r/colorectalcancer

I have stage 3 colon cancer and just finished up week 5 of radiation / chemo and I am miserable today...my ass is killing me...I shit out broken glass all day and my but cheeks are feeling sunburnt like no other. My Dr says this is normal and does not offer much for the pain...I am using prep H w/ 5% and lots of Vaseline....is this normal / how long does this last??

....5 more treatments left, then chemo (folfox) for 4 months....

So my 70 year old husband had his routine colonoscopy and they found a tumor (2.1 cm) jist above his sphincter. His MRI and Cat came back clean and we were relieved to learn he would have a 1 hour outpatient surgery to remove it. We are now 2 weeks out from that and learned from the pathology report that while all margins were clear 1 deposit was found and the tumor was deeper than they had hoped. Because of this they are recommending followup chemo and radiation so I am trying to gather as much info as I can before our Monday appointment to discuss treatment options.

Treatment plan: Tumor board recommends Adjuvant Therapy beginning with systemic therapy first followed by radiation.

• Ca pox or Folfox x4 months to be determined by patient and provider followed by Long Course

chemoradiation 5040cGy x28 days.

So what I just typed is still a foreign language to me but I'm sure that will change. If given a choice, any recommendations? Side effects? Tolerance? Questions to ask on Monday?

Any info and shared experiences would be greatly appreciated at this point.

FYI my husband is in relatively good shape for his age. He is not currently on any medications, although he has slightly high triglycerides. He has some limited mobility after having 2 hip replacements in the last 12 years and spinal fusion prior to that but overall good health!

[supprimé]

I’m trying to not just rant so the briefest way to ask this:

I have young kids and a wife. Diagnosed with late stage colon cancer. I know that I will fight to see my kids start to grow up.

But here I am now over 6y later. Multiple surgeries, treatments, a phase 1 trial, etc and things still grow. Psychologically I’m so fatigued and done now and feel like I don’t want to continue onto another clinical trial or any treatment. I just hate my life while in treatment even if the side effects are relatively minor.

But how does it look like anything other than abandonment of my family to stop? I want to enjoy the time I have left and everyone understands abstractly that it’s my choice, but since my body itself seems in relatively good shape, I don’t think anyone can come to grips with my choice and see it as reasonable.

(My therapist agrees that I’m not just depressed, fwiw)

Can anyone relate?