My dad was just diagnosed with stage four colon cancer.

Rdm1228
Rdm1228 Member Posts: 1
in Colorectal Cancer #1

My dad went to hospital a few daydays ago and they found a large tumor in right side of colon. They removed it and it was cancer. 5 of 12 lympnodes showed positive for cancer too. They also think that he has microscopic tumors in belly. He has three nodules on his liver. He is 67 but not in horrible shape he just never goes to a doctor. He starts chemo in 4 weeks. Can some one please tell me anything they know? He has 6 kids we lost our mom 9 years ago. We are all he has. Can he beat this? 

Comments

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,796 Member
    #2
    Welcome to the forum

    I am sorry to hear about your dad. I'm also sorry to hear that your mum has passed away. It must be terribly frightening to face the fact that your dad might succumb to this terrible disease. 

    I won't give you false hope by saying 'of course he WILL beat it', but I can say 'of course he CAN beat it'.  The odds are not in his favour, but then, you will find many on this forum (some who don't post often), who are beating the odds, and will tell you that it can be done. 

    What is the key, you may ask? Well, I personally have no idea. 

    A good diet, exercise, and a huge positive outlook helps tremendously.  As for myself, I believe being positive and loving life have contributed to my three years with no evience of disease (we call it NED). I also believe that there are different things that help different people.  I swear by my galss of orange and lemon juice. Chances are, it helps but its not a 'cure'. 

    Being there for your dad, and being happy and positive, will help him no end. Obviously, at this point, you're all still in shock. The diagnosis takes some time to get used to, and it is normal to feel dispare, but don't hold onto that, it will bring you all down, but mostly your dad. 

    Starting chemo is a great boost. Sounds silly, but doing something helps, even if the road gets rough, and chemo isn't a walk in the park, for sure. 

    This is a great forum. So many good people here, all at different stages in their or their loved ones Cancer journey.  Visit often. We will help you and help you help your dad. 

    Tru

  • ROSPE123
    ROSPE123 Member Posts: 7
    edited September 2017 #3
    My dad is on the same boat. I

    My dad is on the same boat. I can't tell you what works and what doesn't (yet). But I have heard from a number of people that having a positive attitude helps a lot. I hope things go great for your dad. I will pray for him.

  • Annabelle41415
    Annabelle41415 Member Posts: 6,742 Member
    edited September 2017 #4
    Sorry

    Sorry about your dad.  So glad that you are trying to help you dad with some questions on this board and glad that you found us.  He needs to find a good team of doctors to give him a plan and have him take tests to find out what needs to happen next.  It's going to be a rollercoster of doctors now though so if he didn't go before he is going to go to many now.  It's not something that he will like but will need to be.  Sorry about the loss of your mom.  Wishing him the best and keep us informed.

    Kim

  • CyniD
    CyniD Member Posts: 13
    #5
    The Journey

    i am so sorry you have to travel down this road. God's grace is sufficent, you will have all you need. We received my husband's diagnosis 25 days ago. For the first 3 days, I could hardly breath and searched the internet constantly. I felt like I wanted to throw up, but that did not happen. I did not sleep for a week. I had flash backs to times when I had watched him as he went about life. I would sit and tears would flow down my face. It was all very emotional, and unknown territory for us. I have learned a lot. Cancer is a beast. However, there is a battle to be fought, and tools to fight it with. Once you get an Ontocologist and team you can trust; then it is important to take one day at a time. Breath deeply and move forward. My husband's stage 4 colon met to liver is inoperable. We thought we were going to treat this holistically and maybe even go to a clinic in Mexico. It only took a look at the colonoscopy to realize this beast is out to kill him. Not on my watch!!!  With that realization we committed to Folfox. All the pain meds they gave him made him sick as a dog. Morphine, Fentnal, Oxycodone. We stopped using them. He vomited for 9 days on that stuff. We are using Ibuprophin for pain and it is working well. He had his first round of chemo on Wed and it was without incidents. I was a wreck because he has a very sensitive system. He was able to tolerate it and only side effect was exhaustion. He has been getting drips for dehydration. What I have learned is that this I is like living with a chronic disease. It is one day at a time. There will be good days and bad days. As you move along, you gain a greater perspective. It gets a bit easier once you are delivering blows to the beast through chemo.  My heart goes out to you. What a blow. I will pray for you, your dad and your team. I will pray that your dad will be a worrior and fight a good hard fight. Bless you as you move down this new way of living life. There is hope!!!!

    CyniD

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