New here! Have CC, surgery in Apr 09 – looking to connect with others

Thanks to everyone for making me feel so welcome here. After my surgery, I was sure that everything was gone and there was no need for any support system for me, as I thought that was it! I know better now and need this very much.

First, Lainy, I wanted to address your questions about the chemo. My surgeon originally said he was very certain that he got all the cancer, there were clear margins around the part removed, as well as the part that he burned, and the lymph node that had signs of cancer. In his words, he didn’t “think I needed chemo OR radiation, but would defer to his oncologist colleage” and would agree with what he suggested.

After seeing the oncologist at Univ of Chicago Medical Center too, he suggested chemo as a “precaution” but again didn’t feel that I needed radiation treatment. I went through 3 months of the chemotherapy for what I thought was precautionary. And the first CT scans showed no cancer, which I felt was because surgery was successful, not that the chemo “worked”.

I saw a radiology oncologist after chemo treatment was completed, who mentioned that it was not a good idea to do radiation at that point, because the liver had started to grow back into the area where the cancer had been removed, as well as the other organs (stomach and intestines) were now moved into that area more. Radiation had too high of a risk to other areas just for “in case”. If radiation had been done prior to chemo (when there was a big hole there), it would have been safer; less chance of damaging organs as well as the liver. I don’t know why the oncologist felt radiation therapy was not necessary at all except that the surgeon and he were so confident that they got the cancer early, and “why put you through the effects of radiation if it isn’t necessary”. Now, of course, I wish that I had known more and saw every Dr. first before any treatment to do everything I could to prevent it from returning.

The reason for the change in chemo drugs, is that even though the Drs. thought the chemo was only a precaution, and even though the first CT scans showed no cancer, the chemo in essense didn’t actually work to kill off any cancer cells if they grew and/or came back. They want to hit the cancer with something it hasn’t seen or been exposed to before to try to knock it out. Or at the very least reduce it enough so surgery can be done again.

I was told that surgery is really the only sure way to beat the cancer. Most of the time chemo only buys more time, shrinking the tumors and then they grow back, then chemo shrinks them again (and so on) until the cancer becomes resistant to the meds it’s hit with. I don’t know if this is true or not, I was putting all my trust in the doctors there that really seemed to be very skilled at what they did. I know now that it is time that I look into treatments that are out there and listen to others who have gone through the same things.

Bear with me too here, as I am just getting used to the site. Thanks for the suggestions about the searches too. I wish I had more time in the day to do things though. Having such a young son makes me want to prepare so much for him in the event that I won’t be around, like life ins that I don’t have and won’t be able to get. But then I’m dwelling on the negative, and I can’t do that or I lose the time that do I have right now. Everything seems more urgent now than it was before.

I start chemo on Tuesday. We’ll go on from there one step at a time.

Linda