Hi,

I am a 32 year old female just diagnosed with Rectal Cancer. I am going in two days to meet with a radiation oncologist and an oncologist. I have already met with a colorectal surgeon who is going to remove my rectum, put in a temporary bag for two months, then rehook me up. This will be after either 6 weeks of radiation +chemo in a low dose, or doing a one week intense radiation then one week off, then surgery. I have a T2 Nx Mx diagnosis. I had chest x-ray and CT scan which I think came back OK. Here are a couple of questions I have:
1. Has anyone done the one week intense radiation (I guess it is more common in Europe than US)?
2. For women: Did you go into menopause? Should I just have my ovaries removed, which is an option presented by the surgeon. I have two small children already, so I am lucky.
3. How will I feel during/after treatments & surgery? I am not sure what sort of help I will need to take care of my one year old and 4 year old in the next year. I am a stay home mom now and am use to doing things on my own.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Sorry to hear about your condition Gocatsgo.
1) I don't know anything about intense chemo, I had aggressive chemo once every other week.
2) I did not have periods while going through chemo but once I finished the sessions, the cycles went back to normal. I am not sure why your surgeon suggested to have the ovaries removed; it will implicate to add more to deal with...
3) I can only tell you that you will need time to recover and to generate energy. Although everyone reacts differently to treatment, chances are you will not have the energy to accomplish your normal tasks and taking care of your little children. Please accept any help that your family and/or friends will offer. Some people go through this ordeal without suffering many side effects, your doctor will be able to inform you on what to expect.
Take care and may you have great success recovering.

Thanks for the info. Did you have only chemo or radiation as well? I thought that the radiation fried your eggs and put you into menopause? I better ask for more info about this when we meet with the oncologists tomorrow.

Thanks so much!

I had 11 chemo treatments no radiaton. If you have any questions, you can also call your doctor for a quick answer, rather than waiting, I call my doctor's nurse once in a while for information. I hope your visit today will provide all the answers that you need and I wish you the best of luck.