Expert: Claes-Gustaf Nordquist, M.D. - 1/12/2007

Question
thanks for your prompt and to the point response. my actual reason for asking the question was to have an opinion as we are thinking of having a 2nd child. our 1st girl child was 1yr and 4 months when my husband was detected with colon cancer(adenocarcinoma 2nd stage) in oct.2003. his
chemotherapy was over in may 2004(5fu+leucovorin). i would like to know answer to following
questions:
1) would it be too early to go for 2nd child? my husband and myself are 33.5yrs. so are concerned about our age too.
2) does the first or second child have an increased risk of any type of cancer? my husband's is a sporadic case. no family history.
3) are there possibilities of any other kind of health problems or defects(genetic) for 2nd child ?  my husband's diseases is due to some kind of genetic mutation and also that he has undergone chemotherapy.
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
my husband was detected with colon cancer in oct.2003. it was 2nd stage, adenocarcinoma. was operated and given chemotherapy 5fu and leucovorin. he undergoes regular checkups. what are chances of recurrance and what kind of diet can help.
-----Answer-----
Ok, so he is approaching his fourth year (starting in October this year) since diagnosis & treatment. If he manages to survive his fifth year cancerfree he is most likely cured of this tumour. Statistics can only be applied to a vast number of cases. In a single case like this it is not of much use so I will not provide anything more about his chances except what I have written above. There is no known diet that can in any known way influence his chances on that point. However it is (at present) thought (by many) that a diet rich in fibres, fruits and vegetables will decrease his risk of a new colon cancer. I will not however at present guarantee that that is absolutely correct. Since he has already suffered one colon cancer, he does have an increased risk of developing a new one. However that risk increase is not so big that apart from regular check ups annualy or so including colonoscopy it should be the cause of much concern! Good luck!


Answer
1. In my opinion yes. Of course the choice & decision is yours but since you have asked I must give you my opinion. If I were in your shoes I would wait until the 5:th year had passed in order to be on more secure ground! It is not such a long time after all!(My parents were both 46(!) when I was born). 2. Probably yes though I can not give you any numbers. Even though your husband may not have any family history I'm concerned by his young age for getting this cancer. So your children should have regular check ups by a gastro-enterologist probably from the age of 30 or so (but that is an educated guess). 3. As I have written there MAY be an increased colon cancer risk. His chemo therapy too increases the risk of genetic problems somewhat but probably not much (but he was most probably sterile for quite some time after his chemo therapy). My advice is that his semen should be checked before you start trying so you will know the apparent quality of it. Good luck!