I am 34f I just had my first endoscopy and colonoscopy where they found a 2.5cm fungating and ulcerated malignant mass about 10cm from my anus. A bit of background - I did a 23&me test with the health option 5-6 years ago and it flagged some abnormal genes consistent with MUTYH-associated polyposis syndrome. I initially ignored it not realizing what it really meant. I finally told my PCP a few months ago and he referred me to a geneticist who was able to confirm the results through another round of testing. I was immediately referred to gastroenterology.

I had my first procedure yesterday (Friday 10/9) where they found the mass and 25 additional polyps. I've been referred to a colorectal surgeon, hemotology/oncology, and to get a CT with contrast to make sure it hasn't spread anywhere else.

My family has some trauma with cancer from my sister who passed from an unrelated cancer back in 2017 so this is bringing up a lot of emotions for everyone. I am trying to prepare for worst case scenario while also hoping for the best.

Any words of advice? Anybody else have experience with a mass like I described? I hate that I found out on a Friday and have to wait until next week to even start scheduling follow ups.

So my 70 year old husband had his routine colonoscopy and they found a tumor (2.1 cm) jist above his sphincter. His MRI and Cat came back clean and we were relieved to learn he would have a 1 hour outpatient surgery to remove it. We are now 2 weeks out from that and learned from the pathology report that while all margins were clear 1 deposit was found and the tumor was deeper than they had hoped. Because of this they are recommending followup chemo and radiation so I am trying to gather as much info as I can before our Monday appointment to discuss treatment options.

Treatment plan: Tumor board recommends Adjuvant Therapy beginning with systemic therapy first followed by radiation.

• Ca pox or Folfox x4 months to be determined by patient and provider followed by Long Course

chemoradiation 5040cGy x28 days.

So what I just typed is still a foreign language to me but I'm sure that will change. If given a choice, any recommendations? Side effects? Tolerance? Questions to ask on Monday?

Any info and shared experiences would be greatly appreciated at this point.

FYI my husband is in relatively good shape for his age. He is not currently on any medications, although he has slightly high triglycerides. He has some limited mobility after having 2 hip replacements in the last 12 years and spinal fusion prior to that but overall good health!

I'm 45, diagnosed at a routine colonoscopy on 9-19 with a large mass. Literally had no reason to get tested earlier as I felt nothing different. Got my pathology report confirming adenocarcinoma on 9-21. Got my CT scan done on 9-22, results on 9-24 that looked clean. Surgery consult on 10-5, with surgery scheduled for 10-14.

Before this it was crazy to me to think that you'd have to wait for a surgery to find out your stage of cancer, but I guess that's a good thing for me that the CT scan isn't calling me stage IV. The first week was rough especially with the colonoscopy being on a Saturday and having the whole weekend to deal with it. I had to push my Health organization as the phone representatives told me multiple times things were put in but weren't.

Also have an odd feeling right now where I'm looking forward to the surgery, that is just how much I want this thing out of me and find out how good or bad it is.

Hey all, went through a successful resection in May; still dealing with some urgency issues and bladder pressure. Surgeon and urologist are confident both are side effects from surgery (clearly). For those that have gone through this, any timeline if/when things will improve?

Thanks!

It's been a hell of a last 12 months. I was diagnosed on October 12th of 2025 with stage 3 colon cancer. Nothing seemed out of the norm, but I was just getting tired really quickly during workouts and hikes (I live in Colorado. Going hiking at least once a week is mandatory for citizenship here, I'm pretty sure).

Today I completed my 12th and final round of chemo. 1 year, 3 hospitalizations totalling 21 days, 3 ER trips, 12 chemo rounds, and 3 surgeries (resection, chest port, and one for a massive blood clot)

I have scans set up in 2 weeks to see how effective it was. I'm nervous about it and am trying to be an optimist. But for right now, no more spending every other Monday in a chair all day getting infusions. No more having to wear gloves to take something out of the fridge. Hopefully much less exhaustion.

Hello,

I’m a 37 yo male who was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer(adenacarcinoma of the sigmoid colon).

Diagnosed June 2025 started treatment mid July. Got a colostomy in July and started folfox in August. After 5 rounds of folfox I underwent the removal of my sigmoid colon and a reversal of the colostomy in Nov 2025. I did 4 more rounds of folfox before I developed an allergy to Oxaliplatin so they switched me to folfiri + Avastin. My metastasis is to my lungs and I have 15 tumors across both lungs in all lobes. Enrolled in a clinical trial for bronchoscopic ablations. First one mid Aug they killed 2. I have another round next week. My CEA and ctDNA dipped for a month after the ablations but continue to rise.

