Yep. That’s me. 42 years old with a new colon cancer diagnosis. Thankfuly the prognosis is good. I am being treated through City of Hope South Bay, just 5 minutes up the road. My colorectal cancer surgery took place on December 18, 2023. Surgery went well with no complications. My pathology report is that the tumor was removed with good, clear margins. However, there was cancer found in 1 of 16 lymph nodes removed. So I have Stage IIIB Colon Cancer. T3N1M0. Chemo begins on January 26, 2023. My chemo regimen will be with FOLFOX. On Day 1, I’ll have a 4hr infusion, then 46 hours of a take home pump infusion. On Day 3, I return to the center to have my pump disconnected. Days 3-14 no chemo meds. Somewhere around day 12-14 I will have blood tests to make sure it’s safe to continue the next cycle as planned. Rinse, repeat for 6mos. If all goes as planned and on schedule, I should be done with treatments near the end of July. I am blessed with amazing family and friends who will be supporting us through this journey(?), disruption (?). Colette has made good friends in middle school, so I’m grateful that she has them. William has a handful of friends for a good distraction. He also has his best friends: YouTube and Nintendo Switch. Of course, I have Jonathan—my supportive and loving husband who is ready to run through brick walls to protect me and advocate for me. If you want the whole rundown from diagnosis to present start with 10/26/2023 on https://cleverangel.org/archive/
This page is to provide a space for our family to request help with specific needs, and it’s also a space for those who want to provide support to find what could be helpful. We are grateful for any meal support, although, I don’t currently plan to make a schedule. A few notes about food: I will only be able to eat room temperature or heated food for the Mondays-Saturdays of my chemo weeks. This doesn’t mean you need to bring piping hot food, but I won’t be able to appreciate salads and the like during those weeks. None of us have food allergies, however I do get migraines from almonds and artificial sweeteners. Stevia makes my mouth itch, and well, raw tomatoes just make me gag ;) The site also creates an easy way to send along any gift cards or gifts that you’d like to share. Fair warning, I am allowing Colette and William to add some of their wishes on here, because even though I will be taking the brunt of the treatment, they will definitely benefit from people showing their love and support. I am sharing a link to some items on an Amazon list that are things that will help with dealing with side effects and help with my comfort. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1JC1P315U7PRK?ref_=wl_share