Re: 22 year old male with stage 4 colon cancer

[Guest guest]

Oh Jeff .. So glad that you came to this group. Sorry that you have cancer,

of course. We offer a lot of hope here.

Doctors know a lot but they don't know everything and each person is

different. You want to fight this disease then

You go for it. As long as you feel good, etc then fight with everything you

have and all the meds they will give you.

You didn't say where you live. Deb was right there is HOPE. Her hubby

fought and is cancer free.

I fought it and I am cancer free right now. And there are others here. I am

a lot older than you but I put off the colonoscopy for

Years and finally decided last year heck with it lets get this over with. I

was not sick or feeling bad but did get my surprise when

I woke up. Stage 3C with lymph node involvement. So I had chemo for 6 mons

this year.

So anyway we are here for you. You sound like a really mature young man who

has a handle on things. You hang in ther

And fight. Will be praying for you. Tell your family about this support

group so that if you get really down from your

Treatments someone else can post and let us know how you are doing. Hugs

and Prayers Jolene

[Guest guest]

Welcome Jeff. This is an amazing group and you'll find both valuable

information and

support here...

I'm not one for platitudes so I say this with all sincerity: there is always

hope. Always.

Yours is a difficult path for certain and you will face the unimaginable.

But doctors know somethings - not all things. They cannot diagnose the spirit

that you

are nor can they anticipate how you will react to various treatments. Within

you lies a

great reserve of personal wisdom and strength - tap into it to navigate your

path now.

Your focus must be on healing, both your body and your spirit.

Now Jeff - this moment - you are alive and you have the presence of mind to tend

to your

needs. Do so and if I can be of any help whatsoever please do not hesitate to

email me.

>

> Well I had been having health problems for about a year. I put off

> going to see a doctor because I did not want to get the scope done

> because of my own fears. So i finally broke down last week and had

> to go to the emergency room. I was given some Barruim (Stuff they

> give u when conducting a ct scan) After waiting for about four

> hours the doctors could not do a scan because the liqud i was given

> would not go down. Then they did a scope and they found a large

> grownt in my rectal/colon area. The mass has grown all around my

> colon and actuly closed it off. Everyone always said i was full of

> shit. And that's what was happing to me. They then found that the

> mass did contain cancer. And then i recived a PET scan and the have

> found that the caner has spread to my lympnodes in my shoulder.

> Some Docotors say that all i can do is have hope find a support

> group and make my peace with the lord. The tell me this beacuse

> some feel there is no chance of me living. Other Doctors are Trying

> to treat me with xeloda (cemo thearpy) and radiation treatmeants 5

> days a week for 5 weeks. and from what i understand about this

> treatmeant is that the cemo is killing me they just hope that i can

> out live the cancer. And they are going to use all the drugs they

> think my body can handle untill they almost kill me or the cancer

> leaves my body. Im only 22 Years my life is a fucking soap opera.

> I feel good for now i have a good amount of energy. I don't feel

> sick and i think that a good thing. I think the best thing i can do

> is stay positve but it's hard and im scared that im going to die.

> im not worried about dieing it's just a part of life i just don't

> want my family and friends to watch me suffer and all that sad

> shit. I guess im doing this becuase i want to know if anyone has

> had a case like mine or knows anything that can help me im trying to

> stay stronge and be like im going to beat this. But it's hard to

> stay that way all the time. I NEED HOPE, any hope that anyone can

> give or any ideas about diffrent methods of treating this would be

> great.

>

[Guest guest]

Oh my God Jeff! You are too young to have such a heavy burden but treatment

wise that may be in your favor. You are full of life and energy and there is

every reason to believe you will make it.

My husband dissolved a 13 cm tumor with Avastin and Oxaliplatin

chemotherapy's

Unfortunately he had too many liver tumors to resolve. So at least ask for a

second opinion and see if that helps.

My husband had a very poor prognosis when he was first diagnosed and has

been battling this beat for the past 2 1/2 years. Up until 2 months ago he was

doing very well and the problem is all liver related.

Ask lots of questions. We'll try to answer.

best wishes

Narice

In a message dated 11/21/2005 3:00:30 PM Eastern Standard Time,

flytodeb@... writes:

Hi, Jeff. Sorry to hear that you have cancer, but this support group is the

right place. Chemotherapy, radiation and surgery are the treatments for this.

