sjcdakota's Journey with Carcinoid Tumor, Colorectal Cancer

My sister first had a rectal cancer. It was successfully treated with chemo and radiation. What no one told us was that on her last pet scan, there was a small tumor in her colon. It grew while she grew sicker over 3 years before it was "discovered". During the 4 years that she was sick, I sat with her every day, from about 7 am til 7 pm. I put creams on her bottom where the radiation burned her so bad it hurt to sit. I changed her nephrostomy dressings every day when the tumor blocked her kidney. We talked like we had never talked before. I would not trade those days with her for anything. When the tumor was removed, we thought things would get better, but she just got sicker. They went back in and the cancer had spread everywhere. They gave her 3-6 months. She lasted 2 1/2. Before she got too sick to respond, the whole family went to the beach and stayed in 1 house together for 1 week. We had a ball, everyone taking turns cooking and cleaning, going to the beach together (in December!), piling on the bed with her and having a gab fest. She spent a little less than a week in the hospital, most of which she was unresponsive. We took her home, and cared for her for her last 4 days. She passed away Christmas Day 2011. This year has been hard, with the worst part to come. We went to a grief group with Hospice, who helped us care for her. But with October being the month the first cancer was discovered, the month they told us she was terminal, and December being the anniversary of the beach trip and her death, I'm not looking forward to the end of the year.