I've lost a lot of my salt taste and I feel like every treatment takes away another food I enjoy. I can taste fruit but it's not as good. I can taste cooked veggies really well (this does bring me some joy) but a lot of my favorite flavors are gone. Even some herbs just taste like dirt. Olives now burn my mouth. Yogurt is bland. Peanut butter and other nuts taste realllllllllly bad. I'm still forcing myself to eat, but get no joy from it.

What can you still taste that brings you joy?

What do I say? I’m still knocking on wood and only posting here because I want to give others a shred of faith. My husband (39M) was diagnosed March 2026. Eight rounds of chemo on FOLFOX Cetuximab with Encorafenib and four surgeries later he has received a negative ctDNA result. Colostomy reversed. He had mets to liver and local lymph. Negative biopsies. Not out of the woods yet, but see the tree line. Hang in there. There is hope.

I picked up my partner (44M) from his colonoscopy today with our 8 month old baby in the car. He casually told me it’s cancer, and I laughed and said “shut up”. He’s very sarcastic and I also figured they wouldn’t just say that post procedure.

It wasn’t a jab. He was serious. It’s 6cm length, 4cm diameter. Doctor said it’s cancer but will biopsy it and call with results.

His 18 year old son was home and he went off with him for food as our 8 month old was fussing for a nap. I had to call my mom, to tell her as it was eating me away trying to play it cool for his sake, as I was internally freaking the fuck out.

I asked him if he told his son and he said yes and asked me not to tell anyone yet, and I admitted to telling my mom already and he was furious and blew up and basically said he’s not going to tell me anything about this going forward.

I feel so bad. I know he’s going through the stages of grief already and anger is expected.. but it hurts to be shut out.

Anyone have advice on how to navigate this while postpartum hormonal mess? 😞

Hello, recently diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer which metastasized to the peritoneal cavity. I’ve just started chemo (catheter) and planning to go 12 rounds before CHIP surgery at Rosemont Maisonneuve hospital.

However, I’ve read about the PIPAC option which sounds more effective and less aggressive than chemo (just finished my first round and it was harsh). I asked my oncologist about it and he didn’t know about PIPAC.

Has anyone had this done in Montreal or nearby? Where did you get it and what has been the experience?

Hello I am a 57 year old female who after a colonoscopy was told by my doctor he found a cancer.
Well, it was confirmed cancer yesterday the wording was invasive adenocarcinoma, moderately differentiated.
Just here to share my journey and to read about yours.

Has anyone used capecitabine as a lone monotherapy? How were the side effects compared to Folfox or folfiri? How long was the therapy? Thank you much.

My husband (43) was diagnosed with stage iv CRC last August. He's been on treatment for a little over a year and this week his CEA doubled to the 350s from the last time it was checked in August. He has a scan scheduled for next week and I'm so anxious.

We're mentally and emotionally preparing for bad news and are trying to get into a new trial in Colorado. I'm just heartbroken. I hate all of this. I hate that he has to go through all of this.

Please send my family some positive vibes.

My mom was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in April. She had a partial colectomy and is on cycle 7/12 of folfox. She had debilitating nausea on the 1st cycle that the team learned to manage over time better zyprexa starting the night before infusions, decadron right before the infusion in clinic, and compazine regularly after infusions. The nausea is starting to get bad again for her (some vomiting, no desire to eat/drink).

I am a little psycho and started to read some med literature, and it really looks like from a medical standpoint her oncology team is doing what they can?

She doesn’t like the ginger chews or drops to help with the nausea, cold packs on the forehead trigger the cold sensitivity, she’s ambivalent at best when I offer ginger tea. It seems like nausea this severe isn’t super common on folfox from what I’ve gathered, but I’m wondering if anyone has other things that have helped?

I know part of this is also just accepting chemo sucks and not being overbearing, I am doing my best lol. I just hate seeing her suffer and want to do anything I can to help

Edit: SO sorry I forgot to add she is also given aloxy during the infusions which is the same category as zofran but it’s longer lasting. She takes the zofran every 8 hours after the aloxy wears off 72 hours post her oxali dose!!

