Hi, just found out I have stage 3 rectal cancer

If you do chemo and radiation that should stop the spread of your cancer. I was diagnosed with Anal cancer in March. It had spread to two lymph nodes. I went the chemo and 30 treatments of radiation. It was very hard but I made it and I am 68!! I go for my petscan in August to see if I am cancer free! I did not have to have a colostomy bag. Praying for you!

@johare77
I was diagnosed with stage 3 rectal cancer in January. The tumor was high enough to be removed, along with 24 lymph nodes, 16 of which were cancerous. I had a resection. I had 5 rounds of radiation pre-surgery, and 1 month later I started my chemo. I’m halfway through 8 rounds of chemotherapy. Tomorrow I have my 5th round with a take home pump for 48 hours.
Last week I had a full body CT scan with contrast and it showed NO metastatic cancer anywhere, including lymph nodes. I have a temporary ileostomy that will be reversed 1 month after my chemo ends.
My surgeon believes that she got everything that was cancerous, and so far she’s right.
Are you having a resection done?

I don't know what a resection is, surgeon says let's see how much tumor shrinks during therapy then go from there.

Have any of you tried fasting for 48 to 72 hours during chemo to increase its effectiveness

I have been treated for anal cancer since last October 2022. I had 6 weeks of chemo and radiation. With each PET scan, the cancer was shrinking, but very slowly. My last PET scan showed the cancer was still there and had grown. To say we were devastated would be putting it mildly. I completely broke down in the doctor’s office. The radiation destroyed me. First I had enteritis, now I have fecal incontinence. My skin is still raw from the radiation. I feel like that was all for nothing. I have been functioning in a daze for the last 10days . My options are Immunotherapy or a colostomy. I have been reading all I can find about the two. I even watched a video about the surgery. I don’t like surprises and want to be prepared.

Do you have squamous cell cancer? If you do it usually comes back at the original site first, as mine did. Then I’m told can go to lungs or liver. Mine was stage 3 and the doctor told me I’d have a 35% chance of that happening. It didn’t take very long for that to happen to me. My original cancer is still here and it’s grown. My last PET scan before the one that showed it had spread, was in March. In 3 months it had grown. If you continue to have your scans regularly, if it does spread, they should be able to catch it early. I’m not a doctor, but I doubt it would get to stage 4.

In 2019, I was diagnosed with rectal cancer. I had a port put in on the right side of my chest for IV treatments. I had the chemo, sat in the chair for a few hours with IV and had to take a pump home with me for 48 hours the return to have that disconnected. This went on for a couple of months. Felt a bit sick during this time but not too bad. I never lost any hair. Then I had the radiation treatments every day for what I remember to be about 1 month. That radiation tore me up! To have a bowl movement was like shards of glass coming out. They gave me what they called Happy Bottom paste which helped. I was told to use wet wipes not dry toilet paper because that would make it hurt more. My scans didn't show any more cancer. It had shrunk so small it didn't show up anymore. They still wanted to do surgery to remove part of my rectum. I asked for a second opinion. The second opinion doctor agreed with me and said there is no hurry anyway. They did a colonoscopy aprox. 3 months later nd the cancer did return so he said we gotta operate. That was a really scary thing for me. Actually more scary for my wife. She didn't show it at the time though. in 2020, they removed aprox. 11 inches of my rectum along with lymph nodes that were affected. I had an ileostomy bag for 3 months and then they reversed it. All the plumbing is working again but not quite like it used to. I do have bouts of constipation and then bouts of using the toilet for about a couple of hours on and off and some diarrhea. So far, My blood tests and scans are all negative for returning cancer which is good. My hope is that you too will be OK. Many people live with colostomy bags and live very full lives. You'll be OK. Oh BTW I'll be 71 this year in August.

I was diagnosed with an inoperable rectal tumor in October of 2014. The short story is that I was able to do the "Standard Of Care" treatment that was recommended at that time, after surviving the Bowel rupture, Sepsis, and 8 weeks in the Hospital. I left with a emergency Colostomy. 6 months later my Inoperable tumor was removed in April of 2015. I continued to research and to learn as much as I could regarding this disease and put together a fantastic care team. I am left with a permanent Colostomy and have learned to continue living life. God has given me a second chance and I am using it for GOOD. There are MANY great resources out here. If you want to know more information, please let me know. I can answer anything here as well.

Please remember you can always get a second or a third opinion about your surgery procedure and there might be a doctor out there that will go the extra mile to operate in such a way to preserve your lower rectum. My doctor removed 11 inches of my rectum and then created what he called a J pouch and this allows me to have the area that stores fecal matter before going to the toilet. I have also seen on youtube many people that are living full productive lives with a Colostomy bag. So not all is lost. Wishing you the best outcome. Hang in there.

Thanks to everyone for sharing, I'm starting radiation and chemo next week, I don't want the cancer to spread if it's not to late. I have spoken with 2 surgeons, but more concerned of cancer spreading than if I end up with a colostomy or not. From what I understand your stage 3 until cancer if found somewhere else.

I have been dealing with anal cancer since October 2022. I have had chemo and radiation for six weeks. The cancer is still there and has grown. I know I will need to have a colostomy. I am ready for it. I have fecal incontinence and the colostomy will give me a better quality of life. Immunotherapy is a possibility. APR surgery may be in my future. I have met with a surgeon and he does only one of these surgeries a year. Not good enough. I am coming to Mayo Clinic Jacksonville for a second opinion. Has anyone used a colorectal surgeon there? I’d love some recommendations and feedback. Anything you can tell me will be greatly appreciated.