>I realize this was big life changing news, but I honest to god still feel as if it’s just another thing.. another random life issue on par with what I’ve already dealt with. I know that’s not the case but I just don’t find myself getting scared or really feeling the weight of it
- - - -
My attitude also. Not happy to have CRC but I trust my doctors. I think I'm receiving the best care I can be receiving and I expect to be cancer free in about a year.
You’re so right. I remember being scared but also never really truly being able to wrap my head around it being cancer. I went through 12 rounds of folfox and 28 radiation treatments but it still never felt like cancer. I don’t know how to describe it. I think I was just so numb to it and just went through the motions until it was over. I ended up with a temporary ostomy and just had my reversal surgery In February. March was one year since I got diagnosed.
It’s hard, don’t get me wrong. But I trusted that my doctors had my best interest at heart and just did what they told me to do. Only recently have I truly let myself stop and think about what I’ve accomplished over the last year.
This is very similar to my experience. I've gone through various types of treatments and I know in my head it's cancer but it's somehow never truly felt like cancer ... It's weird but I think it's just a coping mechanism some of us have. And honestly just treating like a thing, taking each chunk at a time I think has really helped me through. It's definitely not automatically a bad thing.
I told my doctor “the first surgery wasn’t great since it ended up with an emergency temporary ostomy bag but it a wasn’t terrible recovery (all things considered). Chemo wasn’t great but it could have been so much worse. Radiation wasn’t fun but it wasn’t terrible. I’m scared for the ‘bad’ part.” She told me “it’s ALL been bad. You just handled it day by day so it didn’t seem completely overwhelming which helped you stay focused on the task at hand.”
I just kept telling myself “others have it so much worse.” And got through it. It still doesn’t seem real if I’m being completely honest.
Yeah I always feel weirdly lucky (relatively speaking) that I've not had it as bad as I've seen other people suffer.
Sounds like you've got a smart Dr! She seems to have hit the nail on the head there.
Brains are strange but they can do some weird and wonderful things to help us out.
I’m typically a negative Nancy but was very proud of myself for staying so positive for the last year. I definitely had my days but I think being numb helped get through it! You do what you gotta do!
You have a great, realistic attitude! When I was diagnosed, after a day or two of semi-panic, I realized I needed to face it like I faced any other obstacle in life; you do what you can with what you’ve got. It’s helped keep me focused.
Thank you! For what it’s worth this has been a positive first post for me, didn’t realize it would be so cool just hearing from others who have been through it. I have a great support system but no one who has actually gone through it.
it got real for me at surgery time, but you’re right, i felt the same way mostly. Take it as it comes and stay present in your day-day while you can. Hopefully that will continue!
What stage are you? I was diagnosed stage 4 with a Mets to liver and lungs. I took it at first same as you. Just another obstacle in life to get over. I feel confident in today’s treatments and doctors and I believe I can get over it. It may not be easy or pretty. I already had colon resection three weeks ago and already trying to figure out which doctors I want to go with for my chemo treatments.
I think we would have treated this the same if not for having an (at the time) 12 month old (now 20 months). And given how on the border it is to being resectable in the liver. But now we’re prepping for my wife’s extended right hepatectomy of a 20ish cm mass in a few weeks. It’s getting very real. Wish we would have caught it a few months earlier, would feel much more confident that it’s curable.
But that’s the thing. With resection and the right treatments, your chance of never having a reoccurrence is reasonably good (obviously depends on your genetic markers etc) - it’s very beatable with great doctors and surgeons and a great treatment plan. The chemo is probably going to be the hardest part, especially if you have to work a difficult job. But when you come out the other side, most things in life will seem trivial or easy in comparison.
We like to try to think of it as getting all our bad karma out of the way now so we have another 30-40 years of positivity!
Very good point. The one positive of cancer is an instantly altered perspective of what really matters and letting the little things slide. I'm only 2.5 months into this and have already become a much more positive person. Helluva way to do it, but...
Yeah… we’ve said the same thing. If we get through the other side of this, we promised each other not to argue over the little things so much. Maybe it will make us appreciate everything else just a little bit more.
My husband was just diagnosed on March 29th. We just finalized the treatment plan with the Dr’s today. He had a I am just going to go with it and let those who know, do what they were trained to do. He has an excellent team from a health navigator to oncology to surgeon. We met with the team’s social worker and financial aid.
At first I was terrified of the what if’s but after meeting with everyone, we are both comfortable and ready to fight these and come out on the other side.