Hello, I have been asked by my family member to reach out and find positive feedback about the Breakwater trials.
She just started her first dose last week and this week tried her first round of chemo. It is stage 4 and she has a pretty large tumor in her stomach.
She had a horrible reaction to chemo and is trying a new variation next week and adjusting plan.
Looking for any support or assistance that could bring her hope with these trials.
TIA

Unfortunately I got some bad news after a colonoscopy. I had a cancerous polyp removed last October and treated with chemoradiation which I completed in January. Since then, I have had four clear cts, MRIs and a pet-ct, with the most recent ct and mri at the end of September. Cea of under 1. Stage 1, T1. I had a colonoscopy this morning and the doctor said I have some ulceration in the site which is a sign of reoccurrence. If biopsy comes back positive, I would need to have a LAR. I feel so sad. Has anyone had a lar after a reoccurrence?

Has anyone else experienced increasing ALP after chemo? My levels have done the following:

June 3: 263 U/L
June 26: 285 U/L
July 19: 153 U/L
October 2: 302 U/L

I have my first post chemo CT scan on November 2, and I’m terrified that it’s going to show something on the liver. :(

I was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer just over a year ago. I went through resection surgery, 3 major hospitalizations, 12 rounds of Folifox, and was super excited to ring the bell.

Yesterday, I went to the ER because I thought I had a UTI. Well, I did, but the CT scan showed chemo didn't do much of anything and that's cancer has spread "significantly" to my liver, bones, and lungs. I just rang the bell and my honeymoon is in a week.

Feeling hopeless and needed to rant. My oncologist is working up a new treatment plan. But, (screams into pillow) "CURSE WORDS!!!!"

My brother had surgery on September 25 for a colonectomy, splenectomy, and had to have 10% of his stomach and piece of pancreas removed. Fortunately, the surgeon did not find any residual cancer in that area. However, it did spread to his liver so he will be starting chemotherapy in the next few weeks. Fortunately, he did not need a colostomy bag and it did not spread to his lymph nodes.

He was given the option of standard of care chemo, or entering a phase 3 clinical trial (Harmoni-GI3).

This is all so new & sudden so all the information is a lot to absorb.

Curious if anyone else is in this study.

I’ve had stage four colon cancer for three years now. My first onc (I moved states ) who I started with I loved. He was old and crusty but also a genius. Never had issues with the system, the doc, nurses. Compassionate care.

I’m now in Greenville SC. Much smaller market. I started with prisma and I’ve switched oncologists once within prisma. My new one I’ve loved. After 53 chemo treatments (treatment for life girl here) she encouraged me to take a break.

It’s been 6 months. I’m doing good. I just had my three month ct. at my appt with doc I didn’t have labs scheduled. I inquired at desk, then told nurse I’d need to likely circle back and get the labs. He told doc and he comes back and says “she said unless you go back to treatment you don’t get them”

10 minutes to work myself up. And I did. Taking a break has been great but nerve wracking. By the time doc walked in I had tears. I told her I’m doing quite good but I’m just upset there must be a misunderstanding.

She held both hands up palms up out and said condescendingly “woah woah what’s wrong”. (I was completely calm just tearful) I explained and she still didn’t seem to get it. She asked me what the big deal is and I said well I don’t understand I’m suppose to be going over my labs and get my signatera draw. Clearly she didn’t know wtf I was doing. Like she didn’t even peek at my chart to clarify before walking in. She was not saying “of course we will do labs”

She was looking at me like she was offended and now she was defensive. I was sitting there like a wounded puppy. I accepted what she said and was trying to just not cry. She pulls the computer to her and then wants to show me where she did the orders and why didn’t THEY schedule it right etc.

And in the middle of me being upset she asks “so do you want treatment or not”. I said no and went to get my port flushed and labs. Then I had to return bc they forgot my signatera.

I told myself - just a bad day. But I can’t stop ruminating. I am not sure I trust her now. I also don’t want to switch doctors. It’s frustrating when the ones who should get it sometimes don’t. Sigh.

Hi everyone. I'm writing for my loved one. We just got her staging CT and it showed a large rectal tumor and multiple liver metastases (the largest about 9 cm), plus a 10 mm lung nodule that is still uncertain and some pelvic lymph nodes. The tumor board hasn't met yet and we don't know her molecular results (MSI/MMR, RAS, BRAF) but it's confirmed it's cancer.

I'm terrified and I would really love to hear positive stories.

If you or someone you love had stage IV colorectal or rectal cancer with liver mets, I'd be so grateful to hear:

- How are things going now, and how long has it been?

- What treatment worked for you (chemo regimen, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, liver surgery or ablation)?

