Hi Everyone,

I'm 31 and was diagnosed with colon cancer at the end of April 2004. I had two surgeries: colon resection and both ovaries were removed. Now I'm going through chemo and in a few days I'm having a catscan to see if it is working. It is really hard to deal with so many things at the same time - side effects from chemo, hot flashes from menopause, not being able to have children now, not being able to work. There seems to be a lot of helpful and caring people that belong to this site. I was wondering if there is anyone who is in a similar situation as me. I would love to hear from you. Thanks, Sarah

Sarah:
I am a (just turned)32 year old male who was dx with stage 3c rectal cancer last September. I too know what you're going thru as I had to donate my sperm to put on ice in case my wife and I decide to have another child. I can't pee (I catheterize) can't perform sexually, and am fecally incontinent most of the time. This all after radiation/chemo, surgery, another surgery to reverse the ileostomy bag, and more chemo to kill whatever cancer was left.

I'm just sick of it. I suffer from chronic pain as a result, and remain unable to work. It's tough to keep a positive attitude. BUT, you HAVE to. Try to appreciate the little things in life. I try to and it helps, believe me. [ removed ] Otherwise, post for all to benefit. We are all here to help each other.

Good Luck.
CancerDad (aka James)

James, I am so sorry to hear you are still suffering so much. You sound really down. You are always helpful to others but you have been through so much and still have so many problems it seems...that is rough.

Sarah, I am sorry to hear how tough it is on you too. I am sure you will get inspiration from others who have found themselves in a similar situation to yours. That is why these boards are so good....being able to get support and advice goes a long way to take away the loneliness of situations like yours/ours. As James says, we are here to help each other. All the best.

Keep going James. It will get better, even if slowly, I am sure.

Sarah, welcome to the forum. I know I read someone's post who also had ovaries removed.

BTW I am male diagnosed at 45, now 48 , total rectal resection(sewn up in back) chemo, rad, no mets, no lymph node involvement found.

I had lesser degree of some of the same effects Cancerdad has but they have somewhat been alleviated. I keep wishing for at least some of his symptoms to abate.

I recall being told "You'll do ok in surgery since you are so young". I know that the nurses were bolstering my courage but the flip side is"you are young for this type of operation" which they did not say but I could hear my inner voice saying.

We all know the psychological effects of not being able to work and losing functions. Time is a great healer and talking with others who share many of the same afflictions is cathartic. My wife is going through menopause and it is difficult enough when a woman expects it at the usual time of life. Getting that 20 years earlier must be a kick in the psyche.

I am sure we have all gone through many of the stages of greif such as denial, anger, bargining and perhaps, finally , acceptance.

Thanks guys for welcoming me and your words of encouragement. What I didn't mention in the other message is that the cancer already returned after my surgeries. Before starting chemo, it showed up in my abdomen and my liver. I've had 4 treatments so far and have 12 more to go. I'm so anxious about getting the catscan this weekend. I'll get the results a few days after that. I'm trying to think positive and believe that the chemo is working, but I can't stop picturing the doctor telling me that more has grown back. How do you deal with the unbelievable anxiety before getting test results back? It's all I can think about!

Sarah

I would focus on other people. Get your family and friends ready for whatever the news maybe. Let others know that you love them. Thank them for the care that they extend to you. Do your part to heal any hurting relationships. The big thing is to get your focus off yourself. Worry just stresses your body and that will not help anything.

Hello Sarah: :wave:

I am 42 and was diagnosed with rectal CA the day after Easter 2004, following the finding during a colonoscopy on 4/8. It was there and they saw it, so they immediately took a biopsy. There is no presence of this type of cancer known in my family, and at my age it was a devastation, so for you at 31, it is more so. I began chemo/rad treatments on 5/10 and they continued for 5 weeks. My surgeon is a colorectal specialist (a true gift) and his recommendation was to do the treatments first. They were successful in shrinking the tumor as much as 95%, which was his guess following surgery on 7/27 in which they resectioned my sigmoid colon (thisclose to the rectum), game me a complete hysterectomy, and removed my appendix. Doctor said that in women, colon ca and ovaries and breast are all related. I was perplexed about also removing the uterus, and it was a difficult decision, but I got second opinion and made the decision to move forward.

2 weeks following the surgery, I developed an abcess and was back in the hospital for 7 days. They had me on TPN IV infusion and NO food whatsoever. They wanted me to completely rest my bowels. Even after I came home, I continued with IV TPN and had a nurse come in once a day to connect the concoction. I went without eating for 20 days. Not a morsel. Because the TPN was so nutritionally complete, my appetite waned anyhow, so I really did not feel I was missing much. I turned zombie-ish and just scuffed around the house, making few ventures outside for doctor appts., runs to the mailbox and small walks up and down the sidwalk in front of the house.

