. I did it. the next morning I still didn't feel right, was getting ready for work anyway, and started to throw up some more. and some more. there was nothing there to come out, and the pain was worse than I had when giving natural child birth.
About 4 hours later my fiance, who is also my boss, couldn't get me to answer the phone (I was curled up on the bathroom floor) came home, dressed me and took me back to the er. I couldn't talk at all, until the morphine kicked in. after an xray and some blood tests, they admitted me. that was tuesday. on wednesday the tests included the ct scan and a barium enema, later that afternoon was the colonoscopy. by this point the drugs took care of most of the pain, but so many tests - i never knew there were that many for that end of the body! On thursday afternnon, the doc came in and told me surgery was scheduled for friday morning, my birthday will never be the same, all i wanted was carrot cake.
I'm just saying that I felt the same way you did, i was going to try, but decided i didn't want to know anyway, just let it kill me. but these things tend to make you really ill first, and then rather than just having the colonoscopy, the other things are worse! even after they told me i had cancer, I was very much contemplating not having the chemo and just taking my chances. my fiance wouldn't hear of that, and promptly called my father (who has a silent way of convincing me even over the phone). Knowing what I know now.....just a thought.
Your comment "...my birthday will never be the same, all i wanted was carrot cake."" is so awesome! I was diagnosed 19 days before my 44th birthday! My mother insisted on getting me home on day 5 of the hospital stay and I didn't even realize why until I woke up in the middle of that night freaking on percocet that it WAS my birthday, and that was why mother was so insistent I get home! She didn't want me in the hospital on my birthday!
mary0 -
Your decision
You absolutely have the right to make your own decisions. Only you know how you feel and what you can tolerate. Having said this, I also have to tell you that before I was diagnosed, I was going through a very tough spot in my life. I was having a rough time with my sons, normal teenage stuff, and I was trying to get a degree and return to work, money was tight, etc. I had days where I truly felt that if something happened to me, it would be okay for everyone. Then I was diagnosed and I realized I still had so much to do; I really wanted to fight. I've had 3 surgeries and 6 months of chemo. The chemo was really rough, but I have to tell you, it was worth it. I was driving home with my 18-year old son today and out of the blue I told him that this time after chemo has been such a wonderful time of my life. I still have bad days, I still get down, but I am so glad that I can look at the blue sky, the green grass, and the people I love and thank God that I am living. A colonoscopy is a pain in the (fill in the blank) but it's not a big deal. Surgeries, not much fun either, but manageable. Chemo, the worst best friend I've ever had. I hated chemo, but it saved my life.
That's how I feel about my decision, but you get to make your own choices. I hope you don't let fear of the unknown or unexperienced cheat you out of better times down the road. I was diagnosed at Stage IV and one of my biggest regrets was that there was no red flag, no symptom, no family history, etc. that would have let me catch this sooner. My prayer for you is that if you do choose to fight, do it now with the hope that you will be in early stages and have a more positive prognosis. Either way, it is your decision and I wish the best for you.
Rebecca0 -
Birthday surprise!msccolon said:
Your comment "...my birthday will never be the same, all i wanted was carrot cake."" is so awesome! I was diagnosed 19 days before my 44th birthday! My mother insisted on getting me home on day 5 of the hospital stay and I didn't even realize why until I woke up in the middle of that night freaking on percocet that it WAS my birthday, and that was why mother was so insistent I get home! She didn't want me in the hospital on my birthday!
mary
I was also diagnosed a couple of weeks before my birthday (my 47th). I can remember being in shock, especially after surgery, and thinking that this was the worst birthday present of my life. Needless to say, I've had another birthday since then and it was much, much better. So here's to many more happy birthdays and may we all have NED as our special birthday guest!
Rebecca0 -
my view
my husband and i were just talking about this.i am about to get a port and start this journey and wondering if i go thru this awful stuff and in a year or two it comes back i dont know if i will have the strenth to do this. i had a rough time with radiation and chemo pills[xeloda] and now this other seems so much more aggressive,YES i will do my 12 rounds but if the big c comes back the way everybody talks on here on how this chemo makes them feel i have about decided if the cancer doesnt kill you the chemo will and thats how i am feeling today...johnnybegood0 -
Very Hard Decision
You have every right to seek medical treatment or not. No one should influence you one way or the other about making this very personal and yet very fearful decision to have anything done if you don't want to.
I had signs, and although I did try over the counter remedies, when that didn't help I did seek medical advice. My doctor said because I just turned 50 we would do a routine colonoscopy and that is when they found my tumor.