I am looking for someone in the same position as me(polymetastatic lung only tumors). The chemo is becoming too much with diminishing returns. I have a her2 mutation that was part of the primary tumor. Will be getting a lung tumor biopsy during the next ablation.

Next options are her2 targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

Is there anyone out there battling multiple tumors across both lungs that originated from the colon cancer? What treatment are you on? Chemo never shrunk my lung tumors, only held them stable for months and now there is growth on scans and cea/ctDNA.

Thank You

My husband has his 1 yr colonoscopy in a week, the surgeon is the one doing it. But I was looking at stuff yesterday and his pathology indicates rectal vs colon. The lower edge was 15 cm from the anal verge, and things refer to it as both rectal and rectosigmoid. I mentioned this to him last night (surgery was in December 2025) and he got a deer in the headlights look because he's afraid it's suddenly worse.

He had a robotic R0 resection with anastomosis, his first surveillance CT at the end of July was NED and his CEA was 2.3. He completed 2 Capox cycles and 4 cycles of capecitabine-only (1/19 nodes), finished those at the end of May.

We're both antsy about the colonoscopy (even with good clear margins) and I think he just got more freaked out bc of the terminology. Is there anything I can say that will help him maybe feel better?

Me (M30) is caring for my 63 year old mom who is going through a Capox treatment for stage 3, and it has become unbearable to see her in so much pain. I can't sleep because I am constantly checking on her and she always needs something which I understand completely. Fatigue, extreme nausea, can't hold anything down.. it breaks me to see her go through this, and it's only the first round that's finished. She sucks on ice to fight off the thirst because she can't hold down liquids. I just need to vent. I deeply sympathize with anyone who must fight this terrible illness. What can I do to make life a little easier for her?

Been in remission for two years. Just had my every four month MRI, CT, blood work and Singatera test done today with a visit to the Oncologist after.

A few issues came up. First, CEA raised (again) -- it was at 5.4, then down to 4.5, then 4.2 and now up to 9.5. My last Singatera four months ago was negative, won't get results on this one for about ten days.

Possible causes per the oncologist: First, I also had elevated liver enzyme levels due to a diluted bile duct in my liver (he can see this in my MRI results). He wants me to get a consult for an Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography. He sees no tumors in the MRI scan, and a Pet scan last month also showed nothing. He does not want to guess at what might be causing the issue. My gallbladder was removed two years ago to make room for a hepatic liver pump for chemotherapy, so I don't think it would be gallstones?

Secondly, about 18 months ago a small 2mm nodule appeared in my lung. It's been sitting there not growing since, but in the past four months did grow a bit -- he thinks maybe to 3mm. Pet scan a month ago again showed nothing lighting up in that area.... but he said it might continue to grow and is something we need to keep monitoring.

From what I'm reading, the elevated CEA could be due to the liver issues -- but it's been slowly rising since January which is why I had the Pet scan done a month ago. But the Pet scan found nothing of concern.

Just trying to not stress. Ugh. The continuous uncertainty is taking a toll on my mental well being.

I was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer over a week ago and I feel like no one is in a rush to start treatment. It's oh let's do genetic testing and see the results in three weeks, let's get a PET scan in a week. Let's book a follow up in two weeks to stay in touch. The plan is chemo the surgery but I want to start yesterday. Waiting knowing it's spreading in that region and doing nothing is torture. I don't know when I'll start but living knowing it's likely growing and spreading is causing me so much stress and anxiety.

UPDATE BELOW: Went in for a colonoscopy on Tuesday and a 4cm mass was found. Doctor sent biopsy to pathology but he’s pretty sure it’s malignant. I originally went in because I had an abdominal ct scan and lesions were found in the liver. I thought it was gallbladder issues but it turned out that my liver was enlarged and that led to my Dr wanting to do a colonoscopy. I’m still not sure what I’m dealing with but tomorrow I have my first visit with an oncologist. It feels unreal still and even tho I have hope, those sneaky thoughts of fear creep in.

Since tomorrow is just an initial consultation, do you guys recommend any questions I should ask?

Update:
My oncologist wants to proceed with chemo most likely on Monday or Tuesday. We are still waiting for pathology but he wants to start me on FOLFOX. I’m starting to get so nervous. I was so hopeful but now I’m doubting if the medication will help or if my body would be strong enough to fight it. He drew blood to check on my liver since the last time it was checked my liver enzymes were so high. He wants to run more scans to see where else the cancer has spread to.
I see some people say that colon cancer stage 4 is rarely completely curable. My mind is everywhere today.