Search among the old messages for info or just ask your new questions when

they come to mind. Age has nothing to do with it. Fear hits everyone. You

don't want your family and friends to watch your suffering, but you need them

to

help you with this. Don't hide from them and if they want to help you, tell

them what you need. Be specific. If you need someone to drive you to your

treatments, tell them. Be honest with everyone. You can do this, but don't do

it

alone. Let others have the good feelings and blessings that they helped you.

Hang in there. Hugs & prayers.

~Deb from Kansas

Jeff wrote:

Well I had been having health problems for about a year. I put off

going to see a doctor because I did not want to get the scope done

because of my own fears. So i finally broke down last week and had

to go to the emergency room. I was given some Barruim (Stuff they

give u when conducting a ct scan) After waiting for about four

hours the doctors could not do a scan because the liqud i was given

would not go down. Then they did a scope and they found a large

grownt in my rectal/colon area. The mass has grown all around my

colon and actuly closed it off. Everyone always said i was full of

shit. And that's what was happing to me. They then found that the

mass did contain cancer. And then i recived a PET scan and the have

found that the caner has spread to my lympnodes in my shoulder.

Some Docotors say that all i can do is have hope find a support

group and make my peace with the lord. The tell me this beacuse

some feel there is no chance of me living. Other Doctors are Trying

to treat me with xeloda (cemo thearpy) and radiation treatmeants 5

days a week for 5 weeks. and from what i understand about this

treatmeant is that the cemo is killing me they just hope that i can

out live the cancer. And they are going to use all the drugs they

think my body can handle untill they almost kill me or the cancer

leaves my body. Im only 22 Years my life is a fucking soap opera.

I feel good for now i have a good amount of energy. I don't feel

sick and i think that a good thing. I think the best thing i can do

is stay positve but it's hard and im scared that im going to die.

im not worried about dieing it's just a part of life i just don't

want my family and friends to watch me suffer and all that sad

shit. I guess im doing this becuase i want to know if anyone has

had a case like mine or knows anything that can help me im trying to

stay stronge and be like im going to beat this. But it's hard to

stay that way all the time. I NEED HOPE, any hope that anyone can

give or any ideas about diffrent methods of treating this would be

great.

---------------------------------

Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Guest guest]

Hi, Jeff. Sorry to hear that you have cancer, but this support group is the

right place. Chemotherapy, radiation and surgery are the treatments for this.

Search among the old messages for info or just ask your new questions when they

come to mind. Age has nothing to do with it. Fear hits everyone. You don't want

your family and friends to watch your suffering, but you need them to help you

with this. Don't hide from them and if they want to help you, tell them what you

need. Be specific. If you need someone to drive you to your treatments, tell

them. Be honest with everyone. You can do this, but don't do it alone. Let

others have the good feelings and blessings that they helped you. Hang in there.

Hugs & prayers.

~Deb from Kansas

Jeff wrote:

Well I had been having health problems for about a year. I put off

going to see a doctor because I did not want to get the scope done

because of my own fears. So i finally broke down last week and had

to go to the emergency room. I was given some Barruim (Stuff they

give u when conducting a ct scan) After waiting for about four

hours the doctors could not do a scan because the liqud i was given

would not go down. Then they did a scope and they found a large

grownt in my rectal/colon area. The mass has grown all around my

colon and actuly closed it off. Everyone always said i was full of

shit. And that's what was happing to me. They then found that the

mass did contain cancer. And then i recived a PET scan and the have

found that the caner has spread to my lympnodes in my shoulder.

Some Docotors say that all i can do is have hope find a support

group and make my peace with the lord. The tell me this beacuse

some feel there is no chance of me living. Other Doctors are Trying

to treat me with xeloda (cemo thearpy) and radiation treatmeants 5

days a week for 5 weeks. and from what i understand about this

treatmeant is that the cemo is killing me they just hope that i can

out live the cancer. And they are going to use all the drugs they

think my body can handle untill they almost kill me or the cancer

leaves my body. Im only 22 Years my life is a fucking soap opera.

