Living with colorectal cancer - Meet others & come say hi

@memorae12 thank you for sharing your success story. It gives hope to many of us who have gone through a similar situation.
I had a foot of my colon removed at Mayo Clinic a little over 2 yrs ago. I did not have any other treatments. Plus i am being watched for follicular lymphoma.
I think having a great team.of doctors is a big life saver. God bless

My husband was diagnosed stage 4 over 6.5 years ago with cancer of colon, liver and eventually to lungs, he had piece of colon removed 3/4 of his liver removed that had grown back and then for his lungs he had cyber knife(a very pinpointed radiation ) to more than 8 tumors in the lungs. He had chemo for 6 months then another round via Xelida (pill form of chemo ) for a few months. He has a great attitude and we have traveled many places internationally during this period enjoying life. His next step is genomic testing to see if he qualifies for keytruda which is an immunotherapy that has been apprived for colon cancer. Hope this helps someone and continue with that great attitude.

Hey @rayleemorris
I know what you mean by an Earth Angel. Being a caregiver is no small task. When my Dad was in treatment our routine was, my mom takes care of my Dad and I take care of Mom, the caregiver. I'm glad to hear that neuropathy was reversed for you after stopping oxaliplatin. You wouldn't think that numbness could be so debilitating, but it is. In fact, we have a whole group dedicated to neuropathy of all causes on Connect.

Do you ever take chemo vacations, in other words, breaks from treatment?

Hi I had stage 3 colorectal cancer in March of 2016, with 29 days of radiation and chemo. My resection of 1 foot colon removed July 2016. I had a bowel blocakage August 2016 and had emergency surgery to remove scar tissue and blockage and then a reversal of my illesostomy in September of 2016. My question is after all of this and almost two years out now I still have 1 day a week where I feel colon spasms along with clustering and after one to two days of this I am just exhausted. It resembles Krohnes disease and I wanted to know if anyone else had similar issues and what they do when issues like this happen?

Hi @jrsmarkey and welcome to Connect. I'm tagging a few other members - @brenz @mikendale @jinatolle @memorae12 - of the Colorectal cancer group to see if they have experienced colon spasms and clustering.

While we wait for others to respond, jrsmarkey, can you tell me a bit more about the spasms? You mention that they happen about once a week. Have you been able to determine what triggers them or if there's a pattern associated with them? Have you doctors suggested what might be the cause?

Most of the time it’s due to eating something that is overly spicy. My Doctors just say go back to the Bratty diet until you get some relief. Really tired of eating the blandest things on earth. Why even bother eating if you have to eat that way! I have tried taking CBD oil and that seems to help with a lot of my symptoms. I feel inflammation is to blame for most of my issues.

Many of you sharing about your experiences with cancer in the Colorectal Cancer group have already met @travelgirl. She is featured on this week's member spotlight. Click the link and get to know a little more about Jackie @travelgirl

– Where there’s a Will there's a Way: Meet @travelgirl https://connect.mayoclinic.org/newsfeed-post/where-theres-a-will-theres-a-way-meet-travelgirl/

See more Member Spotlights https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/tab/newsfeed/

Hi my mother had stage 3 colorectal cancer doctors operated her immediately because her stomach was bloating due to blockage of rectosigmoid junction .
They did colonoscopy and after surgery we got the biopsy report in which it was clearly mentioned that it was a stage 3 colorectal cancer.

Best oncologist of my city said not to worry she gave 8 chemos and after that said treatment is over but a stroma operation was left
Before the operation we did serum report it came 4.23 it was high
Doctor said to get another report after 20 days the CEA level reduced it came 4.13 but still high
We did a CT scan it concluded everything normal but few non necrotic mesenteric lymph nodes were found with one lymph node of larger size in the right lumbar region
Now doctor saying wait for 3 months
After 3 months bring the new CEA report
Then we will decide what to do

Now I want help what to do
I want to cure this
I want best doctor and best consultation
Plz help me on this matter
Thankyou

My dad was diagnosed with Stage III colorectal cancer last December. On top of this, he also has Non-Specific Interstial Pneumonia (lung disease). He went thru about half of the recommended chemo as the side effects were awful. He is going in for a PET scan on the 27th of December as his CEA levels were about 150. He is on supplemental oxygen and feels tethered to his machine. I was able to get a machine delivered to my house over Thanksgiving and he was able to come out for a night. Hoping he feels well enough to come out at Christmas. I feel so lost. I live an hour away and try to help him as best I can and keep it together. He knows its terminal and we don't talk much about it. I just kind of follow his lead. I've been trying to encourage him to get his groceries delivered (He fell trying to carry everything in to the house from the car). He's very stubborn. It's the little things we take for granted. I guess I am just trying to keep from falling apart. My brother helps when he can but has 7 kids. Ok, I'm done. Just needed a place to unload.

Hi @lkissinger,

I’m truly sorry to hear about your father; managing a chronic condition is a tough journey, especially for loved ones, but you don’t have to do it alone. I’m so glad that you’ve joined the Connect community – you’ve come to the right place to unload, to talk with people who have or had similar experiences, and to get support from members who understand what you are going through.

I’m tagging fellow members @sandrabee @soul @ilene1 @sallyg @azcyclist2018 @travelgirl @starrlight @nannytart @minabird @brenz @sportsmom9433 @martid @sue_in_delaware @nananet @bbams @bush to bring them into this conversation so that they may share their insights with you.

Although it’s not you who has cancer, watching a beloved one, your dad, go through it must be very, very hard. The emotions you are experiencing may be different, but those emotions are very valid and need to be talked about. Here, you will find stories of hope – there is always hope, and a diagnosis doesn’t have to be the end; let the Connect community be your sounding board.
@lkissinger, do you feel that you and your dad might be able to talk frankly about the “tough stuff” at some point?