I never hesitated twice about having treatment, but that is me. No one talked me into having treatment, nor did anyone try to talk me out of it. This has to be your personal choice.
I agree with the above statement though, if you catch it early enough colorectal cancer is so treatable now. Even those that have had huge tumors are a living testament many years later that they are NED because of the treatment.
Good luck in your decision - whatever that may be.
Kim0 -
Your right to choose
I agree that it is your right to choose, and every person's feelings about their own health care and decisions are valid. You don't know what you will do until you are up against it. I always said I would never go through a lot of medical hell, never do chemo and so on. My dad died with cancer all through his body, never took any treatment, and had horrible pain that even morphine could not stop for 6 months till he died. I had symptoms for 2 years, that got worse and worse, horrible cramping and pain, bouts of constipation and diarreah, pain so bad I would lie curled in a ball crying till I got diarreah, that was because a tumor was growing and blocking me off. Well one day I could not go at all, after over a week, I was in so much pain and so sick all I could do was lay on the floor and retch, I let someone take me to the hospital, had an emergency colostomy done as my intestines were ready to burst, then when healed from that, had more surgery to remove half my colon, the tumor which had spread to overy and lymph nodes and had all that removed. Then when they quoted the statistics for survival with chemo vs no chemo, guess what, I had the chemo. I have had scopes done yearly since then, I hate them. I was 45 when this happened, it has been almost 5 years now, I am going back to school, still deal with worries about Cancer returning, as everyone here does, but life goes on, it is different, but I think (so far) worth the fight. I do wish I had went and had the tests done earlier, I would not have had to suffer so long, and it might not have spread so far. All I know is, when I was at the point of death with my intestines ready to burst, I decided I did not want to die. So that is just something to think about and my experience with this cancer. Pam0 -
Thank you for thedaydreamer110761 said:i was one that didn't when I should have.
I was sent to have one done after talking to my family doctor at the age of 40, because of some problems I was having and the fact that I had a grandma die from colon cancer. I had the script filled for yucky stuff and was going to do it. well, the stuff they had me drink tasted like old dishwater, i couldn't do it threw up the first small sip (they never told me you could mix it with anything but water). I never looked back. I decided on my own that I was fine, I am young, and my problems will go away soon enough. for a little while things seemed to be normal. for the next year and a half, it seemed like I was constantly running to the bathroom, and as much as I was there never felt like i was done. My stomache was growing, yet I had no appetite and hardly ate anything, couldn't figure it out, bought bigger clothes. All the sites and internet research had everything pointing at the cancer, expect the weight loss part, so I still thought I was fine. It took a year and a half from the starting point. the last week of october i was in excrutiating pain, couldn't go to the bathroom at all and went to the doc. they told me i was constipated and told me to try an enema and stool softeners. 2 days later i had hardly gone, was still in alot of pain, and the doc had no time, they told me to go to the er. the er dx'd me with constipation, even after an xray, and gave me a script for nausea, along with something "super" to make me go. I did it. the next morning I still didn't feel right, was getting ready for work anyway, and started to throw up some more. and some more. there was nothing there to come out, and the pain was worse than I had when giving natural child birth.
About 4 hours later my fiance, who is also my boss, couldn't get me to answer the phone (I was curled up on the bathroom floor) came home, dressed me and took me back to the er. I couldn't talk at all, until the morphine kicked in. after an xray and some blood tests, they admitted me. that was tuesday. on wednesday the tests included the ct scan and a barium enema, later that afternoon was the colonoscopy. by this point the drugs took care of most of the pain, but so many tests - i never knew there were that many for that end of the body! On thursday afternnon, the doc came in and told me surgery was scheduled for friday morning, my birthday will never be the same, all i wanted was carrot cake.
I'm just saying that I felt the same way you did, i was going to try, but decided i didn't want to know anyway, just let it kill me. but these things tend to make you really ill first, and then rather than just having the colonoscopy, the other things are worse! even after they told me i had cancer, I was very much contemplating not having the chemo and just taking my chances. my fiance wouldn't hear of that, and promptly called my father (who has a silent way of convincing me even over the phone). Knowing what I know now.....just a thought.
