Short Course Radiation/Surgery

I think @annejacobsen @duckduck2020 @iamthekat may have had a similar diagnosis and treatments, as well as experience with an ileostomy.

@pjebp, what type of radiation will you be having?

I will be having short course proton beam radiation for 5 days starting September 27. Then LAR surgery October 4.

I’m sorry you’re going through this. It’s challenging in so many ways and the emotions are a roller coaster. I wish you all the lucky, love & support you’ll need to get through this and come out stronger on the other side.

In Jan a large mass was discovered in my rectum a biopsy came back pre cancerous. In March I had an Endoscopic procedure which perforated the rectal wall (4 day hospital stay) pathology determined it was cancer T2. In June I had an LAR (5 day hospital stay) and resulted in a temporary colostomy. The tumor was regrowing & more of the rectum had to be removed than expected. 1 node had cancer so the ultimate cancer diagnosis is Stage 3 T2 N1.
I’m currently going through 3 months of CapOx chemo treatment at the end of this month (9/28) is my last cycle!!! I did not have radiation although a second opinion advised 6 month FolFox Chemo followed by 3 months of chemo/radiation. My colostomy will be reversed in Nov, & I’m hoping by Jan I will put this whole thing behind me. Although I’ve read LARS is VERY common & EXTREMELY difficult.

I’m a 37 year old stay at home mom with a 5 & 3 year old, finding care for them & keeping a resemblance of normalcy has been a challenge. I’ve been fiercely independent all my life and it feels like I’ve lost a lot of independence & control in my life. I’ve contemplated stopping chemo a million times. The side effects are worse than I expected & I continue to struggle with the exhaustion. The bag is intriguing, cool, & disgusting. My kids like watching me change the bag however that might be because I give them glove balloons before I start. Journaling has helped me get some of my anger out & work through issues.

Take it one day at a time, research but not too much, give yourself a break, and understand you’ll need help. Sending love your way!

Thanks for all the information! You have been through a lot! What was the endoscopic procedure for? Also, did you make any dietary changes prior to your LAR surgery? How about after?

I'm tagging @fastrategizer so that they see your response and questions.

The endoscopic procedure was an endoscopic mucosal resection which was supposed to remove the tumor without surgery. It would have been better to just have surgery.

I changed my diet but that was a life choice not because of the LAR. After the LAR the low residue diet was extremely difficult for me as I felt it was very unhealthy. The low residue diet is temporary but it’s challenging.

Now I can eat anything and try to eat as healthy as possible however chemo dictates a lot.