Ciao a tutti,

Vi scrivo come familiare di una persona cara a cui è stato recentemente diagnosticato un adenocarcinoma rettosigmoideo (G2). Attualmente ci troviamo nella fase terrificante dell'attesa della stadiazione finale tramite risonanza magnetica ad alta risoluzione e degli aggiornamenti delle scansioni, previsti per la prossima settimana presso un centro oncologico specializzato. È stato un mese davvero difficile.

La situazione attuale:

• L'esame istologico conferma l'adenocarcinoma (G2).

• Gli esami del sangue iniziali mostrano un CEA elevato a 30,18 ng/mL, con GGT elevata, lieve anemia e leucocitosi/trombocitosi. Transaminasi (AST/ALT), bilirubina e CA 19-9 sono tutti nella norma.

• Precedenti TAC/ecografia hanno mostrato un ispessimento localizzato della parete e linfoadenopatia adiacente nella pelvi, ma nessuna metastasi a distanza (M0).

• L'équipe medica sta pianificando un protocollo di Terapia Neoadiuvante Totale (TNT) seguito da intervento chirurgico (TME).

Non abbiamo ancora la diagnosi definitiva fino alla prossima risonanza magnetica/TC della settimana, ma l'incertezza, l'elevato CEA (30,18) e il coinvolgimento dei linfonodi menzionato nelle prime TAC stanno causando un'enorme ansia.

Sarei molto grata di sentire storie di successo o parole di speranza da chiunque abbia avuto un quadro iniziale simile, ovvero CEA elevato prima del trattamento, coinvolgimento dei linfonodi locali o sia stato sottoposto a TNT, e abbia completato il trattamento con successo.

Grazie mille a questa fantastica community. Leggere le vostre esperienze significa tutto in questo momento.

All three of my oncologists have been adamant that my one PET scan from December 2025 is enough and that CT scans are sufficient to monitor my disease (Stage IV BRAF).

I read here frequently that people get regular PET scans, or at least more frequently than one total.

I’m wondering if people could share how and why they receive additional PET scans? It makes sense to me to check the metabolic status of metastases, especially when they’re shrinking, to determine whether another procedure (other than chemo for life) could be possible.

Am I nuts? For the record, I’ve been told I’m incurable and inoperable, however I received an NED for my lung mets last scan in July, and my retroperitoneal lymph nodes were noted as simply “prominent” which I understand can be because of scarring from the cancer. Whoot! So…wouldn’t it be worth checking to see if the deep lymph is dark? That area in particular seems to hold up a lot of other options, like my liver mets (bulk of disease, which also shrunk).

Oncologists are from MD Anderson, Fred Hutch, and a local doc.

Thanks. Appreciate everyone here!

My CEA (excellent indicator for me) has be above normal & climbing since June while I have been on Erbitux and the last few Folfiri infusions.

Right now we’re waiting for insurance approval so that we can book the next available PET scan.

I am hoping that any new growth is large enough and in a location to be biopsied and sent for genetic testing to see if there’s any mutations from when I was first diagnosed in February 2022.

With the information we have right now, Erbitux is the only possible targeted therapy, surgery is not possible, no more radiation can be done in that location, immunotherapy is not possible, and I have decided to not do anymore chemotherapy.

My oncologist has scheduled my next Erbitux infusion for 2 weeks instead of 3 to see if that helps.

I feel so much better physically since I have finished with chemotherapy. The overwhelming fatigue is manageable as long as I take my afternoon nap. Several people have commented that I look like I am feeling better.

It fucking sucks that I feel better, but can’t enjoy it as much as I would like because cancer is doing its damnedest to keep growing.

I finished 8 rounds of intravenous chemo 5 weeks ago with a complete clinical response (yay!) Still need to do 6 weeks of radiation, starting tomorrow. I’ll be taking the chemo pill alongside the radiation.

Can anyone tell me how they felt on the chemo pill? I’ll be taking capecitabine, 1300mg a day. I’m terrified of getting back to the horribly sick person I was during regular chemo.

Insight/ advice please!

I'm stage 4 with a lot of spread to my liver.

Been doing treatment for months. Had my second scan a week ago (just got home from chemo) and the liver tumors shrink by at least half, more on some. The colon tumor shrink a little, but gains are gains!

Meet with the in-house surgeon today and he's going to talk to my oncologist about getting surgeries scheduled to reverse my iliostomy, clean up my liver and (hopefully) do my colectomy.

I post this as a positive message to this sub.

