The cancer had spread. It had escaped the intestinal wall and was found in my lymph nodes and my liver. Not a very good prognosis, especially if the cancer is poorly differentiated which means it is aggressive.
Chemo anyone? That is the dreaded word no one likes to hear yet a sweet friend of mine who has been through it commented that the chemo club is a very select club....hmm that doesn't mean I want to join it. In fact I have searched high and low to find a different club and there are certainly a lot to choose from.
But I have been pulled kicking and yelling into the chemo club....I think that is one of the requirements to join.
If I hadn't learned about md anderson cancer clinic and surgery for liver resection I would probably not have joined the club. Dr. Curley, my surgeon there who knows liver resections like I know how to make wheat bread, said that with chemo and the surgery I have a good chance of having at least 5 years maybe more.
Md anderson changed the pathology report from poorly differentiated to moderately differentiated and that certainly made a lot of difference in the way my doctors looked at my treatment, especially my oncologists. Now the chemo is really going to be toxic... got to search out and find all of those baby cancer cells that are running around my body and destroy them before they find a place to live and start a family.

My first chemo session they were only able to give me part of the treatment because I hadn't had my port put in they were using a pic-line and after half of the treatment it was done. I have to admit I was relieved. I didn't want to experience all of the side effects that first week, if I had I might not have returned for the next treatment. Oh well, one down and five to go! I can do anything worthwhile even if it seems like it is going to kill me for 6 times, right?

Nausea, if you drink lots of water it is supposed to help....drinking water, or anything else for that matter, is not very appealing to me when I am nauseated.... I did nurse a can of coke one day, warm coke, because I can't have cold drinks or ice, neuropathy, your throat feels like it is swelling shut, just one side effect of that darn chemo.
Fatigue, just feeling tired most of the time, another side effect, and you are supposed to exercise in spite of that tired feeling.
My eyes and my ears are more sensitive to light and sound, I am understanding the sensory kids I work with better.

Meanwhile every morning I get up and eat my asparagus--- four tablespoons, drink my Essiac tea, my carrot, broc, and wheat grass juice and breakfast if there is room. Every night I eat my asparagus and drink my tea before going to bed..... I stay away from dairy and I eat meat sparingly. When I feel like eating I push the veggies and fruit, especially the veggies.
The food I find satisfying is food I ate when I was a child, oatmeal with raisins and tuna sandwiches with pickles and toast. Simple foods.