The Timeline of My Cancer Journey

More of a visual person?  Me too!  I’ve created a visual timeline of my cancer journey for you to see exactly when things happened from my first colonoscopy up until now.  If I have a blog post related to that event I’ll put the link in there for you to read more about it.  

 

colonoscopy prep items

May 23, 2016

Went in for my first colonoscopy and a tumor was found 

colorectal cancer blue star ribbon

May 25, 2016

Found out that the tumor was cancerous and I had Rectal Cancer

Barium smoothie for CT scan

 

May 31, 2016

CT scan

view of operating room

June 7, 2016

Officially diagnosed with Stage 3 Rectal Cancer

dot tattoo for radiation

June 8, 2016

2nd CT scan done, this one was for the Radiation Oncologist, and dot tattoos created for radiation

 

Jelena standing in front of a radiation machine

June 13, 2016

MRI scan

Started radiation and oral chemotherapy, Xeloda

Jelena smiling and doing a strong arm selfie

June 15, 2016

Went in for a PET scan to check on a lymph node that lit up in the first CT scan – the result came back it wasn’t cancerous and my diagnosis stage stayed at 3

glass of orange juice next to 2 chemo pills

 

July 22, 2016

Last day of radiation and oral chemotherapy

 

Jelena sitting up in a chair in her hospital room waving

October 21, 2016

Lower Anterior Resection (LAR) surgery to remove 12″ of my colon and rectum, 17 lymph nodes, and have an ileostomy created

December 5, 2016

Port placement surgery

 

December 13, 2016

Started first round of IV chemo, FOLFOX

chemo pump next to a remote

March 30, 2017

Detached from chemo pump to finish the final round of FOLFOX

Jelena laying on a hospital bed in pain

March 31, 2017

Hospitalized for a bowel blockage 

Jelena lying in a hospital bed

October 27, 2017

Year 1 follow-up colonoscopy – no polyps found

October 8, 2020

3-year follow-up colonoscopy – no polyps found