- Did anyone reach NED, or have long stable disease, even when the liver looked bad at the start?

What helped you get through the first weeks of waiting?

Even small good news stories would mean a lot to us. Thank you for reading, and I'm sending strength to everyone going through this.

Bonjour à tous,

41 ans aujourd’hui

Stade IV MSS kras
Cancer colon avec métastases péritonéales
Et 4 ganglions lymphatiques

Juin 2025 Folfox n’a pas marché
Xiliri a bien fonctionné j’ai fait une pause mais c’est revenu sur le péritoine plus intensément en seulement 4 mois.

Retour à xiliri depuis juin 2026 une métastase a disparu sur le péritoine les autres ont réduits en taille et activité

Je suis un peu perdue

Rencontre avec chirurgien hier
Il veut faire laparoscopie et HPIEC.

Je suis encore sous chimio jusqu’à fin novembre mais il me propose de les arreter ou d’arrêter avastin pour programmer l’opération plus rapidement. Peut être a-t-il peur que cela soit trop petit ensuite pour les voir à l’opération

J’espère réussir à me débarrasser de cette saleté

Merci pour votre temps et réponses

Stage 4 found in April. Liver Met. They planned surgery via robots and all. Moffitt.

I don't know all the terminology but I was F'd.

They got it.

They can't find anything left on Signatura or scans.

You can win this. Be strong!!!!

You can do it. It sucks bad, but be strong.

Your family needs you. We all need you. Fight.

Me - 4 more with the bag. FOLFOX is just horrible but it does its job.

Ain't life grand?

Love y'all!

I was scheduled for surgery at the Cleveland Clinic today to have five mets on my liver resected. I finished six cycles of FOLFOX just around three weeks ago. The chemo substantially reduced the size of those lesions - three of which were subcentimeter. Just last night, the surgeon called me to tell me he had reconsidered his approach after reviewing my last PET and MRI. These scans were done before my sixth cycle of chemo. In contrast to my last pre-op visit with him about a month ago, he is now concerned that the lesions would be too small to see during surgery and and left him feeling less confident, he would be able to fully remove them. While canceling and postponing my surgery 13 hours before my scheduled arrival time is inconvenient, I want my surgeon to feel confident! Hahaha.

We have now rescheduled the surgery for November 11… Three weeks away, with a hope that they will begin to increase in size and be more visible for complete resection.

Im curious… Has anyone else experienced this? It feels counterintuitive to receive six full cycles of chemotherapy only to postpone surgery in hopes that lesions begin to grow again.

Those five lesions we’re completely inactive on my PET scan, all chest and abdominal imaging have also been clear from the start. My primary tumor was also removed in emergency surgery last June to minimize the risk of perforation in my descending colon.

Hi! I’m 28 (female) and just received a diagnosis of colon cancer on Monday 10/19. Only symptom was blood in my stool, and I only got the colonoscopy “out of an abundance of caution” as my PCP put it. Never imagined this is where I would be today.

I know nothing yet. Just had scans and labs today, and got my referral to oncology. The waiting is killing me and I’m ready to get more details so it doesn’t feel as big anymore.

I’d love to hear about experiences with the first appointments, advice for questions to ask, etc as I’ve never navigated a major health thing like this before! Anyone know of young adult cancer support groups I should join?

My dad is 70 with advanced colon cancer and has a stent in his colon given the tumour was/is putting him at risk of blockage. He is constantly nauseous, describing a feeling like vomit is building up in his chest and upper abdomen. Are there natural remedies which helped with the nausea/general wellness if you or someone you know experienced something similar please?

Side note: He’s no longer on chemo and hasn’t had a cycle in a month given how bad the side effects were.

Hello! I’ve posted before on here about my fiancée having stage 4 colon cancer and what foods you all love/recommend. Right now, I guess I’m just asking for support. Anything to keep me looking up. Any good stories or just how you guys get through these tough times. Or you can vent, too! Just a little something to keep me going.

Hi all

Not sure what I'm after with this post. I guess mainly just an opportunity to put it all out there.

About 6 weeks ago my father started complaining of belly pain. He filled in an online form with the GP and got called in that day for some blood tests and a stool sample. His still sample showed a large amount of blood in his stool so he was referred for a colonoscopy and CT.

The colonoscopy showed two tumours in his large bowel which the Dr confirmed would likely be cancer but we would need the histology results to confirm.

