clincial trial/chemo options for my dad?
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Dear zuzuby,
What I have learned so far is:
The chemo agents you are mentioning are amongst several being used in the fight against this cancer, some with promising results. Unfortunately, it cannot be predicted as to who will respond well, and who doesn’t show any improvement at all.A good place to start is the “What’s working/good news” and the “Experience” section of this forum in order to gain more answers to your questions in addition to, it might be helpful in the decision making process in regards to your Dad’s treatment options.
Hoping and wishing for the very best for your Dad
Marions
This post is copied (with some modifications) from my first post yesterday under Introductions, but since I haven’t received any comments, I thought maybe it was more appropriate under this category. Sorry if I’m breaking protocol by posting the same info twice, I’m new to these message boards and I’m really trying to find out as much as possible to help my dad decide what to do.
My dad, who’s 75, was diagnosed with an extrahepatic bile duct tumor in March and had the Whipple procedure at the Mayo in Jacksonville in April. During surgery they found some spots (largest was 1 cm) in his liver which on initial biopsy were reported as benign, but the final pathology report said that 2 of them were indeed cancer that had metastasized from the bile duct. The primary tumor was about 1.5 cm and had attached to the portal vein. The surgeon was able to resect from the portal vein and also removed the 4 spots he saw on the liver. Due to the involvement of the portal vein and the metastases in the liver, his cancer was categorized as Stage IV. His lymph nodes and his pancreas were clean, so it’s just the liver at this point.
The oncologist at Mayo is recommending chemo. He has offered my dad to participate in a clinical trial of Avastin and Tarceva or he could go a standard protocol of chemo with Gemzar. I am a bit worried by the potentially serious side effects of the Avastin and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this trial or either of these drugs.
My dad feels so good right now and it’s unclear to me as to whether this treatment will prolong his life significantly and if it’s worth the potential serious risks and side effects. We’re also having trouble deciding what to do next because we don’t really know if he has any visible tumors in the liver right now, since the surgeon said he removed the spots he did see during the surgery.
If anyone has experience with these drugs and their sides effects I would really love to hear from you. Also any thoughts in general on whether to go with the chemo at all at this point would be much appreciated.
Thanks so much,
zuzuby
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