I feel good for now i have a good amount of energy. I don't feel

sick and i think that a good thing. I think the best thing i can do

is stay positve but it's hard and im scared that im going to die.

im not worried about dieing it's just a part of life i just don't

want my family and friends to watch me suffer and all that sad

shit. I guess im doing this becuase i want to know if anyone has

had a case like mine or knows anything that can help me im trying to

stay stronge and be like im going to beat this. But it's hard to

stay that way all the time. I NEED HOPE, any hope that anyone can

give or any ideas about diffrent methods of treating this would be

great.

---------------------------------

Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click.

[Guest guest]

Jeff,

I would suggest that you visit the livestrong website. There is a

lot of material that you can get there to help you take control of

your treatment. When I was diagnosed, I was adrift and following

the current whichever way the doctors directed. It took me a while

to take control of my treatment and go the direction I wanted to.

The livestrong organization gave me a binder to keep all my

treatment information, blood test results, and everything else in so

if I needed to get a second opinion or wound up in the hospital,

everything was in one place so I could be treated effectively.

Taking control of your treatment is very empowering. You may not

control the disease, but you feel like you are actively doing

something. Taking control of the situation will help you have

hope. Someone else already responded that there is always hope.

They are right. There are people who were stage IV and are in

remission. Your youth is on your side because you will bounce back

from treatments so much faster. Youth is a bonus.

Research things on the web, get more opinions, etc... I think you

would do well to get to a major cancer center. Find someone who is

on the forefront of research and pick their brains. This is your

fight. Make them explain it so you understand. You could start

your research from the colon cancer network website that Priscilla

has a hand in.

As for your life being a soap opera, well I can say that there are a

lot of folks whose lives are much worse. I know someone who abused

his body for 30 years and had a heart attack before he wised up. In

the 30 years, he neglected his daughter and she " hates " him now. He

was too messed up to even feel pain when his father died. He was

barely sober for his mom's death. He went bankrupt and really

angered a lot of folks because he cost them thousands of dollars. I

could go on and on because this is only the surface. He's dealing

with the fallout of his behavior to this day.

You didn't chose this disease. It just happened. You are not at

fault. Therefore, you have no regrets since you did nothing wrong.

You have to deal with the randomness of this disease but you don't

have the guilt.

Hang in there and if you need to vent about how terrible you feel,

how unfair it is to have cancer at 22 or whether you just feel

crabby. We'll listen and we'll tell you what we think.

Miracles happen!

Cliff H.

>

> Well I had been having health problems for about a year. I put

off

> going to see a doctor because I did not want to get the scope done

> because of my own fears. So i finally broke down last week and

had

> to go to the emergency room. I was given some Barruim (Stuff they

> give u when conducting a ct scan) After waiting for about four

> hours the doctors could not do a scan because the liqud i was

given

> would not go down. Then they did a scope and they found a large

> grownt in my rectal/colon area. The mass has grown all around my

> colon and actuly closed it off. Everyone always said i was full

of

> shit. And that's what was happing to me. They then found that

the

> mass did contain cancer. And then i recived a PET scan and the

have

> found that the caner has spread to my lympnodes in my shoulder.

> Some Docotors say that all i can do is have hope find a support

> group and make my peace with the lord. The tell me this beacuse

> some feel there is no chance of me living. Other Doctors are

Trying

> to treat me with xeloda (cemo thearpy) and radiation treatmeants 5

> days a week for 5 weeks. and from what i understand about this

> treatmeant is that the cemo is killing me they just hope that i

can

> out live the cancer. And they are going to use all the drugs they

> think my body can handle untill they almost kill me or the cancer

> leaves my body. Im only 22 Years my life is a fucking soap

opera.

> I feel good for now i have a good amount of energy. I don't feel

> sick and i think that a good thing. I think the best thing i can

do

> is stay positve but it's hard and im scared that im going to die.

> im not worried about dieing it's just a part of life i just don't

> want my family and friends to watch me suffer and all that sad

> shit. I guess im doing this becuase i want to know if anyone has

> had a case like mine or knows anything that can help me im trying

to

> stay stronge and be like im going to beat this. But it's hard to

> stay that way all the time. I NEED HOPE, any hope that anyone

can

> give or any ideas about diffrent methods of treating this would be

> great.

>