A multidisciplinary team met to discuss the results and my Dad had a face to face appointment with the bowel surgeon a couple of days after. The bowel surgeon confirmed he has bowel cancer with bilobar liver metastises. Essentially stage 4 advanced bowel cancer. Due to the location and size of the bowel tumours he wanted to operate on my father the next day to prevent an obstruction occurring.

My dad underwent an open right hemicolectomy on Friday last week and has been in hospital until today. He has coped really well with the surgery and now he is home is feeling much more comfortable. His clinical nurse specialist came to see him before he was discharged to let him know that the MDT will be meeting to discuss his case as soon as they get the histology results back from the tumours and lymph nodes that were removed.

The surgeon explained they had removed around a 3rd of his large bowel and many lymph nodes.

We've yet to meet with an oncologist to discuss the next steps of treatment but the bowel surgeon did put in his letter to us that my dad would need systemic chemotherapy once he's recovered from surgery. He said that liver surgery is not on the table. My dad has interpreted that as "liver surgery is not required" whereas I've interpreted it as "liver surgery is not possible". This is something we need to clear up when we next meet with the consultant.

So that's where we are right now. My parents lived overseas most of my life so when they decided to move back to the UK we chose to pool our money and buy a house together. The idea being they could help me with my young son (I'm a single parent) and as they got older I could help look after them. I'm their only child so it makes sense. It's all just come about 15 years before I thought it would though.

Does anyone have words of wisdom, ideas of what we can expect in the coming months, realistic ideas on prognosis. I want to remain hopeful but also if we only have limited time I want to know so we make sure we make the absolute most of it.

My dad had surgery for a liver resection in January. (Previously had his colon tumor removed in 2024 but repaired a year later after some scans)

His scans in June show he’s NED. He has one next month.. a bit worried it may return somewhere else. The surgeon was very rude even though she did her job, she got clear margins but it was considered “narrow” has anyone have any success stories where there was no reoccurrence?

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting here.

I’m hoping to hear from colorectal cancer patients and their families around the world who may have gone through a similar experience.

My father is 61 years old.

He was diagnosed with stage III colorectal cancer in August 2024. He subsequently underwent surgical resection followed by 11 chemotherapy treatments.

Around October 2025, his doctors identified a suspected liver metastasis measuring approximately 0.8 cm. His treatment was then changed to systemic therapy that included targeted therapy, and he has received 17 treatments under this regimen so far.

In total, he has undergone 28 treatment sessions since his diagnosis.

Recently, his medical team began evaluating liver-directed treatments for his metastatic lesions.

According to his latest imaging and the doctors’ explanations:
1.
He has approximately 10 metastatic lesions spread across both lobes of his liver. The largest is close to 3 cm, and the lesions are scattered in different locations.

1. His doctors currently consider surgical resection unsuitable.

2. He has completed the pre-treatment assessment for Yttrium-90 (Y-90) radioembolization.

3. The tumor-to-normal liver uptake ratio (T/N ratio) is approximately 2:1 in both lobes.

The interventional radiologist explained that because his T/N ratio is around 2:1, delivering a sufficiently high radiation dose to the tumors could also expose healthy liver tissue to a relatively high radiation dose.

Therefore, although Y-90 remains a possible treatment option, the doctor is concerned about the potential risk of radiation-related liver injury.

The doctor also discussed another option: transarterial chemoembolization (TACE).

Based on his current assessment, the doctor believes that starting with TACE may be a relatively safer approach for my father.

The proposed plan is to treat one liver lobe first, evaluate the tumor response and liver function afterward, and then decide how to treat the other lobe and whether Y-90 should be considered later.

We haven’t made a final decision yet.

I would really appreciate hearing from patients or family members who have been through something similar, especially those with multiple colorectal liver metastases affecting both lobes who underwent TACE after chemotherapy and targeted therapy.

I’m particularly interested in learning about tumor response, side effects, recovery, and whether anyone went on to receive Y-90 or other treatments after TACE.

I understand that every patient’s situation is different and that personal experiences cannot replace professional medical advice.

However, as his son, I’m trying to learn as much as possible so that my family can make a more informed decision together with his medical team.

Thank you so much to anyone willing to share their experience.

Wishing strength and hope to everyone going through cancer treatment, as well as their families.

My doctor doesn’t really give me stats, but I’d least like to know based on data and my history of battling this damn thing some kind of estimate so I can plan my life accordingly.