Once again , so far so good…

Dear JLIU,
My husband as been taking Maitake Mushroom D Fraction capsules( the recommened dosage), Fish Oil capsules, Beet Root extract( this specifically mentions being for bile duct health), Milk Thistle( I believe this has really helped his liver regenerate after being zapped with alot of radiation!), and a daily multivitamin.He drinks 16 oz of fresh carrot juice every day and lots of spinach, broccoli, greens and fresh fruits. You can look up these supplemnts on the internet and see what you think. I believe that we were just extemely fortunate to catch his tumor in time before it spread. He has a klatskin and it had blocked off both ducts to the point of him collapsing with what we thought was a heart attack just a few blocks from OSU Medical Center in Columbus Ohio.The weird thing was he turned yellow almost instantly. They did a super job of diagnosing him and getting stents in to relieve the jaundice. He had unsuccessful resection surgery, it was too advanced into the right duct to be removed so they looked around, removed his gallbladder and moved on to the next treatment which was a fairly high dose of Xeloda along with 5 weeks of IMRT Radiation and brachytherapy. After all of this they were no longer able to see signs of the tumor( we even went to Pittsburgh to get a scan there) and they said the same thing. The tumor is gone and the area just shows dead cancer (or scar tissue). They are pretty amazed as this does not happen very often as we all know by reading this site and others. I really am an advocate for radiation first along with chemo rather than as a last resort. I know the radiation caused some damage but I believe the supplements and diet have helped repair the damage. I concentrated on things that were good for the liver rather than just being anti-cancer. Optimum liver health is the most important no matter what treatment regiment you are on. As far as exercise we are just working outside alot now. He’s going to start doing some biking and he did lift weights and work out about 45 min a day during the winter. He had lost 70 lbs during the fall and is back to a very healthy weight now and feels great.
I am just thankful that he was treated where he was because it is the only facility that I know of that uses radiation the way they do. He would have received an entirely different treatment in Cleveland or Pittsburgh and if he had been home when he became ill that is most likely where he would have gone.Keep doing research and read as much as you can so you can keep on top of things. I learned that no matter how good the Docs are and the hospital you still have to make sure things are getting done like they should be and ask lots of questions sometimes to the point of being obnoxious.Things get overlooked otherwise. Take care and best wishes. Thanks to all above. We appreciate everyones continued prayers and support and are sending them as well. Mary