Latest Rectal Cancer discussions http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/cancers/rectal-cancer/1,0,119,29.htm Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ HiI was DX in august 06 with Stage III rectal and 11 positive nodes.  Had chemo and radiation for 6 weeks, followed by resection and 4 more months of chemo.  Then the takedown surger and was fine until March of 08 when it came back to the lung and gut or mesentery area.  Has anyone else had it come back in the mesentery area?  I thought if it came back it would be the liver or lung, not mesentery area.  My dr said it was just in the lung he could get it cut out but since it's in the mesentery area it's not operable.  Any ideas??  I go to a good dr at UCSF and trust his opinion but any considering going to MD Anderson for a 3rd opinion .  And suggestions??? http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,26282,0.htm Jillpls Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hi everyone, today we went for the 2nd scan results and we were told the lymph nodes were shrinking, all except one and it was getting bigger.  Dr. said we would have to do more chemo and wait and see.  We asked about the surgery to remove the two tumors in the rectum and he said, he had not looked at the rectal tumors only the lymph nodes, and we are months away from surgery options.  He also mentioned there was no need to put her through the horrific surgery if he could not contain the spreading and growth.  Meanwhile, mom is back on pain meds for pain in her rectum, hurts to sit or lay and she mentioned to day she was having trouble urinating (very slow).  He said she would now have to have another scan in the next couple of days, to look at the rectal tumors to see what is happening there.  He did tell us finally that the rectal cancer (adenocarcinoma) was in stage 2 and the neuroendocrine carcinoma is in stage 4.  Both tumors are in the rectum, collision tumor is what they are calling it, but the neuro has spread to all her lymphnodes.  He still cannot give us any timeline or prognosis.  Everything I read about the neuroendocrine says the prognosis is not good at all and stage 4 means little time.  Anyone have any thoughts on that? Thanks http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,26137,0.htm momsshadow Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT hi, am very new to all this, but came across this page+thought it very interesting to know that im not alone + there are others having problems. I had my reversal in nov 07 + its been hell, 8 months on + am still spending hours on + off the loo , mainly  it starts early in the morning ,like now 2.30 so i will be asleep all day not much of a life, but my consultant says it wont get any worse . At least i miss most of morning tv? Anyway im 48 + had colorectal cancer which was caught in the early stage, so i am cured ,apart from after effects of the reversal, am really considering having it reversed back, as im so fed up with it all. If anyone would like to reply i  would be more then happy to help http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,26097,0.htm julieblue Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT My husband had surgery May 22 and has an illeostomy which will be reversed on July 21.  He is still experiencing a lot of pain. Is this common? http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25988,0.htm gem34 Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT The more research I do, the less hope I have.  I don't see anyone who has survived stage IV rectal cancer with metastisis to liver.  From what I'm able to see it either comes back in the colon or lungs.  And it seems as though every surgery, every chemo and every radiation is just an expense borne by the family at a later date.  I love my family and I don't want to leave them, but I also don't want to leave them bankrupt for a few extra months.  I need to work to take care of my family, and all these procedures seem to incapacitate patients both physically and mentally.  Given the really low survival rates at this stage, the exhorbitant costs and the incapacitating nature of the treatment, I don't know if I can justify all of this for maybe a year. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25828,0.htm day2day Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT I'm new to Cancer Compass, and hope I can get some suggestions from others who have had an ileostomy reversal. I had chemo and radiation for 6 weeks last May/June, rectal resection in September (removal of 2/3 of the rectum), and ileostomy reversal in December. My oncologist told me it would be 6 months to a year to recover "normal" use of my bowels, "normal" being a relative term as I've come to discover. I do have gradual improvement, but it's so slow! I also try to continue with many of the activities I love, but I still have a level of anxiety every time I leave the house and the security of my own bathroom. It's only been 6 months since reversal surgery, so I'm trying to be patient.  Does the feel of urgency ever go away or at least improve? Does the frequency ever level off or decrease to fewer than 5 - 7 times a day? Is radiation proctitis a common problem after radiation treatment?  Is there any treatment for it?  