Hi GG welcome aboard glad to see you found this site though for your sake wish was not under these cicumstances.

I too had colon cancer removed but mine was described as ultr low so had fair chunck of bowel removed and rejoined. That was near on two years ago and have not felt better since.

I had oral chemo in the form of xeloda I took this for two weeks on one week off for 8 cycles and thanks to my HP I had no side effects. I am truly gr8ful for that.

Many here have had other forms of chemo and types of surgery so no doubt other will be able to discuss further.

As a help can you tell us what type of chemo they are planning and frequency etc any info you are comfortable to share.

In the meantime I will have you in my prayes that all turns out well.

Take care

G8

Hi GG and welcome. I too had stage 3 and my chemo was every second week. My good week and my bad week. I found the surgery recovery the hardest. They've come a long way with drugs to counter any chemo side-effects. My experiences I've journalled, so your welcome to have a read and message me anytime. I just tried to take it one day at a time, and deal with what came up. I handled nausea okay, some days better than others. Got more tired in my last 3 treatments. I finished chemo last December and I'm back training at TaeKwonDo 4 nights a week, yay, so there is life after chemo. Let us know how your going, there's a few people here starting treatments, and we can all help each other yeah. Coogee xxx

Hi Gr8ful, Thanks for your email. I don't remember the names of the drugs, there are 3 or 4 of them. I get the chemo on Wed and Thur and wear a pump home each night. Then the pump is removed on Friday. (every other week). So 3 days of driving back and forth. My pick line stays in for all 6 months. Thanks for putting me on your prayer list, that is very important to me. I'm praying I will get strong and ready for this ordeal and it will be behind me asap. Take care. gg

I went through the chemo cycle you will be on..It was not easy during the chemo weeks but you will make it through..I personally had nausea,nueropathy,fatigue and some hair loss...You will probably lose some wieght but not a lot. You will not be able to touch, eat, drink or breath anything cold because this causes pain..that side effect gets worse over the course of the chemo..Chemo builds up in your blood stream so some of the side effects do as well, but honestly you will adjust and learn what works for you..They have medication for just about every side effect and they work well so don't stress out to much..Keeping a positive attitude is the best thing you can do, it will be hard at times and I am not talking that you need to be little bucket of sunshine..Just know that you are fighting for the most precious thing ever, your life...Cancer sucks and so does all the stuff that goes with it, but you now know the name of your enemy and can be the warrior you need to be..Keep a journal if you need to in order to keep your oncologist and the oncology nurses aware of how you are doing at all times..The oncology nurses are great and will be a fountain of information so use them to help you get through...Good luck..Keep the faith..Kim

Hi KC, Thanks for your reply. Those side effects you listed are the ones I was told I would have. I'm not crazy about nausea, hope my pills for it will work. I live in So CA so the only cold here is my refrigerator, which I will stay away from. Thanks for your journal idea, I will do that.
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with me, it helps me alot.
gg

I am stage 3 with 10 cycles of chemo completed. I have two more left. First, it is hard to stay on chemp schedule. Please feel free to read my journal as to what set me back and how I felt. Not sure which chemo you're on but I'm on FOX/FLO. I sleep a lot, lost some hair and in this 10 cycle have numb fingers and toes. Overall it was a lot less drama than I thought it would be. Listen and keep close with your oncology nurse. All the nurses and techs have been great. Most of them have or do have cancer themselves - which is how they ended up in oncology. A very good group who made the chemo experience a bearable one. Stay online and particularly vent when needed.

Hi Carrie, Thanks for your reply. My chemo is Oxaliplatin, Leucovorin & 5-FU for 2 days, with a wear home pump for 22 hours (pump is removed the 3rd day) This is every other week for 6 months. I will have a pick line not a port. So this doesn't sound like a whole lotta fun to me. I pray I will get through it without much side effects and I'll come out in the end very healthy and cancer free. Thanks for writting and take care. Hope you get closer to cancer free each day. gg

Hi GG, sounds exactly like my chemo treatment. Except I had a chest port. The first one I tried to be brave and not take any anti-nausea pills, cause I didn't feel sick at that time (not brave, stupid) and ended up with my head in the toilet bowl. Never forgot to take them morning and night after that lol. Nausea was there when I was connected, but I knew it would pass.

With the Oxaliplatin, I had a pair of gloves I wore as soon as I left hospital. The cold did affect my hands and feet, so keep a pair handy if you need to get anything out of the fridge. I couldn't have anything cold, and only drank room temp drinks, but that's not a bad thing yeah, they say you should do that anyway. I have certainly made up for it in the ice-cream department since.

If you have any questions GG, just PM me, I'm glad to share my experiences with you. Your Chemo nurses will become your Angels, they're wonderful. And there's always someone here too.
Coogee xxx