marions
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stuuman,
so glad for you to have joined us although, sorry for the circumstances leading you here.
Sounds as if your Mom is responding well to the chemo regiment and the great diet and of course the love and support of a great son. (That is you) Hoping to hear of her continuted success with the treatment.
MarionsMaryanne,
there are only a few chemo drugs and combinations thereof being used for this cancer, and all have appeared with patients on this site. It might help to have a list of this drugs on hand when conferring with Joe’s physician who most likely will have his staff follow-up with your insurance company or, as it was in our case, he made a personal phone call in order to advocate for another treatment protocol.
Hoping for Joe to be feeling better each dayl
MarionsTonland,
I would like to encourage you as Jeff already has for you to contact other physicians familiar with this cancer as opinions in re: to treatment vary, widely. I believe this cancer warrants 2nd, 3th, or even 4th opinions.
It is wonderful to see your advocating for your sister in the manner you do.
Wishing and hoping for the best,
MarionsPatty,
I am following Mary’s suggestion. In addition too, the oncologists office might be helpful in requesting on your behalf “compassionate use”. As far as I know some, if not all pharmaceutical companies require a household income of less then $75.000 per year in order to qualify for this.
Wishing for the best,
Marionsrjoday,
you might also want to use the “Search” function by entering Gemzar or Cisplatin in order to peruse postings by other members of this board. Seems as if the side effects reportet vary greatly from patient to patient.
Wishing for the best,
MarionsPatti,
Tumors smaller than 2 cm in size can be detected on a triphasic CT scan. It is also called: 3-D Scan. In our case, all of the prospective surgeons were requesting this particular scan in order to evaluate the condition, more accurately.
We experienced similar delays when requesting our medical records although, one week more or less is to be expected nevertheless, donbclegg,
This is what I have learned, so far. In addition to the information Barb has shared with you I would like to add that it is the trend (upward or downward) of the CA 19 plus other disease symptoms physicians are evaluating when determining the status of the cancer. You might want to take a look at the previous readings of your blood tests and compare those to your all around well being in the past and that of the present. Fluctuation of the CA 19-9 does occur for various reasons which may or may not be related to cancer progression however; in most instances they are included for observation therefore; presenting itself to be one more diagnostic tool. Also, the CA 125 a tumor marker used with Ovarian cancer (the cells show some resemblance to those of CC) may be included in your screening. Peter and I believe Jeff (as numerous others) is watching both tumor markers closely. Have you discussed this with your physician?
In addition too, there have been numerous postings in the past in re: to tumor markers which may be easily be accessed by using the “Search” function, on top of the page. It may also give you some additional insight to the value of both, the CA 19-9, and the CA 125. Hope this helped.
Thinking of you and wishing for the absolute best,
Marionsheatherkp,
please, don’t feel as if you have to appoligize for anything…ever…Every bit of good news is welcome as is the not so good one. It is not uncommon to be experiencing both end of the spectrum in intervals. Happy to hear that Lee is eating some food. Hopefully, he will regain some strenghts and his mood will improve.
Wishing for the best,
MarionsWelcome to our site and so sorry for the circumstances leading you here.
Your story is similar to many others when being confronted with this cancer in that it is discovered in a later stage of its progression.I am a firm believer in gathering as much information as possible in order to make informed decisions in re: to the treatment protocol all the while taking in account the patient
Heather,
Thank you for sharing this wonderful news.
Congratulations and all the good luck in the world for the upcoming liver transplant.
MarionsIrene,
It is apparent (after reading through your previous posts) the magnitude of issues you are dealing with (congestive heart failure, diabetes, in addition to the current situation) that you are doing as you had promised, you are taking care of Bob. At times, we caretakers depending on certain situations may have to make decisions we would elect not to do under normal circumstances however; they are in the best interest of our loved one and the present care crisis.
Hopefully, after the visit tomorrow with the physician you will be able to implement a system of care for Bob providing you some support with the physical and emotional needs warranted at this time.
Wishing for the absolute best,
MarionsCharlene,
I believe you are talking about mitomycin as one of the chemo agents John is receiving, in addition to the Xeloda. As Jeff had mentioned, the clinical trials are quite strict in their criteria thus eliminating many patients for varied reasons however, I would always check under clinicaltrials.gov in order to assure myself that I am not missing anything which could possibly be another step in a future treatment plan. Also, John’s oncologist might very well have another agent in mind for whenever it may be needed.
As for the present, it is wonderful to know that John has been able to beat the infection, and is feeling well.
I am following Kris in wanting you to know that I am thinking of you and wishing for the best.
MarionsRon,
I am so sorry for Tammy having developed the Esophageal Varices as it is one more issue to deal with although; it seems that the physicians are watching it, closely.You might want to use the
Chase,
Support is looked-for at any age and especially when being confronted with an illness of a parent, or any other adult in the family. Your offer of hosting a chat line for the younger ones is admirable and is filling a much needed void. Congratulations for coming up with a wonderful idea.
Much luck.
Marions
