Guest guest Posted October 23, 2005 Report Share Posted October 23, 2005 Hi all Well yall asked for an update and since no matter how I try to reword it Yahoo wont let me add it all to my signature here is our story for those of you who dont know it Last April my then 33yrold husband Joe, started having lower right sided abdominal cramping , when it first started would only happen when he got out of bed first thing in the morning it was bad enough it double him over, but only lasted 3-5 min and then subside, this went on for a few weeks , in the meantime we had just signed up to get life insurance as a good friend was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of 39 , and we thought OH WOW what would we do if that happened to us , little did we know this would become in fact a reality for us. While Joe was waiting for the insurance premiums to start being taken out of our bank we had been doing our own doctoring ,via the internet , and decided he either had IBS or Colon cancer, yeah right colon cancer? In a 33yrold ?????? hahahahah ,how naive we were. Joe finally went to the docs , and now we started on a long road of tests, oh no not for cancer, for everything but! The pains were getting worse by then and lasting longer, and happening more frequently After being treated for ( mind you he had none of these things) stomach infection, spasmatic colon, IBS, and even Heartburn( that was at the Emergency room one night ) finally the doc admitted he had NO IDEA what could be causing this , so set him up for a colonoscopy. On September 16 2005 , my healthy ( never gets sick) non drinking , non smoking , workaholic, father of our then 13yrold daughter and 5yrold son , husband of 14yrs underwent his colonoscopy , it was all done in 20 min and I thought wow that was FAST. Then the doc came in, and told us he was unable to perform the colonoscopy due to a cancerous tumor almost completely blocking his colon, they still dont know how he was able to use the restroom at all , . he underwent colon resection on Sept 27th 2004, they removed all of his sigmoid colon ,top part of his rectum ,all of his abdominal wall lining where they had found mets , 39 lymph nodes were also removed 3 lymph nodes tested positive involved , with the lining and the lymph nodes involved this made him a Stage 4, when asked the statistics we were told Joe would have 6 months without chemo to 22months with chemo, we were devastated Joe had an open wound from infection at his surgical site until Jan 2005 He also had a Ileostomy reversal Dec 7th 2004 Chemo regiment begun Jan 2005 5fu/levorican/Oxaplatin/ Avastin added Feb 14 2005 (Happy Valentines Calcium Magnesium added for the Tingles Feb 28 2005 Ct Scan done March 23rd 2005 , 16 millimeter cyst like object on liver found April 11 PET SCAN SHOWS NED! May 9 Plateletts are low 75,000 Last treatment was June 6th, 2005 At which time the doc said you know I think ya may beat this!!! All Ct scans since have been negative, Latest one was Oct 10 and No Evidence of Disease anywhere! I was concerned cause he has been experience reoccuring bouts of diarrhea , so it may be something that his no shortened colon doesnt like to eat. As a side note , Joe had been suffering from neuropathy extremely bad in his hands and feet even now 4 months after chemo. He was sent to a neurologist who ordered an MRI thinking maybe cancer had spread there , Joe said ya could have kicked him in the groin and it would have hurt less , to hear those words again. HOWEVER that scan came back free of cancer!! They did however find an oddity in his spinal canal , called a syrinx,( our 14yrold daughter just underwent surgery for this ) So his neuropathy is only partially caused by the chemo , the other part is caused by the syrinx Today is Oct 23 , 2005, after surgery/chemo/9 months off of work / and on the brink of death (literally ) Joe is back to work , healthy and full of life. Do we know what tomorrow will bring? God willing it will bring another day to enjoy life. Deb 33yrold husband Joe, was diagnosed with CC in Sept, resection on Sept 27th 2004 found mets to the abdominal wall lining 3 lymph nodes involved open wound from infection until Jan 2005 Ileostomy reversal Dec 7th 2004 Chemo regiment begun Jan 2005 5fu/levorican/Oxaplatin/ Avastin added Feb 14 2005 (Happy Valentines Calcium Magnesium added for the Tingles Feb 28 2005 Ct Scan done March 23rd 2005 , 16 millimeter cyst like object on liver found April 1 2005 PET scan done awaiting results April 11 PET SCAN SHOWS NED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! May 9 Plateletts are low 75,000 --------------------------------- Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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