Colon Cancer After Surgery Treatment

bbachemin · New User Joined: 06 Feb 2006 Posts: 2

I am in the mist of healing from my second colon cancer surgery. The second diagnoses was made in just over a year of the first diagnoses and surgery. The cancer both times was stage 2. It had not penitrated the colon outter lining.

My doctors are not recommeding chemo and, I am not sure why. One Oncologist did tell me that as long as they can use surgery to free my body of cancer they will not use chemo because of the awful side effects. He said it will damage my heart and lungs, liver and possibly my kidneys and the damage is not reversable.

Is anyone having similar experience? Are your doctors recommending other approaches. Oh, I should mention that I am 66 years old. That could be a factor in my treatment protocol.

I have read extensively about the after affects of this surgery. Diarrhea appears to be the most common and running a close second is the lower abdominal pain. I am experiencing both. I am on medication for diarrhea. I take the precription medicine with imodium 4 times a day. I've been on the medication for only 8 days and it appears to be working, most days. Prior to taking the medicine I was glued to my bedroom so I could be near a toilet 24 hours a day. Even in the middle of the night. I have had only 2 very bad days since I am on this medicine. I am hoping for "no" days when I feel my life depends on being near a toilet.

I have opted to take no pain medication as it may interact with the
medication for diarrhea. I can tolerate the pain, the diarrhea I cannot! If you are interested in talking with your Dr. about these medicines you can find them on the MayoClinic.com under drugs and supplements and Safe Medication.com sites, Welcome.

rlee · Site Admin Joined: 15 Jan 2006 Posts: 245

Anytime you are not sure about your cancer treament consider a 2nd opinion. If you are at a community center, consider a unversity cancer center for more expert opinion. Doctors understand this and your oncologist should not feel badly if you decide to do so. If you want to learn more about treatment guidelines, consider this link:

http://www.nccn.org/

These are standard guidelines for all cancer types. Of course, every patient is different and only your medical team knows what is best for you. Yes there are risks and benefits to every treatment and depending on your other medical conditions, chemotherapy may do more harm than good. On the other hand, some oncologists may consider chemo for high risk Stage II colon cancers. It also depends on how aggressive you want to be with your care. Again, if you aren't sure, discuss this with your medical team and consider a 2nd opinion.

RLee, MD
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RLee, MD

Any information provided is NOT intended to provide specific medical advice to users but rather to provide users with information to help them better understand their health condition and related care. All readers are strongly encouraged to consult with a qualified physician for answers to their personal medical questions.

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