Thank you for the encourgement0 -
We never know how well wemsccolon said:I hear you both
I think we all do. I am a firm believer that we are responsible for being our own advocates and we have the RIGHT to decide what is right and what is wrong not only as we journey along the path of this beast, but in all aspects of our lives. When I was initially diagnosed in 2004 I did the resection and the chemo. The chemo SUCKED big time! I vowed I would never do that again; it would certainly be better to die than to enter into that battle again. I took up eating whole foods and juicing. I exercised to strengthen my body, stayed away from anything that would poison my body further. I took up massage and relaxation. I always said, even though it was hard to live our western lifestyle around these changes it was FAR better than the difficulty of chemo. Then the beast returned in 2006 DESPITE my efforts! At the same time, my mother lay dying in Florida of lung cancer that we had no idea she had. I was too sick to travel to be at her side when she died, but my brother did drive me to Florida for the funeral and I was able to speak at her funeral. I was able to speak to my mother over the phone before she was too far gone to speak, thanks to my twin brother who was able to get to her bedside. In the aftermath of her death, I saw how mother's decisions in the end affected everyone around her. My sisters STILL torture themselves with what ifs... what if mother took chemo, what if she was able to have surgery... My response is that they don't know how it was for mother. Only mother knew what was too much and what was the right decision for her. I don't doubt that God was with her as she made those decisions and welcomed her when her life here ended. But the main thing I learned from her very short journey (8 weeks from thinking she had pneumonia to her funeral) with the beast was that this isn't just a fight for the one who has cancer. We affect all those around us. I owe it to my children and the rest of my family to do what I can to fight this beast for as long as I CAN fight it. Of course, they also understand that I also have the power and will TAKE the power to decide enough is enough, if that time comes. I want my children to know that when the going got tough, I stood and did battle. I want them to understand that life CAN be hard, and when it does get to be difficult, it is our responsibility to do the best we can and STAND.
mary
We never know how well we have it until we hear from others and hear their strength and the many trials they have been through. I am not afraid of getting cancer again but I think that I am more afraid of what it will be like for those that I care for and how much they will be having their lives change because of me. My dad had brain cancer and he died six months after he was diagnosed. Even though I did everything I could for him ( I was his primary caregiver) I never felt that I did enough and I do not want my family to have the same guilt that I did. The one thing about his cancer is that he did go quickly and if I have to go I hope that it will be swift and not linger on for years like others do sometimes.0 -
amen!dbloxom said:We never know how well we
We never know how well we have it until we hear from others and hear their strength and the many trials they have been through. I am not afraid of getting cancer again but I think that I am more afraid of what it will be like for those that I care for and how much they will be having their lives change because of me. My dad had brain cancer and he died six months after he was diagnosed. Even though I did everything I could for him ( I was his primary caregiver) I never felt that I did enough and I do not want my family to have the same guilt that I did. The one thing about his cancer is that he did go quickly and if I have to go I hope that it will be swift and not linger on for years like others do sometimes.
blessedly quick!
mary0 -
I can relatePamPam2 said:Your right to choose
I agree that it is your right to choose, and every person's feelings about their own health care and decisions are valid. You don't know what you will do until you are up against it. I always said I would never go through a lot of medical hell, never do chemo and so on. My dad died with cancer all through his body, never took any treatment, and had horrible pain that even morphine could not stop for 6 months till he died. I had symptoms for 2 years, that got worse and worse, horrible cramping and pain, bouts of constipation and diarreah, pain so bad I would lie curled in a ball crying till I got diarreah, that was because a tumor was growing and blocking me off. Well one day I could not go at all, after over a week, I was in so much pain and so sick all I could do was lay on the floor and retch, I let someone take me to the hospital, had an emergency colostomy done as my intestines were ready to burst, then when healed from that, had more surgery to remove half my colon, the tumor which had spread to overy and lymph nodes and had all that removed. Then when they quoted the statistics for survival with chemo vs no chemo, guess what, I had the chemo. I have had scopes done yearly since then, I hate them. I was 45 when this happened, it has been almost 5 years now, I am going back to school, still deal with worries about Cancer returning, as everyone here does, but life goes on, it is different, but I think (so far) worth the fight. I do wish I had went and had the tests done earlier, I would not have had to suffer so long, and it might not have spread so far. All I know is, when I was at the point of death with my intestines ready to burst, I decided I did not want to die. So that is just something to think about and my experience with this cancer. Pam
to your story so well, the pain, laying on the floor wretching, I truly thought at that moment that death would be better than what I felt. "just make it stop" was all I could think, but I couldn't speak. Doc said I was lucky. I remember also thinking that maybe death would be easier than dealing with some of the other life things, and let them figure it out without me. Not so. After thinking a bit longer, I decided that what I was thinking is no different than committing suicide, and taking the easy way has never been my way, so fight!0 -
You want Honesty or sympathy ?dbloxom said:We never know how well we
We never know how well we have it until we hear from others and hear their strength and the many trials they have been through. I am not afraid of getting cancer again but I think that I am more afraid of what it will be like for those that I care for and how much they will be having their lives change because of me. My dad had brain cancer and he died six months after he was diagnosed. Even though I did everything I could for him ( I was his primary caregiver) I never felt that I did enough and I do not want my family to have the same guilt that I did. The one thing about his cancer is that he did go quickly and if I have to go I hope that it will be swift and not linger on for years like others do sometimes.
