u/Silent_Line_3990

Hey all.

My wife (41f) was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic colon cancer April 2026. Extensive METS on liver, left adrenal gland, and lymphatic in the pelvic and abdominal area.

She had her first PET scan on May 1st. She started FOLFOX with 5-FU on May 13th. She had her first PET scan since starting treatment this past Tuesday, and has completed her 7th round of treatment. On this most recent cycle, they added Panitumumab.

We got the results on MyChart, however we won't be seeing the oncologist until her next appointment which is August 19th.

I had a chart made of the findings on her first PET scan and her most recent scan.

Here's the TL;DR that I lifted from the scan write up.

IMPRESSION:

Overall, there has been response to treatment including:

1. Decreased FDG uptake associated with the primary malignancy.

2. Decreased intensity and extent of all hepatic metastases.

3. FDG-avid adrenal metastasis has decreased in size.

4. Persistently FDG-avid retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy has shown mixed interval change.

There has also been a significant decrease in diffuse uptake associated with the esophagus which was likely inflammatory as well as resolution of an FDG- avid paratracheal lymph node which may have been reactive rather than metastatic and related to the primary malignancy.

With all of this being said, has anyone seen scans like this before? Having a great response everywhere except the lymph nodes where some have shrunk but some have grown? I know stage 4 CRC isn't always a 💀 sentence, and we are trying to be optimistic . We are just so scared.

Thank you in advance!

-her loving yet concerned wife

I wrote a poem when I couldn't sleep last night (this morning?) Please be kind. I'm not looking for judgement or praise. I just had to get my thoughts out of my head. Sleep hasn't come easy this past month.

Warrior Girl

By Bekki E.

It's been over a month

Since we got the diagnosis.

Those six words forever in my head

"You have stage four colon cancer"

They've been playing on repeat

Like a bad song that won't leave me

Not my strong, beautiful wife.

She doesn't have this terrible disease

That brings with it fear, pain, and death.

She's too vibrant, too healthy, and she's here,

Right in front of me.

The possiblity of losing her seems inconceivable.

I'm strong until we are alone together.

It's even worse when we are alone apart.

My resolve breaks as I look into

Her shining blue eyes and I see tears start to form.

Her mask is cracking as we think the same thing:

No time given will ever be enough.

I start to cry and you hold me.

In my head, I know you will beat this

The alternative doesn't seem possible.

We have fought through so much

Just to get to this moment in time

This is where we are supposed to live out

Our big happily ever after together.

In my heart, it constantly feels like it's breaking.

The anticipatory grief is consuming me

The thought of going through the steps.

Living everyday without hearing your voice

feeling your touch, kissing your lips

How could the world keep spinning

If our love wasn't there to keep it going?

So it must not be true.

We are going to ignore the statistics.

We are going to beat the numbers.

I'm going to help you crush

every single timeframe they give us.

Because they don't know.

They don't know that nothing can break us

And that nothing is as fierce as my love for you.

No cancer is stronger than that.

Hey all.

Just as the title suggests, my wife is having a hard time. Her port is in, she was finally able to take a real shower today because the bandage came off. Her first chemo treatment starts this Wednesday. She's so scared. I am trying to reassure her as often as I can without annoying her. We both know it's a scary diagnosis. I am doing my best to make sure I am not crying all the time, even though I want to. My hope is that if I am being strong, then she can be strong. We have two kids, ages 9 and 12. We are trying to keep it light for them. They know she has cancer. They know chemo is going to be rough. Both of the kids are autistic, but both are high functioning. I just...I don't know what I can do to help her. She knows how much I love her and that we are going to fight this together.

The last week has felt like 10 years. A week ago today we were at the Railers hockey game with some friends of ours. Sunday, Kara got really sick. Like massive pain, vomiting, can't keep anything down kind of a situation. Same on Monday. On Tuesday (the day I left for my Uncle's Chris's funeral) Kara went to Urgent Care. From urgent care where they attempted to hydrate her and stop the vomiting-they found a mass in her colon and lesions on her liver. She was sent to the ER. Massive pain, still throwing up, can't keep water down. She gets admitted and they planned a sigmoidoscopy the next day with a biopsy. Wednesday, they do the biopsy to check the tissue and the sigmoidoscopy. The mass is a tumor. Her colon was so distended that they were concerned it would burst. Since she had anesthesia earlier that day, I had to be told about the different procedures they were considering the side effects and what the hopeful outcomes would be. We went with a stent because it would be the least invasive, knowing that if the doctor wasn't able to place the stent in to help relieve the pressure then they would have to do an emergency removal of the tumor and if her colon was bad enough remove her colon with surgery. This would mean either an ostomy bag at best case scenario or illiostomy at worst. I left NJ early to get home to my wife. She did great with the stent. She's moving waste and gas appropriately. Still, they were keeping her NPO because they may still need to perform emergency surgery. Thursday early morning, I am there. I'm with my girl. She has a lot of pain but on the other side. She's still going to the bathroom. We get the biopsy back. It's colorectal cancer. I speak to the oncologists separately while Kara is in the bathroom. I verify the statistics I see online if it is stage 4. They don't say I'm wrong. The statistics are scary. However, my girl is young(ish), and healthy minus the whole cancer thing. I'm not giving up on her. Friday, they still kept her as NPO, however she was in a lot less pain. She was finally able to take her antidepressant. And I came in with her shower stuff and a towel from our place. She's starting to feel like herself again. She's been taking walks, took a shower standing up and is more clear headed than I am with all of this. She was allowed a clear liquid diet Saturday. She did so well that they allowed her to go to a low fiber diet Sunday. She hasn't felt sick and had very minimal pain. The doctor today said he thinks we have less than 10% chance of needing surgery to help the blockage. I'm doing my absolute best to be brave and strong for her. I constantly feel like I am failing because sometimes, I lose my resolve and I start sobbing. We haven't told the kids yet. We want to have a treatment plan in place so they know we are fighting this as a family.

She is my best friend. The love of my existence. I am TERRIFIED every. Single. DAY. And we don't even have the full pathology report yet. The PET scan hasn't been completed. Once step at a time, I guess. I'm so scared I'm not mentally stable enough for this.