Kimbyy71's Journey with Adenocarcinoma, Colorectal Cancer

I was diagnosed the day after my only child turned 1 year old. I was 32 years old with no history of cancer in my family

Due to the location of the tumor (1.5 inches into the rectum) and the size (80% of the circumference) my best chances of survival was to have a TME and permanent colostomy.

Prior to surgery I had a PIC line with 24/7 infusion of 5-FU with leucovorin and went in every two weeks for an infusion of Oxaliplatin for 6 weeks. After surgery I had Xeloda in pill form (two weeks on, one week off) and every two weeks I went in for an infusion of Irinotecan for an additional 6 months.

Prior to surgery I had radiation five days a week for 6 weeks. It did cause some severe pain and sores in the rectal area.

On March 17th, 2009 I celebrated 5 years of being cancer-free (NED)

From the second round of chemo (Irinotecan & Xeloda) I would occasionally have to skip treatment and do home injections to raise my white blood cell count

From pregnancy brain, to mommy brain to chemo brain, I spent almost three years brainless

I lost my hair during the Irinotecan / Xeloda phase, not the first round of chemo