Dad’s disease progression

My husband took Xeloda for three months, Sept – Dec 06. He didn’t have excessive nausea, and what nausea he did have was probably because of the diseased liver. He didn’t lose his hair although his hair thinned a little. The main side effect was the irritation and peeling of his hands and feet. He would do two weeks on the pills and one week off. The first sets weren’t much different in the way he felt, but by the time he got to the last batch of pills, he was really tired. But overall, he didn’t have a harsh experience. Xeloda had no effect on his liver tumor though. But he still thought it was worth trying. I’ve read some people say Xeloda was harsh, but he didn’t experience it that way.

My husband also was diagnosed with intrahepatic cc in July of 06 and was seen at Northwestern and Mayo. Their only recommendations were chemo for the rest of his life and he did not want the side effect so we did nothing until this month. Now we are in Mesa Az doing an alternative treatment of Insulin Potentiation Therapy where they use insulin to open up the cancer receptors and then infuse 10% of the normal chemo dose so it goes directly to the cancer. Joe has had no side effects but we won’t know if this is working until he has had 6 weeks of it. He is on his third week. it is not covered by medicare as far as we know and is very expensive but we will see if it is worth it. It is an alternative and a lot of people dont’ believe in it. A raw vegan diet also is used in conjuction with it. The docotr is Dr. Thomas Lodi and he has a website if you are interested. Everyone has to do what they think is right and what the patient can tolerate. We prayed hard for wisdom in our decision and we willl just have to wait and see. Joe still feels really well and has no surgery, stents etc. Good luck with whatever decision you make. This is a tough road but we are trying to focus on the wellness inside that is trying to beat this. God Bless Mary Anne