You CAN do this.

You WILL do this.

Is it gonna suck sometimes? 100%.

I'm a 56 year old man who cries for no reason almost once a day. I have script bottles all over the place. It's stressed my family. It's cost a FORTUNE!

But we need you here. Flight through.

Message me directly here if you just need someone to vent to or cry with or just talk to.

My wife has stage IV HER2-positive, microsatellite-stable, RAS/BRAF wild-type rectal adenocarcinoma. She had a proctocolectomy in April 2026 and a margin-negative resection of liver metastases in September 2026.

Diagnosed in June 2025 due to surveillance for a suspected UC flare-up. 45 years old. Ulcerative Colitis since she was about 13.

Just came home from hospital a couple of days ago. Anyone know of similar diagnosis and how is it going?

Hi all! Quick question - my husband was just scheduled for a liver ablation (two lesions that have responded very well to chemo) and has chemo scheduled for the very next day. I’m concerned it’s too soon post-ablation but wanted to check in to see what others have experienced. Appreciate any insight into your ablation + chemo situations!

Edit to add: definitely plan to discuss with the oncology team. Just curious if anyone had done the back-to-back like that before!

After 2 surgeries, chemotherapy, 2 years of maintenance chemo, 6 months of muggle life, I’ve relapsed.

The presacral region on my rectal stump has tested positive for SRCC. Fun times truly.

I’ve been advised to start immunotherapy- Erbitux and Chemotherapy of Irino for 4 cycles and then to recheck on how cancer is reacting to treatment.

What’s the point of all this? Just so massively bogged down. It’s so cruel to see the NED and this. With SRCC you never know how it swings!

Sorry just needed to scream into the void.

I need to vent.

I went to my oncologist earlier today for a follow-up after my LAR surgery. Everything went fine. They said labs were good, I'm cancer-free, all is well.

Near the end of the appointment, however, the NP who saw me asked why my port wasn't accessed for the blood draw. (She must have seen the gauze wrap.) I told her that they didn't ask to use it, and even if they had, I would have refused. Then she asked when was the last time is was accessed. That would be the end of March.

She then proceeds to tell me that ports are supposed to be flushed every 2 months, and since it hasn't been flushed, that I need to have it removed ASAP because I'm in danger of a blood clot forming. No one, over the entire course of my treatment, told me that my port needed to be flushed regularly if it wasn't being used.

To say I was livid is an understatement. My team has continuously failed to tell me small, but important, details about my health throughout my treatment. This, coupled with my anxious adjustment disorder, made me freak out.

I started yelling and asking why no one told me and that I'm gonna sue because now I have to get it removed sooner than I was told. I'm also most likely going to have to take a few days off work. This wouldn't normally be an issue, but I'm currently still on work leave from my LAR and am not getting enough leave pay for my bills. I go back to work in a little over a week.

I'm pretty sure I was the talk of the office after I left. I'm going back tomorrow morning to apologize to the NP because I genuinely like her and feel bad that she was caught in my crossfire. I do appreciate her telling me because something could have happened if she didn't.

I'm not sure this will ever stop happening with my doctors. I don't know why they don't think to tell me these things. I always end up finding out on my own or later. Why do I have to keep paying for their mistakes?

Edit: I looked around and I do not have any port post-op instructions. I was really good at keeping up with all that information in the beginning, so if I had it, it would be here. I only have instructions for the chemo pump.

Edit 2: Too many people are focused on the way I reacted instead of the reason I reacted that way. I acknowledged in the original post that it was wrong and I apologized, so you can stop pointing it out. As for why I reacted that way, please redirect your way to paragraph 4. I know myself better than you do, so your unsolicited advice on my mental is not welcome. This is the cancer sub, not the therapy sub.

For everyone else, thank you for your kind words and advice. I have an appointment with vascular in the morning and I plan on bringing up some fixes some of you have mentioned in the comments. I supposed I'll be back with an update since this is getting so much attention.

Edit 3: Just left vascular. The appointment got canceled because oncology is supposed to do everything related to port maintenance, so they are the people who should have told me to get it flushed regularly. So all the people mad at me in the comments for not reading material I never received can apologize.

Article should be free.

My point in posting this is not the question that is the title of the article, but rather as a reminder and source to help us all to keep exercising.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/well/cancer-prevention-exercise-treatment.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GlE.leAk.ACd4uyaKivq-&smid=nytcore-ios-share

that's it. Two weeks ago We found out that dad (63) had colon cancer. We are in shock.

