follow ups for stage III colon cancer?

[Gil]

hi, my father is a colon cancer patient stage III. he was diagnosed 2 years ago in june of 1999 and they resected his colon and gave him a colostomy. he had a 6 months course of chemotherapy with 5FU and lucovorine. after one year they removed his colostomy and reconnected his colon back together.
he had 12 out of 24 lymphs affected. he is 75 years old. the cancer was in the transverse colon.
my question is: what are the follow ups for a colon cancer patient stage III like my father and how often?
what kind of tests need to be done on him and how often?(blood tests, CT scans, colonoscopy, etc...).?
         i thank you in advance,   gilbert

[sick rick]

There are a number of colon cancer web sites that can go into expressive detail about followup checks the years after treatment. This gets pretty involved as the chemotherapy alone has increased the risk for secondary severe illness (cancers being among them) to develop in the future.

Rick

[macinlou]

My best advice for your father is to stay agressive with his treatment because cancer does not take a break.  My best friend lost his battle after 18 months but we are lucky that he was with us that long.  He was already at stage 4 when it was discovered.  Mayo Clinic and Vanderbelt University in Tn have clinical trials but the criteria a patient has to met can be a set back.  You may want to contact one of them and ask if your dad would qualify for any trials.  Good luck and God bless.  Your father and family will be in my prayers.