Since the beginning, I sent emails to those close to me, initially to announce my diagnosis. I am a people person, and I care greatly for others. I figured if I received responses from people, that they would be behind me and become my support system. They have been just wonderful. You need to get positive people behind you. Throughout my hospitalization and recouperation, I've received cards, calls and visits from all my friends and family. There were few days that no one contacted me by some type of communication. It kept me going. Gave me good reason to be positive. Otherwise, I would've just layed around feeling like the victim and being negatively charged. A positive outlook is the best thing you can have. Mental attitude has so much to do with healing and becoming well. I truly believe that. Many offered to be there "whenever" to vent, cry, complain or just talk and share. If you have people like this in your life, it will make your job as a patient much easier, and makes things seem more possible. There will be ones that shy away because they don't know what to say, or they are threatened, contemplating their own mortality. (a humanly natural thing.) Don't worry about the ones who don't respond, there is a reason they don't, but it is not for you to be concerned with. Keep in touch with the ones who do. Send them periodic updates of your situation and how your treatments are going and how you are feeling. This will keep them all in the loop. What a wonderful thing email is. It will alleviate lots of phone calls, altho once in a while, you will need that. Allow people to become involved in your journey and your quest to battle this thing. People are curious anyhow. Many have been near similar situations and can help. Utilize what you have. Take advantage of people who care about you. If you include them, they will become a part of your healing process -- an important part. Try not to shut people out (altho don't bring in anyone who might be negative. Sadly, I think we all know people who are generally just unhappy in life for no real reason.)

I've been slowly getting back on a soft food diet as of last Tuesday, and late yesterday afternoon, the surgeon squoze me in for an appt. following a test Wednesday (fistulagram) that sent dye back into the catheter and into the abcess, then they took x-rays. The result was that the abcess had NO connection to the GI tract, and the liquid that had recently been drawn by the drain was abdominal fluid and pretty clear. The doctor pulled the drain line out last night and I no longer feel like there is a crooked stick up my backside.

I'm still recouperating from the surgery and still quite quite sore. I'm actually again feeling the same pelvic pain that had since subsided from the radiation., but again returned. Maybe because of more x-rays on Weds. I think sometimes the body remembers and rekindles things. The oncologist is waiting in the wings for me to begin a final 4-month regimen of chemo, just to be sure. I won't be ready for that for a while. BTW, I'm on an estrogen patch that seems to be doing the trick in handling night sweats, hot flashes and some irritability. They started me on 0.1 and that was too much. I'm now on .0375, and I'm thinking we might need to bump up to a .05. Touch and go, but you should look into it if you havent already. Just follow the directions, and with your history, they recommend not putting the patch near your breasts. Instead, place it on your lower abdomen or lower back.

One day at a time, Sarah......lean on those you love and who love you......and by all means, don't beat yourself up, physically or emotionally. Your body has been working hard on the inside for a long while now. The best thing you can do is keep positive so that all your workings can happen in concert to be strong, fight hard, and get healthy.

If you have a general md that you see (or any of your doctors), ask for something for your anxiety. I've got some Lozepam and that helps tremendously. It keeps the mind from taking flight with all kinds of overwhelming ideas. It's a good chill pill. Ambien is also good for a good nights rest.

Stay cool Sarah. You're in charge. Stay calm and I will pray for your strength to get you through. We are all here for support, and I am here if I can help you in anyway. I'm sure others on the board will do so as well. We've all been through the mill, and are still here. Here to share and help. For me, and I'm sure most will agree, this journey has taught me to recognize what is REALLY important in life. There are some very special people on this board, as you will find, and your condition is not something that you should take on without the help of those who can and are willing to help. Hang tough sweetie!!

And, as always, I cannot close without saying and shouting :yawn: CANCER SUCKS!!

With prayers for strength and rays of healing powers :angel: ,
until later...Julesss

Hang in there Sarah. If there is something I can help you with then please let me know.

Thanks everyone for your support. I hope you all are having some happy days in between the rough ones. I'm very grateful for those days. Juless, I want to thank you for spending so much time writing to me. You seem to have a handle on knowing how to get through this emotionally and it helped to hear your advice. Fortunately, I do have a lot of people by my side and a wonderful husband. These boards are great because you all understand from experience how others are feeling. It really helps to get advice from people going through similar situations. Thank you

Sarah

God bless you Sarah, Jules, Jaydees, and Cancerdad! Your in my prayers to have good long healthy lives.. I just want all of you to know that your my heros and I'm praying REALLY hard for you all to do well and beat this thing. Get mad at it!