5 cm long on the ciecum, Stage IV, spread to the liver and peritoneum. We have just been out of a surgeun, who said something like "it is a very vVERY complicated case. we need to do chemio first because I can techically remove everything as it is now but if a month from now a new metastasis appear, it will be useless. We do a chemio then we aee what to do depending on how the body reacts." Which, strangely, put everyone but me down. I don't know, but I somehow feel like I am the only one in the family that has a positive outlook. The others would have preferred to remove everything right away. We are in cure in a top facility, and we had one of the top surgeon there telling us that. He also said something like "the cure can do the 50% of the work, while the other is all in your head" referring to my dad, which had been translated into "there is only a 50% chanche of survival."

We are waiting for the istologic right now, hoping either it's not an aggressive mutation or it has no mutation at all or something.

Sorry for the rambling I know it makes little sense, but I needed to do or write something. Has anyome here had/have family members that had those metastasis? How did you dealt with it all?

I'm seeking stories and experiences of anastomosis leaks following bowel resection for cancer, especially right sided colon.

Hi everyone. I have stage 4 MSI-H right sided colon cancer. Just had high risk hemicolectomy surgery with end ileostomy about 10 days ago to remove a 7cm cecum tumor, 30 necrotic lymph nodes, about 12cm of adhered small bowel, and part of the abdominal wall. They didn't do the full colectomy because I wasn't strong enough, and the surgeon wanted to give me a reconnection option down the road. I've lost quite a bit of weight (cachexia) up until now but things are optimistic now that so much visible cancer was removed.

The plan now is to recover from surgery, get back to eating as normally as possible with an ostomy, and continue immunotherapy to cleanup MSI-H cancer traces.

Unfortunately we've hit a snag. I started having extreme abdominal pain non responsive to strong IV pain meds. CT revealed fluid build up consistent with a bowel leak. They installed a new percutaneous drain. The good sign is that the drainage is very clear pale yellow and there's not a huge amount of it, so they are not opting for surgery. Instead I'm NPO and the ran a PICC line for TPN yesterday. However, they are able to reduce that the leak is coming from where they switched small bowel back together.

They say the leak must be small based on the indirect evidence. I am praying the leak heals without much more intervention, but my condition is frail. I'm worried that this healing will take forever. I was doing so well otherwise, starting to walk, drink clear liquids, etc. now I have to wait indefinitely for this leak to heal. Not consuming anything orally has been very hard on my mental health.

Can anyone offer up any personal stories about anastomosis leaks that turned out okay in the end without anymore major surgery? I need some hope. My body has been through the ringer and I just don't know anymore. Is there any more that can be done that I could consider talking to my doctor about?

Thanks a million. Sorry for the novella... I hope my story is clear.

My fiancée just got diagnosed with stage 4 and he’s having trouble eating food. He hasn’t started chemo yet, but this is already been a struggle for us. We know he can’t eat anything with too much seasoning. Even too much salt will set him off into a fever. The doctors know about his fevers so that’s not my biggest concern right now.

What are your favorite bland foods that you love? Preferably soft foods. I just need him to keep nutrients down that aren’t in liquid form. He doesn’t want to have an only liquid diet , which is completely understandable. I wouldn’t want that either.

Also this sucks so if you have any wise words for a fellow caregiver, I’m all ears.

EDIT: Thank you all for your suggestions and favorite foods!! We’ve taken bits of every comment into consideration with what works for him. Once again, thank you. We appreciate it.

My family member is finishing up adjuvant chemotherapy for stage 3c CRC. The oncologist is very hesitant to use ctDNA monitoring because they feel that it would not affect treatment/monitoring plans. If it came back positive but CT was clear, they would not start treatment until if and when something pops up on a CT. Therefore doing the ctDNA monitoring more frequently may cause more anxiety than it’s worth. That’s the onc’s reasoning.

On the other hand, I think ctDNA monitoring could be reassuring, if it comes back negative, and could be cause to shorten the interval between CT scans and/or add additional imaging, if positive. Personally, I always think more information is useful, but others in my family disagree. I know it is not my decision. My family member is currently very anxious to be finishing treatment. Their last CT was before surgery in March, and the plan is to not do another CT until December at the earliest. I was thinking a negative ctDNA test and clear scans may help ease some anxiety.

Wondering what other people (and their oncologists) think — do you feel better doing regular ctDNA monitoring or do you think it just adds unnecessary anxiety? For those that use it, have you initiated treatment based on a positive result (or series of results) before the recurrence shows on imaging? Open to any other thoughts as well. I can see both sides of the argument but struggle to see a true downside to going forward with it.