Ant dietary or supplement suggestions? And lastly, is using baby wipes to avoid irritation something that will have to go on for years?. The doctors don't seem to have any answers to these questions... Carol http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25826,0.htm Carol jb Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hi,My mom has Stage 4 rectal cancer, spread to her lungs last fall. We now have 3 well-respected surgeons willing to do surgery to remove 11 nodules from both sides of her lungs. But other docs say there are no studies that show that it will help prolong her life and at least one oncologist said she would not have her mother go through the surgery. Our family is wrestling with what to do. We don't want her to suffer needless pain from the surgery but we want every possible chance at saving her. She has two new grandbabies.Has anyone else been in a similar situation and decided to go for surgery? Some doctors are surprised to hear the surgeons are willing to operate. Do surgeons just want to cut? Why are we getting such different answers from different doctors? My mom is on Xeloda and Avastin, which have greatly improved her quality of life. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.Thank you,Su http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25807,0.htm Suinoregon Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hello all.  Another cancer survivor told me about this website today, said I could get some good information and support, so here goes.  My Mom was diagnosed with what they are calling a collision tumor in her rectum.  Two very rare cancers one called adenocarcinoma and the other neuroendocrine carcinoma.  The tumor is big and the neuroendocrine has spread to all lymphnodes.  The last biopsy was of her lung area and they said it was there too.  She began by having 3 rounds of radiation to shrink the tumor, but the she became completely blocked and we almost lost her before they did an emergency colostomy.  The surgeon came in saying she was very sick and we could lose her on the table, and that it was so bad he would have to open her up and put two colostomies one high and one low, she survived the surgery, but when he came out, he said he went in laproscopically and ended up only doing one colostomy.  Minutes later the radiation oncologist called my cellphone and told me he had just spoken to the surgeon and that things looked really bad and I needed to call in the family from out of state.  I asked if we should get hospice involved he said no not yet, lets see what the general oncologist wants to do.  We visited with the Gen. Oncologist he started talking about going before the tumor board, and starting chemo to buy her some time, but never to date has he given us any thing to go on.  To date we have not been given a stage or a prognosis.  She has had 5 rounds of chemo and her 2nd Pet scan, they just called to say no change.  Our hope was the tumors had shrunk enough to be surgically removed to buy her more time, and our dr is on vacation until next week, so we have to wait some more to see what her destiny is.  No one will give us much info, they say this is a very rare case.  She was not doing so well on the full strength meds, so they cut back by 25%. She gets Leucovorin, Ocaliplatin and F5U.  Any info would be appreciated.  I am a gotta have it now kinda person, and this waiting for info is wearing on me.Thanks http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25804,0.htm momsshadow Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT I am 49 years old this month, diagnosed with stage IV rectal cancer mets to my liver.  The first doctor told me to go on chemo with Avastatin and hope for 2-3 years and a possible breakthrough, she told me not to even bother seeing the radiologist or the colorectal surgeon.  It was devastating and left me with no hope.  I did end up seeing the colorectal surgeon, Chris Davis in Oklahoma City 4 days ago.  I am waiting for him to consult with an Oncologist and Radiologist to determine the course of treatment.  I don't know how long this should take - it's been almost 2 weeks since initial diagnosis from the colonoscopy.  It seems that as progressed as this is things should be moving faster.  Any thoughts? http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25802,0.htm day2day Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT My brother, diagnosed with Stage 2 rectal cancer is due for surgery in the next few weeks. Just wanted to know what he can expect after surgery. Specifically,  believe that Doctors decide 'during the surgery' how much tissue is to be removed and can do a complete rectal re-section. Is that true? In case there is a complete resection, does one have to live with colostomy 'ever after' or do things come to normal? Anything else that one should be aware of?Thanks, http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25705,0.htm mohish Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT It is with a very heavy heart that I have to let the community know that I lost my husband, Dave, on 06/24/08 from a courageous 2 1/2 year battle with metastatic rectal cancer.  He passed away in my arms in the same room that my mother did.  We had just celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary 9 days prior to his passing.  I have lost my best friend and my heart is broken ..... I wanted to say thank you for all the support that the group has given me over the past year or so.  We did learn some things from others who were in the same position as Dave.  However, his cancer became very aggressive and he had been having more bad days than good in the end.   