Colorectal Cancer

[MarianaV]

My father was diagnose with colon cancer on Monday. We don't know what stage is it on. He has to get a CT scan on Saturday and he is schedule to see the surgeon on March 11. The doctor also told us that it looks as if it has had it for while. What should we do? We are real worried and scared.

[dghummell]

I hope things are progressing well for your father. I was diagnosed with rectal cancer in the beginning of 2007. It was a long year but I feel pretty decent now. It can be very frustrating while you are waiting to find out what the best treatment protocol is. There are many things that can be done for you father. The treatments are not pleasant but can be very effective. I suggest you do whatever is needed to make life a little easier for you father. My good wishes and you will stay in my prayers.

[MarianaV]

Thank You very much for answering. My father had surgery on Thursday. He is doing fine. He came out of the hospital today. We still don't know if he is going to need chemotherapy. We are all hoping for him not to. He has to follow up with his Dr. next week. One of the good things is that the cancer didn't spread to any other organ.

[dghummell]

I am glad you father did well in surgery. Surgery went smoothly for me and so did the recovery. I had to have chemo and radiation before surgery, then surgery in April of 2007 then an additional 12 more chemo treatments. This whole process lasted about 1 year. I am doing well now. I still get tired easily and have a few issues and have to watch what I eat but things are going OK. I will keep you family in my prayers. Good luck to all of you.

[MarianaV]

Hello Again!

My father is going to get chemotherapy for six months. The tumor was so big that it was able to go through the colon walls. He is in stage 2 cancer and we have all decided that it will be better to get chemo. He will have his first treatment on May 02. Is there anything that you can recommend for my dad to do before getting chemotherapy so he doesn't feel sick after? Anything will be good, since I want for my dad to feel comfortable.
Thank You!

[dghummell]

Hello Again,
Can you tell me about how old your father is? I am 51. His situation sounds similar mine. I actually have rectal cancer as the location of the tumor was high in the rectum. My tumor also infiltrated the wall of the rectum so I am also stage II, N0, T0. What that means is the tumor went through the wall but no sign of any in the lymph nodes or in any other organs. I also did the 6 months of chemo after surgery. I was in a clinical trial. Do you know if your father will be in a clinical trial? If you father was in good health before the cancer was diagnosed, hopefully, he will do OK with the chemo. I don't know of any specific advise to give you except to make sure he eats well, lots of good nutrition and protein. I am sure his oncologist will give him presriptions for anti nausea and other things to address the side effects. Here is how it went for me. I would get the chemo on a Wednesday, I chose Wednesday because it was the least crowded day at the doctor's office, made things a little more comfortable, you may want to ask which day is the least crowded. Originally, I went on Monday and one time my son took me to the doctor and it was so crowded, there was no seat for him in the waiting room. Moving to Wednesday was much better. This is a little detail but I felt better and the doctor and treatments were pretty much on time when the office was not as crowded. After the treatment, I would come home and feel fairly miserable but not horrible (hard to describe the difference but that's the best I can do). When I left the hospital after the treatment, (my doctor's office was at the hospital )I had a pump with more chemo - the 5FU continuous drip- and I would have that for 48 more hours. On Friday, a nurse would come to my home and disconnect the pump. The days I felt the worst were Friday, Saturday and Sunday after the pump was removed. I went for several treatments without asking about this but when I finally did ask (always ask, this was one thing I did not do quick enough) the doctor told me that when I got the initial IV chemo one of the things they gave me was a steriod so I wouldn't feel so bad. The steriods must have been wearing off about the time I got the chemo pump disconnected. I would start to feel better the Monday after the treatment and since I got a treatment every 2 weeks, I felt pretty good by the time the next one came around. I only got sick (vomiting) one time. I took the anti nausea meds as soon as I would start to feel like I might get sick and I was OK. I do have a chemo port and I would recommend your father ask his doctor about getting one if the doctor has not suggested this to him. This made me much more comfortable. I do not have great veins and if they had to stick me each time I think I would have dreaded the treatments even more. I highly recommend getting a chemo port for anyone who has to go through prolonged chemo treatments. I still have the port in. My doctor said to leave it until about 6 months after treatments have stopped just to be sure I don't have to have any more treatments. Putting the port in is a 1 day surgery operation, they put in under your skin in the collar bone area. I had lots of diarreah during the chemo treatments but maybe your father will not have that so much but I take Immodium and that handles the diarreah. One thing to watch for after he starts the Chemo, make sure he drinks lots of liquids. Water or gatorade type drinks. He needs to stay hydrated. You may also want to ask your doctor for suggestions to keep his weight up. I had a hard time maintaining my weight when on the treatments. He will tire easily but that will all go away after the treatments are done. I did OK with the treatments and I hope the same happens with your father. Just let him know you love him and be there for him. I wish you the best. If you have any specific questions, please let me know. My last treatment ended on November 30, 2007 and I am feeling pretty good now. My scans and tests look good so I am hopful. Good luck to you, your father and your family.

