Initial Treatment Plan

On Thursday morning 12/21, we went to see the colon surgeon we were referred to. During the 2 hour consultation we discussed the current findings and what his recommended course of action was.

Based on his examination he believed I have a stage III cancer, although we won't know for sure until after the surgery. It was his impression that the cancer had proceeded through the colon wall and based on the lesion there was a 50% chance the surrounding lymph nodes were malignant. The findings of the radiologist who reviewed the CT-scan was that the lymph nodes were abnormally large and he suspected they were malignant. The good news was that neither the radiologist nor the colon surgeon believed the cancer had spread to any other major organs, such as the liver or lungs. The surgeon believes the cancer has been present for 5-7 years.

The surgeon recommended that I undergo 5-6 weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatment before the surgery and then following the surgery another six months of chemotherapy. His best guess was that I have a 60-70% chance of a cure.

My impression from the discussion is that the process of eliminating cancer from my body is a complex, uncertain and difficult one because the cancer is so integrated with the rest of my body. There are many complications that can occur throughout the process and it is because today's medicine has so much experience with these complex procedures that the success rates are fairly high.

The next steps are to get a PET scan and to consult an oncologist for the pre-surgery treatment.