Thank you again for all the advice - God Bless Every Single One of You who have to battle with this ugly disease.Sincerely - Kathy http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25597,0.htm doodles Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT My dad had 6 weeks of radiation, then 5 weeks of rest, then surgery on May 2, 2008. Now June 22, 2008, an oncologist is suggesting that if he has chemo for 6 months, his chance of survival will increase about 20%--from 40% to 60%. I'm not convinced. Is this true? What is the overall survival rate of having chemo v. not having chemo following surgery and radiation. Who lives longer.Any thoughts. I don't want my dad's immune system compromised any more. But I want him to have the best survival statistic. Thank you for reading this and for any helpful advice you can offer. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25337,0.htm ConcernedinKC Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT My 76 year old mother just completed 28 treatments of radiation/chem.  We met with the surgeon last week and he has recommended laparoscopic surgery due to the very small size and location of the tumor. We were not given the stage,but I assume it is either Stage 1 or 11.  I have only read that laparoscopic surgery is used for colon and not usually for rectal cancer.  Has anyone else had laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer? Her surgery is scheduled for July 29th.  Besides the cancer diagnosis, she is in general good health. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25330,0.htm rossiter Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hello,My friend Paul has Stage 4 rectal cancer with mets to the liver and sacrum, and perhaps to the lung and lymph nodes.The diagnosis was made a year ago, followed by a colostomy, an insertion of a urinary catheter, chemotherapy and one round of radiation.Presumably the chemo has had some success because the both the primary and liver tumors have reduced by about 20%. Unfortunately, the sacrum has become worse since initial presentation.   He has developed tremendous pressure in the rectal area as well as severe pain in the lower back; the combined effect has made standing, walking, and even sitting up very, very onerous chores.He is on the usual combination of morphine based therapies:the Fentonyl patch and oxicontin  (spelling?) for breakthrough pain, which have managed his pain up to a point but have done nothing to increase his mobility.Paul has an appointment at a pain management clinic that suggested during a phone conversation that nerve blocking may prove effective. However, my (admittedly puny) research efforts suggest otherwise, that his type  of cancer does not respond well to nerve blocking.Any experience in this area? If so, please advise.Thank you for reading this.Judy    http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25318,0.htm Judylauren Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hi,I have posted before and answered others. Now I'm scared and worried again. My husband was original diagnosis on 3/06  with stage 3 rectal cancer, surgery 4/06 chemo and radiation after that for the full amount. He made it though all. His test have all been good. In Feb. he was in remission for a year. His CEA is good. But he is now anemic and they don't know why. He had a colonoscopy that came back clear in late April. The Dr. wants to do a capsule endoscopy. This is a pill shaped camera that shows the inside of the small intestine and goes places that a colonoscopy can't reach. He has some stomach pain and slight bleeding.  I know that this does not mean he has cancer. Very worried just looking for someone that had anemia after cancer and no recurrent of the disease. Thank you all and Good Luck to everyone. We don't see the Dr. until next Friday and I'm ready to jump out of my skin. This site helps in the fact that you have someone to talk to in the same boat.Thank youToni http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25283,0.htm AngelBaby Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT My brother with Stage 2 Rectal cancer, had undergone Chemo and Radiation, which got over just yesterday. The Doctor had scheduled a follow up for July 30th,  for assessing the effectiveness of Chemo and radiation and setting up a date for surgery.However, since yesterday, my brother has been literally oozing blood from the rectum. While we are meeting the Doctor in a couple of days (we stay quite far from where the Doctor is), just wanted to understand what the possible reasons for this could be.During Chemo and radiation, the Doctor was quite positive and my brother very rarely had any bleeding. Very very concerned..   http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25247,0.htm mohish Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hi  my dad got rectal cancer ,he is 82 yrs old and the onc has prescribed xaloda 1g b/d .just want to know if he can support this medication at this age. thx for anyboby's help roy http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25017,0.htm wewe00 Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hello,Some of you may have read my postings about having questions about having liver resection vs. other treatments (stemming from rectal cancer).  Well, I had my liver resection on May 23rd and came home from the hospital two days ago, on May 29th.  I'm actually up and walking around my house today!  