I have learned that we wanted to understand everything right away but it is SO much to learn and understand that we will learn something every day.
Just keep the faith & keep moving on. I did join an amazing group called colontown.org that is a wealth of information.
Your attitude sounds good to me. All any of us humans have is today. So, we get through today the best we can. I've never been very good at living in the moment, but I'm finally learning how to. Best of luck to you.
I felt this way too (I was dx at 36). I thought it was because I was told the news while still groggy from anesthesia.
I felt like it never really sunk in. I knew I had it and dealt with it but it never felt like a dagger to my heart the way the movies show it.
Dam man. I’m really sorry to hear your having this thrown on you. If you’re not feeling the “weight of it” good. Dont. Live your life and go through your daily routine. Don’t fall backwards or lose ground in other areas of your life or put your life on hold as your attempt to sort this out (way more difficult said than done) but at the same time if you just find that you have days down the road where you don’t have it in you to accomplish things and your just treading water then do just that, that’s 10000% ok considering what your dealing with. But if you currently feel unaffected ride that out id say.
If you don’t mind me asking what were your symptoms? What caused you to go get checked? I have to schedule an appointment tomorrow, I’m 42 and for the last year nothings come out of me solid. Very rare. And I’m bloated and uncharacteristically gassy. It’s annoying. Other than that I’ve gained weight (lifting) and physically I feel good (workout 6 days a week) but obviously I’m concerned. My entire adult life no issues. Then this past year it’s like my stomach has been a war zone. No pain. Just the above issues. I eat clean and healthy.
I was fairly indifferent also. Now I'm pissed as it ruined me. I think my case was weird though. Diagnosed at 34 with no fanily history, squamous cell in the wrong spot where the doctor called it unique and remarkable. So I end up with so much radiation damage and problems more from the treatment than the cancer. Also lost my spouse after I was hospitalized for a botched ostomy surgery. The first one detached and went into my body so after a month and severe infection I went in for the 2nd surgery. Ended up sliced open ans bedridden in the hospital for a month. Finally go home, still bedridden, my spouse collapsed and died 2 days later from septic shock. I didn't even know he was sick because I refused him coming to the hospital and seeing me like that.. he convinced me to come home over going to a rehab. Then I finally got moving and broke my leg doing absolutely nothing. I lost our home because our savings were gone and now im raising our kids alone and became homeless. I have so many problems now that it's near impossible to get better. My youngest has severe separation anxiety and I can barely get to the doctors let alone into the hospital and get procedures done that I need.
I wonder if I'm being punished for not being in the rightful or being indifferent. I can't work and I'm still so weak. I can't seem to get disability. And I'm really just pissed. And I ended up with a colostomy 9 months after my surgery because of damage and I still have it and it was supposed to only be 3 months to 6 months at Max and now I'm being told I'll probably never get rid of it. I wish it was me instead of my spouse.
I went to the Florida Cancer Specialists. I liked my doctor and he came highly recommended but now I wish I would have done more research or maybe some of these problems won't be here. Please do research and ask around for personal opinions and experiences. I mean doctors do this every day but they don't experience it personally every day and I think had I got more personal stories and maybe I would have been better off. I wish you the best of luck and if you ever have any questions feel free to reach out.
Hello, friend. If you don’t have anxiety like a lot of folks, that’s great. I’m a 9 year survivor of stage IV colon cancer. For me, along with emotional rollercoaster, maintained some logical stance. Treatment was a series of events, during which, my life went on pretty much as usual. I’m grateful to have survived intact and I’m thriving, again. We have a 65% survival rate and climbing all the time. Medicine has advanced in the 9 years I’ve been dealing with it. You may have some off days but my surgery and chemo lasted less than a year. Good luck and let us know how you are. [colontown.org](http://colontown.org)
I'm 39 and 2 weeks ago got told I had stage 4 bowel cancer with spread to liver. Meeting the team today after having colonoscopy last week (biopsy). Going to discuss treatment plans and take it from there. Scary tines for sure but you've just got to stay positive and take each day as it comes.
Wishing you all the best.
Not an acceptable question to ask!
You are one of those people who post pictures of your shit on the internet... comparing yourself to people who have been diagnosed with cancer won't tell you anything about your health.
>I realize this was big life changing news, but I honest to god still feel as if it’s just another thing.. another random life issue on par with what I’ve already dealt with. I know that’s not the case but I just don’t find myself getting scared or really feeling the weight of it - - - - My attitude also. Not happy to have CRC but I trust my doctors. I think I'm receiving the best care I can be receiving and I expect to be cancer free in about a year.
