Colon Cancer Support Group
Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or bowel cancer, includes cancerous growths in the colon, rectum and appendix. Many colorectal cancers are thought to arise from mushroom-like growths that are usually benign, but some may develop into cancer over time. The majority of the time, the diagnosis of localized colon cancer is through colonoscopy.
after reading jlcolts last discussion post it got me thinking, for those of us who have been lucky and given the all clear, how were you after this news? how did you get on with your life? For me it took a little while to sink in that the treatments had all stopped and i should be trying to get back to normal, but what is normal? for me it was a new normal. i look on life differently now, i used to think it was a cliche when people said you look on life differently after cancer, but its true you do. I too had post traumatic stress for a while, i was no longer a people pleaser, time is now precious to me, i do what i wanna do. It might sound harsh but i'm not as upset when an old person dies, to me now i look on them as lucky they have lived their life, but i also get emotional and have guilty thoughts when i see a friend who has lost a loved one to cancer, why was i saved and not them, what made me blessed and not them. Deep down i know its all about timing, when its your time its your time, and for us lucky ones its just not our time, lets celebrate being fortunate and make the best of what we have been given
I'm 9 months past the end of chemo now, my CAT scan 6 months ago was clear, but because of heart medications following the placement of 2 coronary artery stents, I haven't been able to have a follow-up colonoscopy. I should get everything in November, the colonoscopy, a PET scan, blood tests etc. I am both hopeful and scared to death......I was beginning to enjoy the summer off from doctor visits and constant worry, but as I get closer to the next moment of truth, I'm back to missing those days when I was actively fighting, knowing I was doing something about the cancer. I am not a patient person and the waiting to see if the cancer has returned is driving me nutz. I have a hard time explaining to my husband and friends that cancer isolates you, even from those who want to be supportive and help. They have all been terrific with the concern and support....but I am in this by myself, the chemo was with me in the fight, and now it's just me. I guess I am having a hard time holding onto hope and looking to a future with the cancer threat still hanging over my head. I miss the fight.....(.but not how I felt during that fight ) I felt like I was DOING something. Does that make any sense to anyone but me?
When I went through the cancer I was lucky in that a special person came into my life and was to share the cancer journey with me. One of the things this person was to do was give me a sense that the cancer did not define me as a person.
What IA says about taking the fight up to cancer I can relate to and this is why I used the supplements at least I felt as if I was doing something for myself.
Some of the things that I have become more aware of are the blessings I have in my life, my wife, my children, my extended family and when life gets too busy I remember what Dad said "remember to stop and smell the roses". I never knew what that meant till I had cancer.
G8