Treatment

The recommended treatment is pre-op chemo and radiation therapy, then surgery, followed by more chemo therapy.  Over six weeks I go in for radiation 5 days a week for a total of 28 treatments.  During the same period 5 days a week I receive continuous chemo therapy (5FU).  This simaltaneous treatment method has had good results.  I have a port catheter that a surgeon installed in my chest.  The chemo is administered via the port by a cassette/pump that I wear 24/5.  Freaky no.

Then, I will have surgery to remove the tumor probably around the holidays six to eight weeks after the treatments. I will get a temporary ileostomy (bag) so that my body can heal, and then 8 weeks later they will reverse  the ileostomy.  Two different surgeons have said it is unlikely that I will need a permanent colostomy, but it is a possibility.

They recommended 6 months of post-operative chemotherapy since it looks like the cancer might be in some of my lymph nodes - that's the difference between stage 2 and stage 3.