Adjuvant Treatment or not

Personally, I’d already decided as soon as I was diagnosed at my colonoscopy that I’d go for whatever treatment was possible.

i know if I’d been in your situation and then chosen not to have the chemo, I’d struggle to cope if it later came back and I’d feel angry at myself for it. 

I think it depends on each individual though, your age, your family circumstances, any other medical conditions ect

im 51, been with my husband, who is autistic, for 36yrs, we have 5 children aged between 34 and 13, my youngest has  autism and adhd and needs a lot of support, my 24yr old has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and a lot of complex medical conditions and needs 24hr care. I have a 1yr old granddaughter and another grandchild due next year, so I have an awful lot of people who rely upon me being around for them.  So I’ll take whatever treatment I can, to give me the very best chance of being around for them for as long as possible. 

After being diagnosed at my colonoscopy, i then had my CT scan which showed a second primary Urachal cancer , which is a million to one rare csncer, and harder to treat. 
I had surgery, anterior resection and also a partial cystectomy (resection of the bladdder) 

unfortunately my cancers were found in lymph nodes and blood vessels so I am due to start 8 cycles of CAPOX soon.

im stage 3 colon cancer and stage 3 urachal cancer, but oncologist is treating me as though im stage 4 due to the complexities of my situation. My prognosis is poor, even with chemo, about 35% to be here in 5 yrs time. 

No one else can make such a massive difference for you, it’s a dreadfully hard decision, as obviously the chemo can have a drastic effect on your physical mental and emotional health and wellbeing. 

maybe ask the oncologist about prognosis with/without chemo, and percentages of differences between the two options as I don’t think there’s much difference in your circumstances.

i wish you the very best of luck. XX

Hi Kaza, 

Mine has pushed through my bowel wall and I was offered it and I did take the chemo.  I also had 0 lymph nodes affected (thank goodness).  

my first year surveillance scans showed a potential spread even though I had the chemo.  The PET scan suggested it was not so I’m having another scan to be confident in October.  

My personal opinion is it’s worth taking as my world dropped through the floor again when they said it might have come back.  I just do what the team says is best :-) 

Best wishes

Cerysm

Thank you for sharing your experience. I am thinking of taking the chemo option if it is recommended. Working on the theory the oncologist knows more than me and even a slight increase in my survival rate is good to have, despite the side effects of chemo.

I wish you luck with your treatment as well.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm going to do what she tells me. What ever that is. Just trying not to over think it before Monday.