AND THE GOOD NEWS IS……

Beth,

Delightful news!

For me, the decision was “How aggressive did I want to be in fighting cancer?” I told my oncologist on our first visit that I wanted to be very aggressive, and I had Gemzar and Cisplatin. Six months of the pair was planned, hoping to reduce the tumor so that I could have surgery. At the end of 6 months, the tumor was gone! No surgery at that time. However, other issues followed, and after about 7 months, I had a second set of chemo treatments, with the same chemicals. I am again in remission, and doing great most of the time, except when I feel mildly depressed, which isn’t often.

My Mom was diagnosed with CC at the age of 86 and chose Not to pursue chemo, radiation, or surgery. Her doctor thought she might have a year to live. She’s still with us now, 2 years later. Her decision had more to do with her age, the fact that she has had open-heart surgery, and after 60 years of marriage, Dad passed away in 2005, so she misses him terribly and is ready to go home. She felt that treatment would definitelhy affect quality of life but might not improve the quantity of her lfe.

I’m saying both stories because I believe there are no perfect predictions about what results will come from any treatment plan that would apply to all, so the patient should learn as much as they can handle and be as involved in the decisions about treatment as they want to be. If a patient doesn’t want to decide on a treatment plan, then the choice of a doctor you trust becomes even more important. In other words, there are also no wrong answers.

Of course, for me the “perfect” answer depends on faith and a relationship with God. He is the source of all our miracles!

I’m still praying.
Louise

Great news, Beth and Dave! I couldn’t be happier for you both.

Sending congrats,
Jolene

Hi Beth, I am so very happy for you, thank god. It is what everyone prays for–a clear scan.

You asked if anyone would not do chemo, and I wanted to respond to tell you that if it had been my husband, I would not do it.

What I will say some may not agree with but everyone should research it. I have found that everything I’ve read makes so much sense.

If he has no cancer in him, then he doesn’t need chemo. Chemo will damage healthy cells and weaken the immune system. What you guys need to work on is changing his body. The first thing I would suggest is buying the book ” beating cancer with nutrition” you’ve probably seen it mentioned here before. Follow it like law.

Many times you hear that people who are clear of cancer have reoccurance….it is stated that it is because people don’t look for the unlaying reason which caused the cancer to begin with. Everyone who is blessed to have beaten cancer must think about changing something in them to prevent a reoccurance.

Let me give you this analogy….our bodies are 75 % fluid, including blood. Like a swimming pool our fluid must be PH balanced like the water in the pool. If it’s not balanced, too much acid, the water gets dirty, green and bacteria. Well the same goes for the body…if your body is correctly balanced you should be able to prevent disease. Everything I read regarding this makes sense. They sell PH test paper for humans to check their PH, I would suggest just give it a try.

A side sorry……I have a friend who has been on medicine for years for GERD (acid reflux) and a diet according to his doctor. I told him about the PH balance theory that I learned and he has been following it for a year now and eating oranges again, tomatoes, all the things the doctor told him he could not have, and he is now off his medication and his acid reflux disease is gone. The point is that we have to find out what our bodies are like inside…and you can make changes to your diet to correct problems.

The next time you have a doctor’s appointment, I would suggest to have Dave’s vitamin D level checked. It has been proven that most people are deficient in this vitamin. Look at this link regarding the benefits of vitamin d and fighting cancer.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/dailydose/12/02/vitamin.d.cancer/index.html
This is why studies show that people fight cancer better in the summer because of the vitamin d from the sun.

I truly believe people can prevent any reoccurance or anymore damage to cells which become cancer by changing their bodies.

If your husband eats lot of processed foods, red meat, sugar, cookies cakes all that stuff that has preservatives in it…diet products with artificial sugar then he should stop. Get that book..there are a few other great books too…by Richard B

Beth and Dave,

All I can say is that God answers prayers. I am so thrilled for both of you!

Hugs and love,
Pam

Beth….I could not wait and looked at your blog already before you had posted the good news. Congratulations. What a joyful day it is!
The question of chemo has been debated many times, on this board and I believe, until everyone responds positively, it will always be a the biggest issue when dealing with this cancer. By gathering the opinions of physicians and the members of this site, you will be able to make an informed decision. You will get there.
Tons of good wishes coming your way,
Marion

Beth,
All I can say is Woo Hoo and thank God. This is great news!

As far as the chemo goes I’ll tell you my experience. I had a resection June 08. I wanted to do chemo for 3-6 months to be sure. My Mayo Dr said that he wouldnt usually do it, but because I wanted to we would. I didnt tolerate it (blood counts dropped) so only got 1 month of Xeloda and 2 of 3 doses of Gemcitabine. I had clear scans up until June 3rd. I now have a tumor in the liver and lung mets. I did not tolerate this first round of chemo.

I have mixed feelings, on one hand I am kicking myself that I didnt push for the chemo. I consulted with 2 other Drs and they split, one for chemo one against, so I went with the 2 out of 3 for no more chemo. I had a good 9 months off chemo and was able to not worry about side effects, etc. If I had tolerated the chemo I would have done 3-6 months. Would it have delayed this relapse, I dont know. Maybe I’d be exactly where I am now but weaker. Only God knows. But if I had been strong enough to tolerate the chemo I would have done it.

Take care and God Bless,
Jamie