Post-Op Recovery and Treatment Plan

My surgery was successful in removing the visible tumor in my colon. The goal of the chemotherapy is to attack the microscopic cancer cells still remaining in the colon, as well as reduce the metastases in the liver and lungs. My body needed time to recover from surgery before starting chemo, as chemo will retard the healing. The surgeon and oncologist outlined a minimum of four weeks before treatment could begin.

I was in the hospital four days post-op, then able to go home. Our family and friends were instrumental in helping both Paul and I during this post-op recovery, with many coming to stay with us to aid me while Paul went to work. The surgery not only left me with a colostomy system, but a 5-in incision, a 1-in incision and two ½-in incisions on my stomach. These incisions were held together by a total of 25 delightful staples. The staples remained for two weeks, and really minimized my movement. Once they were removed, my mobility and exercise increased pretty rapidly.

 Of course, one if the first questions I had for my oncologist was, “What can I do?” Dr Torgerson and her team outlined the optimal diet to aid in my treatment, as well as encouraged exercise. I have adapted to a Mediterranean diet, which means I eat lean proteins (100g+ per day), avoid processed sugar, white flour, and focus on plant-based foods. My hydration is also incredibly important for both recovery, as well as the colostomy system. I have to consume 100+ oz daily that do not contain caffeine or alcohol, both of which I have removed from my diet. I started exercising daily. Initially walking only. Once I became more flexible and confident in my strength, I began biking as well (My new bike's name is Jolene! 😁).

In preparation of treatment, I had an outpatient procedure to insert a port in my upper right chest. A port is a small plastic disc about the size of a quarter that sits just under the skin. A catheter connects the port to a large vein. My chemo medicines are given through a special needle that fits right into the port. I’ll also have all bloodwork drawn through the port.

As the treatment time drew near, my oncologist indicated I was eligible to participate in an immunotherapy clinical trial. Immunotherapy is treatment that uses certain parts of a person’s immune system to fight diseases such as cancer. It does so by stimulating the immune system to work harder or smarter to attack cancer cells, and giving the immune system components, such as man-made immune system proteins. Immunotherapy has proven successful for many metastatic cancers; however, it is not an initial standard of treatment yet for my particular type of colon cancer. This is why I have to participate in a clinical trial in order to receive it. I agreed to the clinical trial, but this meant delaying treatment by one week. The immunotherapy would be given in addition to chemotherapy, not as a substitution.

First treatment session was Wednesday, May 9. I am scheduled to have treatment every two weeks for a total of 12 sessions. The Tuesday before, my oncology lab does bloodwork to ensure all my levels are up enough for treatment. In the event some indicator is below the threshold, that particular session will be delayed, most likely a week. There will always be two weeks in between sessions.

For those interested in the nitty gritty, here are my specific treatment drugs, with market names in parentheses:

• ·         Chemotherapy- FOLFOX (combination of 5-FU, Leucovorin, and Eloxatin)
• ·         Immunotherapy- Nivolumab (Opdivo)
• ·         Additional anti-cancer drug: Bevacizumab (Avastin)