The first day out of surgery I was hooked up to:  pain epidural in my back, a urine catheter (called a Foley catheter, I think), a gastric drainage tube down my nose, oxygen, an IV in the top of my hand, and a larger port in my neck (they wouldn't use my chemo port & I had also had one more arterial line for checking blood pressure during surgery hooked up, but they took it out before I awakened), and a drain out of my abdomen.It's amazing what a week can do!  That first night I couldn't even lift my head up from the pillow and today, 8 days later, I''ve been walking around out in my front yard.  I spent that first night in ICU (actually a makeshift overflow ICU) for the first night, then moved to an IM (intermediate care) room  I stood up and got in the chair next to my bed on Saturday (the day after surgery).  Sunday, the 3rd day, they had me walk (very slowly) out in the halls.  My pain epidural was due to come out on the 4th day.  The epidural was good- I really didn't feel much pain with it in my midsection (my throat was sore from the gastric tube down my nose & neck was sore from the port they put in there, though).  That lousy gastric tube down my nose sure hurt.  For some reason, it was put in after I awakened from surgery- it felt horrible going down my nose- it stayed in just a day. During that night, however, I started having great pain.  About midnight, the nurses discovered that the line from my epidural into my spine had dislodged.  It was a bit of wait for them to page the oncall doctor to get permission to completely remove it & give me pain meds another way.  They okay'd pain meds via IV, but whatever it was didn't cut it & I had a tough night.  They did get the pain under control the next morning.  The down side of that, however, was that I couldn't keep any food down from that next afternoon through the following morning.  Finally, after changing pain meds again, I went a day of keeping my foods down and getting stronger.  Each day as they were checking my vitals (starting at 4:30 in the morning a couple of days- why do they need to do that so early?!), everything was looking really good.  Apparently, everything with my wound healing was looking good too.  My incision is approx. 8 inches long, in kind of a diagnonal upside down smile from the middle bottom of my breastbone over to my right lower abdominal side.  When I went in, they thought they were removing 3 tumors- 2 in my left lobe & a wedge out of my right lobe.  The surgeon ended up discovering 3 additional tumors-2 more in my left lobe & one in right lobe, which had never shown up on any CT (I'm so glad I had the surgery- these would never have been discovered, otherwise).  When I asked the surgeon later why he thought these never showed up on any scan, he said the CT's are densitiy sensitive & these weren't dense enough to show up.Now, home from the hospital two days, I'm still moving quite slowly, but actually slept from midnight to 8 this morning without waking- it was lovely!  I quit the heavier duty pain meds yesterday afternoon (although I don't advise this for everyone- everyone is different).  I just didn't like feeling so "stoned" from the narcotics.  I'm doing okay now on just 2-3 ibuprofen every 6 hours, as long as I'm careful & have pillows behind and next to me.Well, that's my adventure so far.  I'm sure I have a ways still to go on my recovery, but thought I'd share so far.  I have no other surgeries to compare this one to- it was my first.  I escaped having the rectal resection.  My rectal tumor completely disappeared with radiation a while back.  I met another friend who had the same thing happen to her, but our surgeon in common still performed the rectal resection on her.  When I saw this other surgeon in the hospital, I asked her why she didn't do it on me, but did on my friend.  Her answer was that the area in my rectum completely healed over with clean tissues (biopsy was completely clean) and my friend's was almost, but not quite.  Also, the fact that my tumor had been just 3 cm up from my anus and I would have a higher chance than my friend in ending up w/ a permanent colostomy & she didn't see enough reason to risk that with me when everything showed up as gone there.   So, that's my story for now.  http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,24572,0.htm lisaann Sat, 31 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hello!My dad had J-pouch reconstruction in November and ostomy was reversed in late April.  He is trying to identify ways and learn from others' experience with bowel movements.  He is on Lomotil, but has recently started having numerous bowel movements starting right after lunch and lasting until mid-evening.  He's a very active man and this is discouraging to be confined to a bathroom for so much time.  He feels like he needs to allow bowels to empty.  Any suggestions or experiences to share? http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,24481,0.htm steelhur Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hi to everyone here. Two and 1/2 years ago, I had my first colonoscopy and they found a cluster of polyps in the rectum.  One biopsy was ruled benign, and the other turned out to be just some mucus and not a biopsy at all.  (The path lab did not have much to go on.)  Had a repeat colonoscopy 4 mos. later to shave off the rest of the polyps.  Told to return in 2 years and just had that third colonoscopy and they found an Adenoma. I'm being referred to a colorectal surgeon for a Rectal Resection.  I am also being told this adenoma is not malignant (I'm hoping the path report will show a good sample was obtained so we can know for sure whether it's benign or cancer).  