Advice and further options
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Anthony….looks as if your Mom has reached maximum benefit from the current treatment and the physicians will look for a next course of action. As far as I know the liver function is a direct result of the underlaying disease, hence when the disease is controlled her liver function will improve as well. The challenge lies in addressing the cancer, which in your Mom’s case is “colon” cancer.
Please know, that this site brings together the collective knowledge of patients affected by bile duct cancer. Although, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma occurs deep inside the liver, HCC and intrahepatic are two different types of cancers with some similarities. You may have reached out to us because our disease often times is considered a cancer of the liver.Have you reached out to the Colon Cancer Alliance or any other organization focused on your Mom’s cancer only? This will give you the opportunity to interact with others very familar with your Mom’s type of caner.
Hugs
MarionHi Mary,
Thank you for your response.
The article you sent was an interesting read and I will definitely bring up the question to her doctor
Best,
AnthonyHi Anthony,
Thank you for the update. I hope your mom’s new treatment is better tolerated and shows results.
I understand your question to be whether there is anything a patient can do to improve liver functions. The recommendation I have heard is avoid alcohol, and that any use of over-the-counter painkillers such as aspirin and Tylenol should be reviewed and cleared with medical providers. Your question is definitely one for your physician.
It also seems a question that could unfortunately conjure up all sorts of dubious internet material on “alternative” treatments, some of which could be harmful. Below is an article for a different cancer where the researchers found a connection between worsening liver enzymes during chemo and use of various alternative herbal remedies. Any treatment you consider should be cleared by your doctor just to be safe.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2816841/
I hope this is helpful, and best wishes for good treatment results.
Regards, Mary
Hi all,
I hope this finds you well, as its been a while since I’ve last posted.
Just to recap… my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cc with liver and lungs mets. She completed 6 treatments of folfox+avastin and her CT scan indicated reduced tumor size in her sigmoid colon but increased tumors in her liver and no effect to her lungs. Since the CT scan -which was the first week in July- she has been undergoing folfiri+avastin treatments to see if her body would have a better reaction to the irinotecan.
Her latest blood work shows an increase in CEA, from 30 to 40, and an increase in her alkaline phosphatase (ALK) from 98 to 102. As well, her red blood cell count has been decreasing.
In some of my own research I have found that there is a correlation between ALK and CEA. It is my belief that if we can get the liver to function better then we can get that CEA number down and start seeing some improvement. Is there anyone out there that can offer me some advice/direction? Are there any therapies or treatments available to improve liver function? Lastly, has anyone tried any hollistic treatments to improve liver function to which you’ve seen improvement?
Thank you for your time. Any and all advice is appreciated.
Best,
Anthony
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