I don't want to post this but received the dreaded phone call 23 November 2018 with the confirmation.
I have been diagnosed with colon cancer. They found a 10cm tumor
Update: CT Marked the tumor as 14cm's. The cancer was found to have spread to some lymph nodes, my spleen and to my liver.
Update 2: Primary Tumor was removed November 2019. Liver was ablated to remove the tumor in 2020.
Update 3: Went in for a checkup and they found new tumors. Spread to my peritoneum. Surgeon removed as much as he could September 2020. Removed 40 cm of the small intestine and another 50 cm of my colon.
Update 4: Still waiting for Momentum health (they will take you on a ride) to approve the needed chemo therapy. We moved onto a higher option, but have not received any feedback from Momentum health.
9 February 2021 Started chemo session (I stopped counting). It is a oral medication taken once per day. The worst thing that can happen is death... and a loss of all minerals in the body resulting in severe cramping. I need to do a blood test before the next session to see if my liver will be able to handle the chemo.
Update: The side effects of the chemo was severe and thus halted.
6 April 2021: Chemo treatment with Stivarga has been stopped. I had a sharp increase on my CA 19-9 count and had a severe drop in Potassium and liver functions, prompting intervention from the oncologist and the treatment team.
July 2021: Started FU5 treatment. This is the second time that we are going to try this treatment even though the first round of treatment almost killed me and caused a severe problem with my liver. The last round did not effect my cancer counts at all so not sure why we are going to try the same treatment that did not work again.
September 2021: Received radiation therapy on my liver due to a new detected tumour that has formed. It was a rough 10 sessions because of severe nausea and vomiting. The vomiting caused the reduction of the enamel of my teeth causing severe pain in drinking and eating most things.
July - October 2021: Experienced a blockage the past few months leading to rapid weight loss and inability to gain weight. I have landed in the hospital twice a week due to severe weakness and inability to walk even short distances. The GP at Wilgers oncology referred me to a surgeon after I requested another opinion. I was referred to Dr Charl van Niekerk.
Sadly the spread of the cancer was severe and I am unable to be operated on. The Oncologist should have transferred my case to a surgeon on the first sign that there was a blockage. Dr Viljoen at Wilgers should also have followed up on my case as he was the attending surgeon at Wilgers Hospital, but he did not do any follow-up consultations.
The next steps will be an Elemental diet, a liquid diet, and then a port to enable me to get IV feeding going home. The elemental diet was chosen to lessen the strain on my system and to enable the nutrients to bypass the tumour that formed between my stomach and upper intestines.
We have started looking into a new oncologist as Dr W van Zijl became distant and was absent during the last hospitalization, even after Dr Botha requested a consultation with him. He did not create a reference letter on request and Dr I Botha wrote the reference letter for me to get surgical assistance.
As per request of a lot of members and other people... here is my BackaBuddy page
https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/francois-marais
We have created a Investec account due to the high fees of Backabuddy (https://www.backabuddy.co.za/fees)
the fees on the Investec account is marginal and Managed by PSG. Statement will be available on request to keep this transparent.
Account Holder: Mr FH Marais
Branch: Investec Bank Limited
100 Grayston Drive,
Branch code: Sandton 580105
Client account number: 50017804320
Type of account: Savings
