ERINKDENT

Hi Erin: You deserve a hug. I know how it feels to be in your shoes. The answer is yes you and me and everyone else will die; someday. And in a way that takes away the knot in your stomach. Whether it's from colorectal cancer and whether it's sooner rather than later, well it's been my experience to try and take this whole thing one step at a time. Getting through the beginning of treatment and diagnosis, getting through the side effects of the treatment chosen, and then hopefully getting through to the other side tend to happen in a very carefully orchestrated manner. But when I first got my diagnosis, I was very much like you - in my late 50's and wondering if my life was over.

I had no symptoms. I ended up in the ER thinking I had food poisoning because I had severe abdominal pain. And that evening I had also passed blood. The ER doc told me immediately I didn't have food poisoning. And that he thought I did have colon cancer. The colonoscopy the following day proved him right. Originally they staged my disease at stage 1, thinking they got it all out during the colonoscopy. I thought I'd dodged a bullet. But when my very first 90 day bloodwork and scans were done, all being negative, they decided to work me up as a colorectal patient rather than just colon and an endoscopic ultrasound resulted in my gastro surgeon telling me that he strongly felt the cancer was back in the original tumor bed. He was right. Whether it was a recurrence or some of the original cancer was not gotten during the first round, just semantics really. That led me to now being stage 2. They assured me that it wasn't in the lymph nodes and I wouldn't have to undergo chemo. I had over a foot of my colon removed, all my gynecological parts, and 16 lypmph nodes. Pathology showed 1 positive for infiltration. So now I was stage 3b and feeling just the way you are right now.

This changes your life and that of your family. I am a former vice president at a Harvard teaching hospital so I was somewhat familiar with the survival statistics for my stage,. If I chose chemo then roughly 50% of those with my stage undergoing resection and chemo, are still around 5 years later. So I didn't waste time. I picked the Mayo for treatment and got my medical team lined up and off I went to this new place I didn't want to be.

You will get through this. It will take every ounce of determination and strength. And you will want to quit. But don't stop because your life depends upon it.

I am now 3 1/2 years out from finishing chemo. And my present status is NED, no evidence of disease.

This is not a journey for the faint hearted, but you will surprise yourself. This forum and others will help you immensely.

These folks have been there and they know how to get through this nightmare. And there is someone here all the time.

So I know you're smart because you ended up here. And let me say that you will get through this.

I don't know where you are with getting second opinions and such but they are invaluable.

It's frightening and it's painful, but it is doable. You can do this Erin. And you will get to the other side or at least to another part of this dance. Nowadays you manage the disease. You manage the phases of it. So let us know more details if you choose.

Please know that I am here for you. Hugs.... - Gail

Hello and welcome, we are happy to have you with us. Please feel free to join in the conversations. Here is a link to our cancer dx page for your type of cancer. Take a look at it to get you started on some information. You will notice at the bottom of that page 4 of our active users who have had that journey already, you may wish to contact them for their experience and wisdom. Also, I encourage you to go to the questions page now by clicking on the questions tab at the top of the page and post what is the most pressing issue you have right now. This will introduce you to the community and get you started on the help you need right now.

https://www.whatnext.com/conditions/cancer/colorectal-colon-cancer

There are also subtypes listed on this page to narrow down the type of cancer to match your dx. Also, if you can take a few minutes and fill in some details of your journey so far, it will help others as they try to answer questions for you, it also helps others as they search through the database to find someone like themselves. Confirming your email will allow you to receive updates and notices from the site when someone answers your questions or writes on your wall. Thanks for being with us and let me know if I can help you find any information on the site. After you have an opportunity to look the site over and see what great things there are here, we encourage you to invite your friends, family or anyone you know that may be helped by the connections on WhatNext to join the site also.

Just click this link to invite them to join. http://www.whatnext.com/recruit-a-friend

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GregP 3X Survivor
WhatNext Community Mgr.

My advice is make sure you go to the best doctors and the best cancer hospital you can. Question everything. Cancer research shows promise every day. People live much longer and better than in the past. Hang in there

Welcome to the WhatNext family! The WhatNext family is made up of people like you who are looking for help or looking to help others. To help you along your journey the WhatNext family has put together a Beginner's Guide to Cancer that I highly recommend you check-out here: http://bit.ly/10BQKCi. Also, please do not hesitate to reach out to others or ask for help.

Wishing you the best.

David
Founder, WhatNexter