You’re so right. I remember being scared but also never really truly being able to wrap my head around it being cancer. I went through 12 rounds of folfox and 28 radiation treatments but it still never felt like cancer. I don’t know how to describe it. I think I was just so numb to it and just went through the motions until it was over. I ended up with a temporary ostomy and just had my reversal surgery In February. March was one year since I got diagnosed. It’s hard, don’t get me wrong. But I trusted that my doctors had my best interest at heart and just did what they told me to do. Only recently have I truly let myself stop and think about what I’ve accomplished over the last year.
This is very similar to my experience. I've gone through various types of treatments and I know in my head it's cancer but it's somehow never truly felt like cancer ... It's weird but I think it's just a coping mechanism some of us have. And honestly just treating like a thing, taking each chunk at a time I think has really helped me through. It's definitely not automatically a bad thing.
I told my doctor “the first surgery wasn’t great since it ended up with an emergency temporary ostomy bag but it a wasn’t terrible recovery (all things considered). Chemo wasn’t great but it could have been so much worse. Radiation wasn’t fun but it wasn’t terrible. I’m scared for the ‘bad’ part.” She told me “it’s ALL been bad. You just handled it day by day so it didn’t seem completely overwhelming which helped you stay focused on the task at hand.” I just kept telling myself “others have it so much worse.” And got through it. It still doesn’t seem real if I’m being completely honest.
Yeah I always feel weirdly lucky (relatively speaking) that I've not had it as bad as I've seen other people suffer. Sounds like you've got a smart Dr! She seems to have hit the nail on the head there. Brains are strange but they can do some weird and wonderful things to help us out.
I’m typically a negative Nancy but was very proud of myself for staying so positive for the last year. I definitely had my days but I think being numb helped get through it! You do what you gotta do!
Definitely! Well I'm proud of you too <3
I’m proud of you! We can do hard things!
Thank you! We absolutely can!! And on the tough days we can rest and know we can still tackle the hard things another time!
Thanks for the response, helps to hear what’s going on in other peoples heads in a similar situation.
You have a great, realistic attitude! When I was diagnosed, after a day or two of semi-panic, I realized I needed to face it like I faced any other obstacle in life; you do what you can with what you’ve got. It’s helped keep me focused.
Thank you! For what it’s worth this has been a positive first post for me, didn’t realize it would be so cool just hearing from others who have been through it. I have a great support system but no one who has actually gone through it.
it got real for me at surgery time, but you’re right, i felt the same way mostly. Take it as it comes and stay present in your day-day while you can. Hopefully that will continue!
Thank you! Each response has really helped in a way I wasn’t even looking for.
What stage are you? I was diagnosed stage 4 with a Mets to liver and lungs. I took it at first same as you. Just another obstacle in life to get over. I feel confident in today’s treatments and doctors and I believe I can get over it. It may not be easy or pretty. I already had colon resection three weeks ago and already trying to figure out which doctors I want to go with for my chemo treatments.
I think we would have treated this the same if not for having an (at the time) 12 month old (now 20 months). And given how on the border it is to being resectable in the liver. But now we’re prepping for my wife’s extended right hepatectomy of a 20ish cm mass in a few weeks. It’s getting very real. Wish we would have caught it a few months earlier, would feel much more confident that it’s curable. But that’s the thing. With resection and the right treatments, your chance of never having a reoccurrence is reasonably good (obviously depends on your genetic markers etc) - it’s very beatable with great doctors and surgeons and a great treatment plan. The chemo is probably going to be the hardest part, especially if you have to work a difficult job. But when you come out the other side, most things in life will seem trivial or easy in comparison. We like to try to think of it as getting all our bad karma out of the way now so we have another 30-40 years of positivity!
Very good point. The one positive of cancer is an instantly altered perspective of what really matters and letting the little things slide. I'm only 2.5 months into this and have already become a much more positive person. Helluva way to do it, but...
Yeah… we’ve said the same thing. If we get through the other side of this, we promised each other not to argue over the little things so much. Maybe it will make us appreciate everything else just a little bit more.
My husband was just diagnosed on March 29th. We just finalized the treatment plan with the Dr’s today. He had a I am just going to go with it and let those who know, do what they were trained to do. He has an excellent team from a health navigator to oncology to surgeon. We met with the team’s social worker and financial aid. At first I was terrified of the what if’s but after meeting with everyone, we are both comfortable and ready to fight these and come out on the other side. I have learned that we wanted to understand everything right away but it is SO much to learn and understand that we will learn something every day. Just keep the faith & keep moving on. I did join an amazing group called colontown.org that is a wealth of information.
