CancerCompass message board discussion started by Heyladee55 on 5/2/2008 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,23658,0.htm Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ If anyone has or has had this type of cancer, please contact me for some discussion. I am a 62. yr old white female w/rheumatoid arthritis that requires me to be in a wheelchair most of the time. Started chemo. 4-21-08. My dr. advised me there was no cure 4 my type of cancer but it was treatable. My daughter asked him did he mean that I was not going to be a cancer survivor & his answer was a simple yes. I believe hat God does not plan for me to leave my only child & my precious Mother who turned 81 in Feb. I feel like a fight but so concerned about losing the battle. If any of u have time please contact me for some discussions about your journey & battles. I love the Lord with all my heart & I also believe prayer is an answer. Thanks for your time! Heyladee55 Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Prayer and a positive attitude make a huge difference. My first week of chemo a lady came in to say hello to the nurses. She'd never smoked but had lung cancer. Said she was told that she'd have to stay on chemo just to survive. At one point she was breathing with half a lung (one collapsed, the other partially collapsed). After 3 years of chemo she had a PET scan that showed no cancer. She stopped chemo. When she came in was a few months later, after a second PET scan that showed she was still clear.This inspired me, at the time I had two fair sized tumors (4 cm in the colon, 6cm on the other side) plus a lot of little stuff spread across my intestines. Plus abdominal pain. The pain had dimminished right near the start and was gone after about 6 cycles of chemo. After 12 rounds of Avastin + FOLFOX, I had a scan that didn't find any cancer. My CEA dropped from 307 to 9.0. Since it was still high I stayed on chemo, but cut out the olaxiplatin (the neuropathy was driving me crazy). My CEA dropped to 6.8 and stayed there. I cut back to Avastin only (no side effects for me) and felt fantastic (like I was totally cured) for about 3 months.My CEA started rising and I had another PET scan that showed a lot of little stuff in the same area as before. So I went back on full chemo, this time FOLFIRI. I'm positive things will get better again - the CEA has leveled off & dropped slightly.Someone said you're not considered cured until you go 10 years with no evidence of disease. But that doesn't mean you can't get a whole lot better than you are now and enjoy each day. Stay positive. DanielTS Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT