First, as far as symptoms, I was in the bathroom frequently and it increasingly became more and more. I put off getting checked out, saying it must have been whatever I had for lunch, etc. Then, I started seeing a little blood mixed in. At that point it was well, OK, I should probably get checked out.

I had an Air Force TDY planned to go to an air base in Germany, which I was excited for. When we got the results, the Doc said they would do the surgery two days later. I asked if we could put it off for another week or two - I had a trip to Germany. Haha, the Doc and my wife looked at me like I was crazy. They convinced me to do the surgery right away and to this day I've never been to Spangdahlem, Germany.

Treatment: there are many different chemo regimens, the one that I did was called FOLFOX-6.

The treatment consisted of 14-day cycles. I had to wear a battery pack pump for the first 48 hours, which would pump a metered amount of the treatment in, then it was 12 days off. Folfox-6 didn't make my hair fall out at all. The main symptoms were sensitivity to cold, especially in my hands, feet, and mouth. Also, I had a low-level nausea - not enough to vomit, but to where I just didn't feel like eating. It was the best diet I've ever been on because I didn't feel like eating and I couldn't eat or drink anything cold. I'm 6 foot and I lost about 30 pounds - from 220-190. In addition to not having an appetite, nothing tasted very good either. So, for several months I lived on clam chowder, cheeze-it and wheat thins crackers, and hot chocolate.

Nearing the end of each 14 day cycle, I would feel increasingly better, almost back to normal...just to begin another cycle and feel lousy again. Haha. But I got through it.

Another downside is that I still have neuropathy in my hands and feet and they get cold easily. My mouth and throat mostly recovered, and I don't have too much problem with eating or drinking cold things. I still prefer drinks to not be too cold, just a little bit of ice.