Stage 2A Colorectal. 50-50 on doing chemo. Any thoughts?

Last year, July 2022, I was operated on for what turned out to be stage 2a colon cancer. All the cancer was removed and no lymph nodes effected. My oncologist gave me a 92% chance of no recurrence. Chemo would have increased that to 95%. I gave it a lot of thought and opted to not do chemo. My decision was based on many things. One was my age, 70 years old. Two was how it would affect my immune system (covid was still very much out there), and third was it would have delayed the colostomy reversal (perhaps not the best reason, but that was my mindset ). I've been having CT and blood work done every six months and yearly colonoscopies. Been cancer free for a year now. To do or not do the chemo is a highly personal decision. I'm sure that whatever decision you make it will be the right choice for you. I wish you only best.

@rhs thanks for sharing. 92% is the standard chance of non recurrence. I’m leaning heavily into this PRAYING I don’t end up in the 8% of recurrence. I see you mentioned your age (70).. if you were younger in your 30’a-40’s, would you have opted for chemo?

I would have made the same decision even if I had been in my 30’s or 40’s. It was a hard choice for me to make, but once made, I never second guessed it. No matter what the odds they give you are, there will always be a nagging worry in the back of your mind that the cancer will return. I’m sure that whatever choice you make will be the right one for you.

I was diagnosed with stage 2a rectal cancer last October, with a T3 tumor. I did 6 weeks of chemo/radiation in December and January and had my surgery on May 11 to remove most of my rectum and a good bit of the sigmoid colon. I am now doing four months of oral chemo. My WOC nurse gave me a good analogy for thinking about the chemo. She said when you bake cookies, no matter how well you scrape dough out of the bowl, you still wash the bowl. She said the chemo treats any microscopic traces of cancer which may well have survived my surgery despite the lack of lymph node involvement. The chemo sucks for sure. It is exhausting and my hands and feet are burning from the toxin leaking from my capillaries into the tissues of my palms and soles of my feet. But this is temporary and will end in mid-October. Then it's a question of when a reversal surgery might be scheduled and all of the uncertainty of that outcome...

These are long roads that we travel in cancer treatment. I agreed to the chemo because it is ultimately manageable enough and I want to minimize risk of return or metastasis. I'm 63 and feel like I'm healthy enough overall to recover to a new normal after all of this. The thought of recurring cancer is one that is more daunting to me than the chemo. But I know that this is a choice that is very personal and also depends on the specific chemo and its short and long term side effects.

So, as a Quaker school head, I am holding you all in the Light, as Friends say. This is not easy but I know too that we are all growing in various, mysterious ways from these experiences. Hang in their, friends!

I don't have your particular cancer... mine is esophageal cancer. But all of what you said is true, even for me. I have subjected myself to all of what was available... neoadjuvant chemo and radiation, then the nasty esophagectomy surgery (a tad life altering to say the least), and then, no adjuvant chemo... but a year of adjuvant immunotherapy instead. And voila, here I am over 3 years since my surgery, and doing well (I think). I'm still on my journey mind you, still being monitored, still don't feel like I've won this battle... but I've got a good shot at it.

Hang tough... much love to all of us who go on our crazy journeys. We do so because we know what happens if we don't.

Gary

Thanks for sharing, Gary. That sounds like a rough road and I'm so glad to hear that you are doing well after all that you've been through. In solidarity and care,

Rich

Hi, Everyone
In June 2022, I had an ER appendix operation and the biopsy revealed goblet cell adenocarcinoma 2/3 stage. I followed up with my surgeon in Switzerland and had a right hemicolectomy. 35 lymph nodes were taken. All negative. My doctor told me before the operation that there was a 90 % chance there was no more cancer. However, cancer was found in the colon near where the appendix was at. I almost opted for no operation. I did not follow the operation up with chemo or radiation. I am 67 soon. I have been clear over the past five checkups. I have had a colonoscopy with one small polyp (removed). Two MRI scans. All clear. If I were younger, and if the doctor had recommended chemo or radiation, I would have opted for it. There is a chance of cancer returning. It is something we must live with, I guess. After my 2nd surgery in Switzerland, my doctor said the words, "Cancer-free." It was good to hear that, but I also know that we are all decaying each day we wake up. A younger person has a chance of seeing cancer return. If I had other conditions, as I do, I would have opted for more treatment as a younger person because my health condition may not get better as I get older. Hope this is another perspective for you to consider. I live each day realizing I am blessed. I place my faith in God and I feel my prayers were answered as I asked God to use the doctor to get it all. I was delighted to hear the results. I pray for many of you here that you will find the strength to deal with cancer. My thoughts when I was told...Well, I cannot escape this so I have to go through it. May you be given the grace to go through your cancer...