I am classified as Stage IIA, I did not have any lymph node involvement, and it was absent in my margins, it states indeterminate for Lymphatic or small vessel invasion and absent for venous or large vessel invasion. It extended to the subserosa of my colon wall. My Petscan showed no mets to the liver.

I am having terrible side affects to chemo, including:
nausea
diahrrea
tingling in hands and feet and lips
severe senstitivity to cold
tongue and neck swelling off and on
red pin point spots on my legs, arms and chest
my fingers and toes have started constricting
the week of chemo, the 2nd day I start having buring upon urination and feel like I am getting a sinus infection
when I swallow it feels like a knot in my throat but sometimes it feels worse like a knife.
fatigue
bone and joint pain off an on

I can deal with the fatigue, nausea and diahrrea I know that is expected, as well as the tingling and senstivity to cold.

I had my second cyle this week, I got the leucovorin and oxaliplatin in office and came home with a 5FU pump. They put me on Lorazempan and Zofran for nausea.

I went home that night and had to call the ambulance, by 10 pm, I was freezing and my face was hot, the EMT stated it felt like I had a temp of 104, but it was only registering at 96.3, my heart rate was 136, I was in a lot of bone and joint pain and very week.

My stomach has been bloated and I am very tender all over, I just saw my GI doc yesterday about the blood I'd passed via rectum last week,, he wants me to have a CT scan which won't be until next Wednesday. :rolleyes:

I am to meet with two oncologists on Monday, so they can figure out what to do about me and in terms of treatment.

I am venting here, but I wonder, why do I need to do the chemo since I was stage II and yes it's genetic.

My GI doc was surprised to hear I was doing chemo when it was Stage IIa.

Part of me wants to do it, but the side affects are killing me softly.

Then the other part says well if it comes back in a year, it's your fought.

What to do, what to do!

thanks for listening.

Hi guys, I talked with my oncologist this week, and he feels "I shouldn't give up just yet". I hate it when doctors, nurses, anyone in general thinks that just because you're chosing not to do chemo that you're giving up, that's not the case at all. I just feel like maybe this stuff isn't for me. I mean c'mon, they don't want to touch this stuff with their hands, yet they're putting it in my body!

He suggested we try 5FU, which isn't my favorite either, stop the Oxaliplatin, the Leucovorin is just a filler, so I will get that first, then a 5FU bolus, instead of having that pump that's 46 hours to take home. If that doesn't work, we were going to try the Xeloda pills for a round. I can't take the Zofran because he's not sure that I wasn't having a reaction to that either. Compazine doesn't work, Phenergran used to, but 25mg wasn't doing anything for me. It's the nausea that irks me the most, then the senstivity to cold, which hopefully knocking out the Oxaliplatin I wouldn't have to worry about.

My surgeon states I have a 5-10% chance of it coming back in the rectum, yet when I talked with him last he stated that I have an increased risk of it coming back because it's genetic and of my family hx. My oncologist states I have a 20-30% chance of it coming back, then I have a 60% chance of endometrial cancer. My gyno doesn't want to do the prophaylatic screening that should be done for someone with my genetic disposition. So they feel any chemo that I could take that would reduce those chances is good for me. However, I feel if I've had my entire colon removed, and am going to have a hysterectomy, probably sooner than later, because now I have a mass on the left ovary, that I will be fine without chemo. My body is already there, I just have to get my mind to the point, where I will be fine and won't feel like kicking myself if this indeed does come back at some point.

My mom did succumb to this disease, and everyone in her family that has had it did, except her older sister, who is now almost 8 years cancer free, so I do have hope. My father has been fighting cancer for 12 years now too.

I am just venting here, so thanks for listening. I guess I am just ready to get on with my life, and I don't want to be held up by chemo and it's side affects. Plus, I can't help but thinking this is doing me more harm than good. Every time I show up for a cycle, even though Monday will only be the 3rd I am amazed that I have returned.