kat11

Wow, that is active indeed! I wanted to know because my aunt doesnt let my dad move and tells him that’s how it has to be from now on! And frankly he can’t stand it. When the time is right I’m going to encourage him to start doing things around the house and he wants to start working, but not with heavy things and starting small. I really think this could be what changes his opinion about treatment. Being active is very important to him. He used to go walking or riding his bike every morning before doing anything else. Also, after this round of chemo, he’ll get some analysis done and if he’s doing better I will ask for a reevaluation to see if he can now be a candidate for surgery. Your post made me happy and gave hope. Thank you!

If you don’t mind me asking, where are you? And how old are you? Have you been active this whole time? do you work?

I want to give my dad an example of someone to get his outlook to be more positive and to stick to the chemo.

Please keep us informed a bit more about the 3 brothers of your dad,
what age they died?
Tito 53, Anthony 71, jim 54, my dad is 65. The ones that are alive and are watching some benign cysts are around an aunt who is 72 and my uncle is like 67. (Don’t know the exact ages though, except my dad’s ).

How long each of them had to suffer-a few month or year?
Well 2 of my uncles suffered for about 4 months after the diagnosis, it was too late. The other one, had surgeries and treatments but lasted about a year. My dad was diagnosed last month and is the earliest it’s been caught in the family.

Where did they get the same diagnosis of bile duct cancer,In then States?
We live in Puerto Rico, and they have had different doctors, for my dad we had all of his brothers history which helped the diagnosis.

Are they all have the SAME diagnosis of extrahepatic(ductal) bile duct cancer?
One of them had in the bile duct I remember because it was the most recent and he had a stent put in with no good results, the one before him afected the liver mostly but I don’t remember where it started (i was young) and the other one I was too little to be even aware of the situation at the time, but from the history i was told it was the same type of cancer.

Were they chronic hepatitis B carriers?
One of my uncles had hep B.

Were they all working in the auto,rubber(tires),chemical(plastics,asbestos) or wood-finishing industries for a while?(How long if so?)
No, Well, my dad makes doors and windows, and one of my uncles hat died was a handy man for most of the time, the oldest one worked in a pathology lab and the other one was a sales rep and distributor for a tobacco company.

Were they like drinking a bit and smoking when all the 4 brothers were together having fun?
They all drank, some socially others more.

Did they like to have barbeque or cooking with charcoal or wood outside when they together with the family?
We rarely had barbecues, when we had parties we mde lots of food from the kitchen.

Did they love to eat cured meat,salt preservative products ?
About eating habits I know my dad ate a lot of the wrong foods, don’t know about my uncles though.

Did they like seafood and esp.shellfish like crab,shrimps ,oyster etc?
My dad likes crabs and all that but doesn’t eat it THAT much.

Were all 4 brothers like to swim in the 1950s-1970 ?and where were they swimming?
I’m pretty sure they swam for fun but, on a regular basis, I’m not sure, i could ask though.

Did any one of the brothers had TB and require treatment of of Isoniazid?
No.

Were they in the army in Vietnam and exposed to Dioxin?
My dad went to Vietnam, I think 2 of my dead uncles were around korea at some point.

Ask your father whether he knows any family medical history like cirrhosis,and liver fibrosis,gallstones and bile duct stones and/or cholangitis?
This I have to ask one of my aunts (they are nurses and know the brothers history way better) but I think the one that hep B had liver issues, my dad drank a lot and had health problems, at first doctors thought in 2 of my uncles’ and my dad’s cases that they had stones at first then realizing it’s cancer. not sure if they had any before that.

Ask your father all the above and that may help in preventing you and your siblings to have the same fate as your dad and uncles.

The above are important risk factors to understand this cancer.
YOUR ANSWERS will help us to understand why 4 brothers have this rare form of cancer. and in return I may find out some answers to PREVENT you and your family to have the same fate.
God bless.
I quoted and answer below each question what I could from the top of my head. Thank you for the concern, I will ask my aunts, me and my dad right now are not on speaking terms, we are fighting over his chemo (he doesn’t want to get it even though he started and hasn’t gotten sicker and has gained weight, I’m very frustrated and trying to gather the words to let him know it’s a good choice. He says he doesn’t want to kill good cells in his body that he has left…. I think he’s scared and ignorant on how much more complicate it is than just losing some cells. He’s old and stubborn but I’ll ask as soon as I can and get back to you ok? God bless you too

Hey, my dad was also diagnosed and is going through all of that as we speak. He has a tumor in his bile duct and has not affected his liver yet, although he has always had trouble with it. His first chemo (gemcitabine) was last thursday, and this thursday will be his second… It is early but his heart is very weak and couldn’t possibly stand an operation we were told. He had a drainage put in to get the bile out and put in a stent, he’s been doing way better. He gained a few pounds thankfully….he had dropped down to 124pounds (he’s 68 but didn’t look like it until now…). I don’t know where to look for things that might help….right now he’s ok, but I’m just terrified that one day he’s just going to have a zillion side effects…. Also I’m said that they keep saying there’s no other course of treatment and that the chemo definitely won’t cure him. I would like to know about supplements or foods that can help treatments and the inhibition of the cancer….if there is any.

He has had 3 brothers die of this cancer, they were caught way too late… So from those experiences we didn’t really learn…