[MarianaV]

Hello!

First of all thank you very much for replying. Your answers had help me a lot. I am glad you are doing fine. My dad is 62 years old and I am not sure if he is going to be in clinical trial. He will be getting chemo every three weeks. We as a family are ready to go through what ever comes our way. I just turned 30 and I am the middle child of two sisters. I am the one that thinks that is not going to be able to be strong. I know I have to be strong, and I am trying my best. The first time my dad gets chemo he is going to be in the hospital for one day. I am guessing is to see how he reacts to the treatment. Well take care and Thank you once again. God bless you and all your family.

[dghummell]

Hello,
I thought of one more thing that might be helpful to you. When I was first diagnosed, I was looking for any information I could find. I did buy a book that I think is pretty decent. It talks about treatments, prevention, nutrition, risk factors etc and lists resources for additional information. It is reasonably up-to-date. The name of the book is "What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Colorectal Cancer" by Mark Bennett Pochapin, M.D.. It is written for a layman, not a medical professional. I bought it at a local Borders but I am sure you can get it on Amazon or any bookstore. You may also check your local library to see if they have a copy. I wish you all the best.

[MarianaV]

Hello!

How are you feeling? Well, my dad went last week to get a chest x-ray, before he starts with chemo. The Dr called us last week that the x-ray showed something on my dad's lungs. He went to get CT Scan on Monday. Dr. called us again that she wants to talk to us to talk about the results. Dr also said that my dad might not start chemo on Friday. I am real scared and worried. I am just thinking what could it be? What else is coming our way?

[dghummell]

Hello,
I am feeling better each day. I still tire fairly easily but my stamina seems to be returning slowly but surely. Please do not panic about your father's situation. Wait until your father has gone to see his doctor to find out what his (or her) recommendation is for the next steps. This is the difficult part. Not knowing what comes next or what your father is facing. Please try to be patient and wait for all the information to come in. Possibly, he may not start chemo because there are more tests to run or someone else your doctor wants to consult. I know this is difficult, it would drive me crazy, but waiting for all the information to come together so when he does start chemo it is the best protocol for him is the best way.
Before I started my treatments, I wanted to strangle the doctors and their staff a few times. It was very frustrating. It seemed like everytime I had a test, I would wait a few days, see the doctor then get scheduled for another test. This went on for several rounds. When they would send me for the next test, it would take several days or a couple of weeks to get scheduled then a few days before the results were in and to my doctor. This was maddening as I had this thing growing inside me (all this was before surgery) and I wanted it out. I still don't understand why they could not coordinate things better and set up a master plan so I knew what to expect. Anyway it was about 6 weeks from when I was diagnosed until I started treatments. I had 6 weeks of chemo and radiation, then about 6 weeks of rest then surgery. After surgery, I had another 6 weeks to recover then started what turned out to be about 7 months (12 more treatments) of chemo. In the end I think they figured out the best protocol for me but there were lots of trials along the way. Please try your best not to panic and see what the doctor says. I would appreciate it if you let me know how things turn out. I will pray for your father and your family. Best wishes for a good result.