Cancer Support Thread

[Anonymous]

Anyone heard from Angela? http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/90/526111.page#8335714


((Hugs- Angela, and everyone else here))

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone. Coco's story sounds quite similar to mine. I was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer at age 35 last year, two years postpartum. Now NED after chemo and surgery, thank God! The odds of recurrence are frighteningly high, but I try not to dwell on that and just enjoy every moment with my daughter.
And it surprises me how many other young women I have met (mostly online, though several are local) with stories like mine, diagnosed with colon cancer within a couple of years after a pregnancy and not fitting any of the typical risk factors in terms of age, family history, diet, etc. There's no evidence that colon cancer is hormone-driven, but it does make me wonder if there is a subset of cases where that is a factor...

Hi, this is Coco. So interesting what you say about pregnancy. I've definitely noticed the same thing. Almost every younger woman I've come across with colon cancer (all online) has Lynch Syndrome or is within a few years of giving birth. Maybe it has something to do with the immune system being suppressed during pregnancy. Did you do infertility treatment? I did and often wonder if that could have played a part as well.

Just curious, have you found a good local support group for colorectal cancer? Seems like there are a million for breast cancer but not so much for folks like us.

Hi Coco! You can call me Amy. No, I didn't do infertility treatment. But it's so interesting that you've noticed the same thing about a possible hormone/pregnancy connection! I hope someone is studying this.

I haven't found a local support group but there is a private Facebook group called Colontown (the name makes me cringe, but it has been a useful resource): http://www.chris4life.org/colontown/. My oncologist at Georgetown also offered to put me in touch with other similar patients, although I haven't actually taken him up on that yet. I did connect with two local women with similar cases just through friends of friends, and they both came to my house to talk to me and share their stories in those first scary, question-filled weeks after my initial diagnosis. That was so hugely reassuring and helpful that I hope I can do the same thing for someone else.

[Anonymous]

Did anyone see this? Amazing work being done with nanotechnology:

http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Nanotechnology-once-again-defeats-killer-cancer-6904612.php

~Trudy

[Anonymous]

OP here after 4 1/2 years. I looked for this thread because I wanted to prove to doubters on another thread that I’m a real person. And now that I’m here, why not take the opportunity to update this thread?

I recently celebrated 5 years since diagnosis. Still on Femara, only occasionally achy, and otherwise fine. I get scans every 6 months, alternating bone and CT scans, and my oncologist has follow-up appointments with me every 6 months at this point. He says I can consider myself cured, but I am loath to become overconfident. My dad passed away last year from his cancer, which he treated with a monoclonal antibody drug even at 89 (amazing man with a strong & loving heart).

I’d forgotten I’d called myself Trudy here. I hope anyone & everyone who was a part of this thread is doing well. I can see a support thread was not going to endure, but I was eager at the time to share my experiences. It seems now like a very long time ago.

Hugs to my fellow DCUMers.

[Anonymous]

Hi Trudy, this is Coco. So glad to hear you’re doing well on the cancer front! I hit five years myself this past winter. I saw your COVID thread and thought about commenting. I had what I strongly believe was COVID back in April and have a suspicion that we as cancer survivors may be more susceptible (even 5 years out). I also worry about the possibility that COVID could trigger some sort of recurrence. Hopefully I’m wrong about that.

Would be great if others from this thread checked in as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi Trudy, this is Coco. So glad to hear you’re doing well on the cancer front! I hit five years myself this past winter. I saw your COVID thread and thought about commenting. I had what I strongly believe was COVID back in April and have a suspicion that we as cancer survivors may be more susceptible (even 5 years out). I also worry about the possibility that COVID could trigger some sort of recurrence. Hopefully I’m wrong about that.

Would be great if others from this thread checked in as well.

Hi Coco! Great to hear from you. That 5-year marker is an exciting one. My friends shipped me a party-in-a-box since they couldn’t all get together in person with me. It’s hard to believe 5 years has passed, and yet that shocked feeling of being newly diagnosed sometimes comes to the forefront in an instant.

I’ve had the same fears about COVID. I have a wee bit of lung scarring from radiation, though nothing serious, and I worry about that. But so far, so good, and every day is a day I didn’t expect to wake up to 5 years ago. Hugs!