Adenocarcinoma - just diagnosed

been there have something set up Nice folks & very helpful but hotels connected to clinic out of my price range

Call Mayo Concierge for information on economical lodging options 507-538-8438

Well Monday I see doc at Mayo but that has been a real experience to find out what the heck the game plan All I knew I had a 9:45a m appointment period Nothing else But somebody today called me gee the day before that certainly gives one lots of time to set stuff up at home so that home keeps running No kids here but think if one did certainly would not be ez for a single mother Hats off to those mothers. My life style would not work for a stinky leaky bag They are terrible & as stated before people , small town very bias would have nothing to do with you as you are contagious in their mind
And again no consult with the patient about dates and times. 5 out of 6 times are not workable for me Just jump as we say as we are in charge. I will mention to them I am the patient & certainly have a say as to what & where I can be there. We did get tests down to 3 days but times are bad starting at 7 a m And have to walk to clinic cannot afford the hotels hooked to Mayo Nice idea but my pocketbook is empty they want me to go home & return a week later for an MRI thats a 10 hour drive Cannot afford a hotel so forget that idea
So we will have some discussion about the who what & when issue i hate it when they assume we can jump, drop everything and drive 10 hours Sure no problem

The bag is not that bad. They told me it was a choice between a bag or a box (coffin). My hair also grew back fully. I had the operation when I collapsed from diverticulitis. The contents floated around my abdomen. They had to filter it out and bombard me with drips full of antibiotics before operating. 37 lymph nodes removed (12 were positive). My weight dropped 45 pounds. I was put on 8 rounds of chemotherapy. I am now nearly 3 years from op. My weight is back to normal. I take no drugs I just get scanned every 3 months. My original diagnosis was corectal cancer stage 3c. There IS hope. A lady I got to know was a 32 year old mother with stage 4. She is still with us today and looking after her 3 kids. I know you have been dealt a bad hand. We all have. But please don’t give up. I’m not giving up and neither is the mother I mentioned. One in every two people are going to get it. We are far from alone. We need to to support each other - even if it’s just a few words on a message board to someone across an ocean.

I'm so sorry your perspective is really that pessimistic. I sincerely hope you could get other medical opinions. There might be a way to save your sphincter. It might be a matter of finding the right surgeon.

well you did go thru the ringer and you are alive Congras to you Surgery is not an option for me as it will take away my sphincter as by the words of the surgeon whotold me to go away & die. SO no surgery anyway will help unless I want to live like a hermit with a bag. WHich when folks hear you have this they look at you & stay away like you have the plague They leak they stink and basically terrible Dead would be a better way to go
Chemo & radiation is the other way to go but then hair lost would be pernment. As my hair just does not grow So bald forever with more strange looks and people avoiding you as what I have they fear they will get.
I give you lots of thumbs up for what you did but my choices are down to chenical or death by choice

I'm so sorry you've had so poor interactions with those health professionals.
Maybe my story can give you hope.
In Sept. 2022, I consulted a colorectal surgeon for some bleeding in my stool. When examining, she touched a polyp. I had my colonoscopy at the end of October, indicating two polyps, one benign 20 cm from the anus and one close to the sphincter, an pre-cancerous adenoma. I couldn't get the transanal surgery right away, because I had to travel to take care of my parents for a month. So on Dec. 17, 2022, I had the surgery. The polyp had doubled in size and the biopsy indicated positive margins.
Consulting with the oncologist, we agreed to radiotherapy + oral chemo, because the surgeon and the oncologist feared a new surgery would put my sphincter at risk.
I developed a rectovaginal fistula at 3.2 cm from the anus, from the RT (rare secondary effect). I consulted the surgeon again early in October 2023 and she proposed a flap with a temporary colostomy. Unconvinced by that, because of the high risk of fistula recurrence, I got a second and third opinion. A new colonoscopy at the end of November revealed a large fistula and a polyp right in front of it, which alarmed the doctors of the second and third opinion. After committee analyzed my case, the recommendation--to which I agreed--was a two-step Turnbull-Cutait pullthrough with a coloanal anastomosis + vaginal flap.
Last Jan. 26, I had the first step, a 5-hour surgery for the low anterior resection, vaginal flap, and pullthrough, complicated by the lack of margin because the fistula had grown to touch the sphincter. Feb. 2, I had the coloanal anastomosis, again complicated by the lack of margin. But overall, the surgeons who operated on me are satisfied by the result. I'm now on home rest for at least a month.
Why did I agree to such an invasive surgery: it reduces the risk of a new fistula to the same percentage as that risk exist for any human, it reduces my risk of a new polyp and recurring cancer to the lowest degree possible.
I hope you can find health professionals who can be more empathetic to your plight, as I did.

Hay folks forget the hugs it does not fix the problem I hate hugs because of family upbringing Nice idea but it does not fix anal cancer i am just plane screwed 6 months thats it

Please check out the colon Cancer Alliance online. They will give you as much support as you need and guide you through your journey. It is the most wonderful support for those of us colon cancer.

I also had good news from CT and yesterday MRI revealed no nodes, T2(whatever that means). I am suppose to talk to surgeon tomorrow now that all tests are done. It’s been agonizing and scary waiting and waiting! Wish me luck tomorrow. Best of luck to you as well!!!