At this point, I am assuming the resection must be necessary because of the appearance of the cluster (they looked Highly Advanced the doctor said) and because they keep turning up in the same place. Does this make sense or ring any bells?  My path report won't be back for ten days and I do not have an appt with my GI for a few weeks.  I do not know if the polyps were flat or mucus-producing or tubulovillous or what.  It concerns me that the path lab may not have much with which to determine my course of treatment.  Will my colorectal surgeon run tests including another colonoscopy perhaps before proceeding with surgery?  Thank you for putting up with my "baby steps" questions.   http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,24349,0.htm IncreaseMyFaith Sat, 24 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT I am in India and a very close relative has been diagnosed with Rectal cancer. We are considering having him treated in US, since we believe he can receive better treatment there.However, logistics is an issue and it will take time to have those in place. Since we will loose time in the process, we are starting with Chemotherapy.From what I have read about Rectal cancer, it seems to me that surgery is the most 'crucial' part of treatment and an expert surgeon can make all the difference.So, we are considering visiting US (right now, considering Mayo clinic or Anderson cancer insititute) for 'surgery' only (after Chemo is done).Does anyone have any comments on this...some assumptions that we might be wrongly making here or some changes to the above plan that someone might want to suggest.    http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,24259,0.htm mohish Thu, 22 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT My wife 36 now has battled rectal cancer for 2 years with a reccurent tumor at the 1st resection site in Jan 08.  She just had the second resection and unfortunately had to get a colostomy this time.  Also during surgery  a lymph node was found 2 inches from the aorta valve that goes to the heart, it was determined cancer after about 10 seconds.  We are awaiting the pathology report.  Has anyone had anything similiar to my wife happen to them.  I am just wandering about the lymph node involvement so high up.Thanks! http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,23951,0.htm William8 Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT I am a lung cancer survivor just at 5 years. Now I have been diagnosed with rectal melanoma. I had two tumors removed with apparently clean margins but the melanoma has appeared in my liver and a very small lesion in my lung. The liver biopsy confirmed the melanoma diagnoses and is not a lung cancer spread.My oncologist has recommended treatment with Temador and Thalidomide taken my mouth. They are to be taken together. I have not been able to start treatment yet because the insurance company has not approved the prescription for the Temador.Have any of you with a melanoma diagnoses tried the treatment and what has been the experience with the insurance companies?Any information would be very helpful to me. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,23789,0.htm sallad Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hi..i am into my 5th week of chemo{5fu}and radiation..port and pump 24/7..minimal side effects..burning sensation during urination..and tender anus..two days ago i started having burning sensation in both eyes.. not unbearable..but constant..also in the AM i have a little runny nose..has anyone expierenced this?..Thanks for any information http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,23726,0.htm califpilot Sun, 04 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hello,I'm just wondering if anyone wishes to share their experience if you've had metastases to the liver after rectal cancer (or any cancer), then needed liver resection surgery.  I'm also very curious about liver resection surgery vs. treating liver tumors with other means such as cyberknife, cryotherapy, or radio frequency ablation.I meet with the liver specialist at UCSD this Thursday, May 1st & I know he'll want to push the resection.  It seems to make more sense, but I'm wondering if it might be possible to treat with other noninvasive methods instead.My situation is that I had stage IV rectal cancer with mets to both liver & lungs.  I had amazing results to my chemo (and I believe God's touch, for sure!)  My rectal tumor is now completely gone, everything in my lungs is gone, & I'm down from 12 liver tumors to just 3!  These 3 no longer show up "hot" on the PET scan.  I know they need to come out, but am wondering which is the best approach.  Mr Dr. proposes removing the entire left lobe of the liver (2 of the 3 tumors are there) and doing a wedge resection on the right lobe for the other tumor.  I formerly had multiple other tumors in both lobes, which have now completely resolved, with the exception of these 3.  The largest of the 3 now measures 2.7 cm. across.Any advice or sharing of stories would be appreciated- also anyone who had liver resection such as this- how long did it take you to recover both internally, energy wise, and so far as the cut/scar?  I'm 41 yrs old & have done very well with my chemo and not having many side effects, so I hope that I would heal pretty quickly.Thanks in advance, http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,23502,0.htm lisaann Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT