Thanks to everyone for helping me.

Canadian Sandy
Canadian Sandy Member Posts: 784 Member
edited January 2017 in Colorectal Cancer #1

I have been browsing this site since April of this year. I'd like to say a big thank you for keeping me so informed as I knew little about cancer when I came here. I was staged at 11b but have ended up at stage 1V. everything  happened so fast not really sure what is going on. I'm not convinced that they know either. So happy someone mentioned lomotil being better than Imodium as if I hadn't asked for it I'd probably still be in the hospital. The Docs didn't think of it and I barely knew what it was other than reading it here. Had a severe reaction to  Irinotecan And was in the hospital for 3 weeks. I am so glad I found this site and will continue to come here daily. 

Sandy

Comments

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,796 Member
    edited January 2017 #2
    Hello Canadian Sandy

    What a lovely smile you have. 

    I am so glad that our forum has helped you on your Cancer journey.  I'm sorry to hear that you had a severe reaction though, that is nasty. I hope you are all better. 

    I know some people might be dismissive when they hear of a stage I diagnosis, but in my opinion, Cancer is Cancer at any stage, and it is a truly frightening diagnosis. 

    I pray that all is well and you will hear the words NED (no evidence of disease) for many, many years. 

    Happy 2017!

    TRU  

    P.S. I have flagged your double post and the mods will delete it.  It happens when you hit the back button instead of the Colorectal Cancer link at the top. 

  • Canadian Sandy
    Canadian Sandy Member Posts: 784 Member
    #3
    Thank you Trubit. It's taken

    Thank you Trubit. It's taken me a long time to post and I feel that Ive known you for a long time. 

    Happy New Year to you and everyone on here!

  • JanJan63
    JanJan63 Member Posts: 2,478 Member
    edited January 2017 #4
    Welcome from a fellow

    Welcome from a fellow Canadian! How wonderful that they found t that early! Make sure they do take care of you properly. My feeling is that if a person is stage two or less they don't hit it hard enough sometimes. I'll look forward to your future posts.

    Jan

  • Canadian Sandy
    Canadian Sandy Member Posts: 784 Member
    #5
    JanJan63 said:

    Welcome from a fellow

    Welcome from a fellow Canadian! How wonderful that they found t that early! Make sure they do take care of you properly. My feeling is that if a person is stage two or less they don't hit it hard enough sometimes. I'll look forward to your future posts.

    Jan

    Thanks JanJan. I am stage iV

    Thanks JanJan. I am stage iV now with metastasis to lymph nodes. I may have caught it with the chemo I was on or could be just to small to show up on a ct scan. This journey is full of surprises.

  • JanJan63
    JanJan63 Member Posts: 2,478 Member
    #6
    Canadian Sandy said:

    Thanks JanJan. I am stage iV

    Thanks JanJan. I am stage iV now with metastasis to lymph nodes. I may have caught it with the chemo I was on or could be just to small to show up on a ct scan. This journey is full of surprises.

    Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you

    Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were stage 1. I was also stage three with 3 out of 11 lymph nodes involved. I now have what they believe are two lung mets which still makes me a stage three, not a four. And there's a possibility that the spots are not mets but are scars but they can't do a biopsy because I'm on blood thinners for life. The likelihood is that they are mets.

    Cancer is an odd thing and I know a lot more about it than I ever thought I would but I still don't know very much. Most of what I've learned is from this forum. Googling it is pointless and negative. Getting information from people who know how to search properly and find things that are pertinent and up to date is much better than looking it up myself.

    And there are so many variables and varying responses to different treatments that its impossible to say how it will go for someone. But at least we can go into things with some information on our side and have a pretty good idea of what to expect. And its wonderful to have the comradery and support of people who have been through it rather than a doctor who only goes by what's in the books or what his patients have told him and they usually don't have time to listen to the stories properly.

    I wish you well Sandy. It's a tough haul but it can be done and we are all stronger than we know. May I ask what province you're located in?

    Jan 

  • Canadian Sandy
    Canadian Sandy Member Posts: 784 Member
    #7
    JanJan63 said:

    Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you

    Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were stage 1. I was also stage three with 3 out of 11 lymph nodes involved. I now have what they believe are two lung mets which still makes me a stage three, not a four. And there's a possibility that the spots are not mets but are scars but they can't do a biopsy because I'm on blood thinners for life. The likelihood is that they are mets.

    Cancer is an odd thing and I know a lot more about it than I ever thought I would but I still don't know very much. Most of what I've learned is from this forum. Googling it is pointless and negative. Getting information from people who know how to search properly and find things that are pertinent and up to date is much better than looking it up myself.

    And there are so many variables and varying responses to different treatments that its impossible to say how it will go for someone. But at least we can go into things with some information on our side and have a pretty good idea of what to expect. And its wonderful to have the comradery and support of people who have been through it rather than a doctor who only goes by what's in the books or what his patients have told him and they usually don't have time to listen to the stories properly.

    I wish you well Sandy. It's a tough haul but it can be done and we are all stronger than we know. May I ask what province you're located in?

    Jan 

    Thanks for the encouragement.

    Thanks for the encouragement. I feel like my oncologist is reading from a textbook. lol  I'm from BC where the beautiful mountains are. Where are you from JanJan?

  • JanJan63
    JanJan63 Member Posts: 2,478 Member
    edited January 2017 #8
    We live in Alberta, east of

    We live in Alberta, east of Calgary, so not far from the mountains, either. The Tom Baker in Calgary is where I had my treatments. They seem to be pretty up to date on treatments here but apparently ablation hasn't been approved yet or is not really done here yet. It's something that might be a good option for my lung mets so I'm hoping they start doing it here before they get bigger and need to be dealt with.

    A friend had all the signs of colon cancer about a year ago. Her doctor was giving her information brochures on it and everything. Despite the concern she waited 9 months to get a colonoscopy done. It turned out that she has Crohn's, not cancer, thank goodness, but I was shocked at how long it took for her to get the test. They live near Kelowna.

    Jan

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