Decisions. new to this cancer and site
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Sandi….great news. Hold on to the positive. Research on this cancer is moving forward and who knows, we may very well have another form of treatment heading our way. The more time we have, the better the possibility of a different type of intervention heading our way.
All my best wishes,
MarionHi Sandy, once again evidence of why we always mention 2 – 3 opinions! This is great news. When your gut feeling tells you a doctor is great, that is the one!
When will the Rad/Chemo start? Best of luck and keep the good news coming!“More encouraging” is always great news. If you are willing to fight, fight with all you’ve got. Gee, wish I had said that. :0)
Best wishes to you and your husband, Sandy
we met with a radiation dr. in spokane yesterday and he was more encouraging. wants to try 6 weeks of combined chemo pump and radiation. he was a great dr. and gave us 2 + yrs. instead of 1 possible. sjrogers
thanks again all. he had his surgery 7 weeks ago now and after meeting with a nutritionist he is on some very high calorie drinks. one has 570 caleries alone. has helped alot. they recommended he eat and drink every 2 hrs. small meals and he is. we have had 2 opinions so far and very different. we may need a new one and i will search for dr.s that specialize in the cholangiocarcinoma cancers and treatments. we are in n. idaho if anyone has any recommendations and near to spokane wa. also.
Hi,
If so, after completely recover from the whipple procedure(usually 2-3 months,but may be longer for your husband because of his age and general health); follow up with a CAT scan or MRI with contrast or A PET scan of the chest,abdomen and pelvis to see whether the cancer is completely removed from the surgery.(usually this kind of scan should be done 3 months after the surgery as a follow up exam anyway.At that time,schedule both a surgical and oncology consultations are warranted and the decision of having chemotherapy or radiation or none should be discussed further.
In the meantime enjoy each moment with your husband because this is a very rare gift that God provided for you and your husband since surgery is the only hope for a possible cure for cholangiocarcinoma.
when did your husband had the whipple procedure?
Give him Ensure(high calories protein liquid) to supplement his diet 1-2 cans a day may not be a bad idea too.
Keep in touch.
God bless.Hello Sandy…I would like to extend a warm welcome to you also. When did your husband undergo the surgery? Recovery can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months therefore; he has plenty of time before the decision needs to be made.
Advanced age vs. chemotherapy has been hotly debated amongst physicians and has become a major subject at most medical conference I have attended. The overall consensus is that the age of the patient should not be the deciding factor rather, as has been mentioned by the others; the overall health of the patient should be given the highest priority.
Once your husband has regained his strengths and becomes his vivacious self again the decision might become easier to make. As the others have mentioned a second or third consultation with a physician treating a higher volume of Cholangiocarcinoma patients should be obtained. Experts disagree amongst each other and you would want to make sure to have as much knowledge as possible before moving forward.
Please, stay in touch. We care.
All my best wishes,
Marionthank you all for your comments and prayers and concerns. we appreciate everything so much. there is so much to learn. charlie is healthy for his age, got thru the surgery fine, and not sure of the stage. he did have cancer in 3 lymph nodes, had the bililary ducts removed and no other cancer seen. lost a lot of weight but is gaining slowly now. usually a very very active 83. hates being so sick after surgery tho so decisions are hard right now. sandy
Welcome, sj. I don’t have a lot of input because I am new to all of this, but just wanted to add my love and prayers for you and your husband.
Dear sjrogers, welcome to our wonderful family where you will find the most courageous and caring people from all over the world. First, congratulations on your husband having a successful Whipple. To chemo or not still remains one of our biggest questions on this site and is a very personal decision. Like PCL said a lot depends on other things going on and perhaps a 2nd opinion would be in order. Best of luck and be patient as the recovery from a Whipple can be a few months.
HI,
Welcome to the site.
Age is a risk factor in determining future treatment plans for your husband.
1.The stage of Cancer(ie. I,II or III) and
2. where to cancer is located or metastasized to other parts of the body(ie. lymph nodes) is also a factor. Is the cancer in the liver only or in the bile ducts(common bile duct or the left and right hepatic bile ducts);did he had stents put in?
In general,if your husband is relatively healthy,no other health issues such as heart problems,high blood pressure or diabetes;it may be of value in considering chemotherapy or/and radiation—-treatments may prolong life but not for cure;and side effects are mostly depended on the patient’s age and heath.
It also depends on the disease state of the cancer of your husband and how long it takes for your husband to recover completely after the whipple procedure recently.
Sometimes the quality of life instead of the quantity of life may worth to think about too. 2nd opinion is highly recommended
By the way I am not a doctor but just a patient.
Keep in touch.
God bless.
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