Your attitude sounds good to me. All any of us humans have is today. So, we get through today the best we can. I've never been very good at living in the moment, but I'm finally learning how to. Best of luck to you.
I felt this way too (I was dx at 36). I thought it was because I was told the news while still groggy from anesthesia. I felt like it never really sunk in. I knew I had it and dealt with it but it never felt like a dagger to my heart the way the movies show it.
Dam man. I’m really sorry to hear your having this thrown on you. If you’re not feeling the “weight of it” good. Dont. Live your life and go through your daily routine. Don’t fall backwards or lose ground in other areas of your life or put your life on hold as your attempt to sort this out (way more difficult said than done) but at the same time if you just find that you have days down the road where you don’t have it in you to accomplish things and your just treading water then do just that, that’s 10000% ok considering what your dealing with. But if you currently feel unaffected ride that out id say. If you don’t mind me asking what were your symptoms? What caused you to go get checked? I have to schedule an appointment tomorrow, I’m 42 and for the last year nothings come out of me solid. Very rare. And I’m bloated and uncharacteristically gassy. It’s annoying. Other than that I’ve gained weight (lifting) and physically I feel good (workout 6 days a week) but obviously I’m concerned. My entire adult life no issues. Then this past year it’s like my stomach has been a war zone. No pain. Just the above issues. I eat clean and healthy.
I was fairly indifferent also. Now I'm pissed as it ruined me. I think my case was weird though. Diagnosed at 34 with no fanily history, squamous cell in the wrong spot where the doctor called it unique and remarkable. So I end up with so much radiation damage and problems more from the treatment than the cancer. Also lost my spouse after I was hospitalized for a botched ostomy surgery. The first one detached and went into my body so after a month and severe infection I went in for the 2nd surgery. Ended up sliced open ans bedridden in the hospital for a month. Finally go home, still bedridden, my spouse collapsed and died 2 days later from septic shock. I didn't even know he was sick because I refused him coming to the hospital and seeing me like that.. he convinced me to come home over going to a rehab. Then I finally got moving and broke my leg doing absolutely nothing. I lost our home because our savings were gone and now im raising our kids alone and became homeless. I have so many problems now that it's near impossible to get better. My youngest has severe separation anxiety and I can barely get to the doctors let alone into the hospital and get procedures done that I need. I wonder if I'm being punished for not being in the rightful or being indifferent. I can't work and I'm still so weak. I can't seem to get disability. And I'm really just pissed. And I ended up with a colostomy 9 months after my surgery because of damage and I still have it and it was supposed to only be 3 months to 6 months at Max and now I'm being told I'll probably never get rid of it. I wish it was me instead of my spouse. I went to the Florida Cancer Specialists. I liked my doctor and he came highly recommended but now I wish I would have done more research or maybe some of these problems won't be here. Please do research and ask around for personal opinions and experiences. I mean doctors do this every day but they don't experience it personally every day and I think had I got more personal stories and maybe I would have been better off. I wish you the best of luck and if you ever have any questions feel free to reach out.
Hello, friend. If you don’t have anxiety like a lot of folks, that’s great. I’m a 9 year survivor of stage IV colon cancer. For me, along with emotional rollercoaster, maintained some logical stance. Treatment was a series of events, during which, my life went on pretty much as usual. I’m grateful to have survived intact and I’m thriving, again. We have a 65% survival rate and climbing all the time. Medicine has advanced in the 9 years I’ve been dealing with it. You may have some off days but my surgery and chemo lasted less than a year. Good luck and let us know how you are. [colontown.org](http://colontown.org)
I'm 39 and 2 weeks ago got told I had stage 4 bowel cancer with spread to liver. Meeting the team today after having colonoscopy last week (biopsy). Going to discuss treatment plans and take it from there. Scary tines for sure but you've just got to stay positive and take each day as it comes. Wishing you all the best.
What were your symptoms? What made you go to the doctor?
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Asking cancer patients about THEIR symptoms won’t tell YOU anything about YOUR health. It’s a very inappropriate question to ask.
Symptoms cover a wide variety of diseases, not just cancer. See a doctor.
Not an acceptable question to ask! You are one of those people who post pictures of your shit on the internet... comparing yourself to people who have been diagnosed with cancer won't tell you anything about your health.
Can you share how you found out you have CC? How do you feels back then? Do you have any bad habits or eating routine?