My Journey with Stage 4 Colon Cancer

Mine was diagnosed at the same time. It showed up in the cecum.it was not as big but showed signs of spreading. I had a bowel resection and I'm currently undergoing chemotherapy. The side effects are sporadic and showed up 1 at a time .The most prominent is sex dysfunction. When I see the others I wonder which is worse, the disease or the cure.

Since beginning chemotherapy on June 10th my bowels have been working overtime and when going I'm usually on the toilet for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. My bowel movement is like a dark green color and usually very runny, however I have experienced a couple of solid bowel movements 2 of which I had to exert a bit of force to get out. I have experienced fatigue, dizziness, slight vision changes where I was either seeing things blurry or once in awhile double vision. Most consistent for me besides the diarrhea is the nausea and occasional vomiting along with an unquenchable thirst. I have my next treatment coming up on the 21st and I was told by my infusion nurse that another bag of a different type is going to be added toy infusion routine I go through every 2 weeks. What I hate about this is after my infusion is complete I am stuck with a pump for 2 days and the looks of the pump is the likeness of a large lemon. Honestly I'm not sure at all if the chemo I'm going through is even having any affect on my cancer and I won't know until I complete the 6 months I'm scheduled to complete which by my figures I should be done by some time December.

I get a pump infusing over 48 hours every 10 days

If it is any help,recovery from a bowel resection is a long time. Mine was 7 months. In the meantime my cancer has not spread.

Your recovery not only amazes me but it's empowered me even more than ever now, I will permanently put you in my prayers for a speedy recovery.

It amazes my oncologist too. The symptoms have shown up 1 at a time. The most persistent is sex dysfunction.

Thank you for the prayers Sebastian

Mine was diagnosed in Aug 23 . There were mets in lungs <1.5 cm. Retal mass was 3.5 . Doctors were not inclined towards rectal surgery, after 16 rounds of chemo my rectal mass is not there any more. Nodules in the lungs are getting bigger now they are 1.7 cm . Todys scan also showed enlarged lymph nodes on left side of the neck. Doctor is telling me that Radiating the nodules in the lungs is not a smart things to do. Today I called George town Proton therapy people to see what they think about because after 2 years of chemotherapy it feels like Chemo will kill me before Cancer can do it . Any thoughts please?

I have to say , your comments answered my question.

Wait so did they tell you that you only had the one mass to begin with? Then you have masses in your lower back after they removed the one and sent you thru chemo? I ask this bc we have the same store almost verbatim! I had imaginable pain so I went to the ER and within 15 min I was told I had a softball sized Mass that ruptured into my paraneal wall . They couldn't do that surgery yet bc I had 13 pockets of infection in my intestines. I stayed for a month, got all the drainage tubes out, and then the surgery. Did 24 infusions and 16 radiation treatment and they were all happy yay your cured!!!! 7 months later I have another mass the size of an orange on my intestines and it's attached to my spleen!! Here we go with infusions.

Thank you for sharing this deeply personal part of your cancer journey with the community. Facing a stage 4 diagnosis and navigating multiple treatments takes incredible strength, and it's completely understandable to feel shocked and fearful when receiving such overwhelming news. Many others in this community have walked similar paths with colorectal cancer treatments, and your openness about the challenges you're facing can help others feel less alone in their own experiences.