I will tell you honestly, because I feel like I need to, you ask for opinions so here we go. This is my opinion only so if it miffs you to hear it I don't apologize because I feel what I tell you is right or I wouldn't say anything at all. You said at the very first that you had a polyp taken out that did have cancer cells on it but no surgery was done or adjuvent chemo treatment either so there was no surgery done at all. Then the next year you go for another colonoscopy and they find another polyp that was benign and they remove it, so so far no cancer and no surgery for it or chemo , right so far ? The way I see it all you are having to do is get a colonoscopy every year and it is saving your life. If you skip a year then the probability of a polyp becoming cancerous is very high. I don't understand how if you are cancer free why would you subject yourself and the people that love you to acquiring cancer by not having the colonoscopies done every year. That my friend is your decision but don't tell me you are doing it to save your family from agony. You are not getting colonoscopys done because of the same reason I didn't want to do the post op chemo, because we are both selfish individuals that only care for ourselves. If you persist in making the decision to let cancer take your body when you have all the chances in the world to never have it and lead a great life then to not have the checkups is a fools option. No, I won't sugar coat something I feel adamant about. Your right it is your decision to make and you have to live with that, but give anyone in this entire forum the option you have and see which one that every one of them would choose to have, 1 exam a year or cancer....its a no brainer....I can say this because I have a Dad that passed away myself at 63 of stomach cancer so Im not only speaking for myself but anyone else that has a love for life...Sorry, but I have no sympathy for someone who never even trys to help themselves.........0 -
BuzzardBuzzard said:You want Honesty or sympathy ?
I will tell you honestly, because I feel like I need to, you ask for opinions so here we go. This is my opinion only so if it miffs you to hear it I don't apologize because I feel what I tell you is right or I wouldn't say anything at all. You said at the very first that you had a polyp taken out that did have cancer cells on it but no surgery was done or adjuvent chemo treatment either so there was no surgery done at all. Then the next year you go for another colonoscopy and they find another polyp that was benign and they remove it, so so far no cancer and no surgery for it or chemo , right so far ? The way I see it all you are having to do is get a colonoscopy every year and it is saving your life. If you skip a year then the probability of a polyp becoming cancerous is very high. I don't understand how if you are cancer free why would you subject yourself and the people that love you to acquiring cancer by not having the colonoscopies done every year. That my friend is your decision but don't tell me you are doing it to save your family from agony. You are not getting colonoscopys done because of the same reason I didn't want to do the post op chemo, because we are both selfish individuals that only care for ourselves. If you persist in making the decision to let cancer take your body when you have all the chances in the world to never have it and lead a great life then to not have the checkups is a fools option. No, I won't sugar coat something I feel adamant about. Your right it is your decision to make and you have to live with that, but give anyone in this entire forum the option you have and see which one that every one of them would choose to have, 1 exam a year or cancer....its a no brainer....I can say this because I have a Dad that passed away myself at 63 of stomach cancer so Im not only speaking for myself but anyone else that has a love for life...Sorry, but I have no sympathy for someone who never even trys to help themselves.........
OK and Amen. I said my peace before, but I agree 100% with you. Kim0 -
Do it!
I hesitate to tell you what to do, but you DID come here and post, looking for opinions. I believe you should get right to a doctor and have a colonoscopy. It's not a fun thing, and I hate it every time I go, but it's so much better than dying a painful death from untreated cancer. So far you've just had polyps, and they can be taken care of at the time of the colonoscopy. Even if you do end up having a cancer that needs to be surgically taken care of, if it's caught early enough, it's a colon resection and no chemo (I was Stage 1). It's scary, it's not fun, and you're changed forever, but you're ALIVE. And if you love your family and yourself, I think you need to do this.
*hugs*
Gail0
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