pcl1029
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Hi,Gavin,
I want to say thank you first ;I have not checked them all out yet,but from what the few I have checked out, I found what I am looking for and much more. Thanks!
Frankly Gavin,I will never look at what I wanted from the web sites you suggested,but that is good because you provided me different resources in the future for researching and purchasing better ingredients through different countries besides China.
BTW,you seem to have a special interest or keen sense in researching for companies. Thanks again and I know I am asking the right person to help me.
God bless.Hi,Gavin,
Take your time, If your find more than one ACTIVE chemical structure of each herb.just give me the most active one. thanks again.
By the way,most of them are used for liver and bile duct related diseases in the Chinese herbal medicine formulas for centuries. good luck and God bless.Hi, Gavin,
Thanks for the quick reply. they are
1. Cordyceps sinensis.
2.Paeoniae lactiflorae Radix.
3.Oldenlandia diffusa or Hedyotidis herba.
4.Scutellaria baicalensis radix.
5.Bupleurum or Bupleuri Radix.
6.Forsythia suspensa or forsythiae Fructus.
7.Poria.
8.Ganoderma lucidum.
9.Artemisia capillaris herba.
10.Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb.
Thanks.Hi,Gavin,
I think you are the one that I can ask for help;if you have time.
I am looking for the chemical structures -structural pictures of some Chinese herbs in English;any ideas where to look? Sloan-Kettering do have a very good section about herbs but no pictures of the formula.
thanks.
God blessHi,djl888 and Jrr1610
please take a look at” cholangiocarcinoma -controversies and challenges” on the websites board here provided by Gavin if you have time.
I think it will provide you a better picture and understanding when you talk with the doctors
God bless.Hi,
I did finish reading the article,informative and not difficult to understand even if you are not in the medical field.
It is a summary of what cholangiocarcinoma is and its treatment. If you donot have enough time,just try to read the” Key points section” to know about the different type of CC;look at figure 1,figure 2 and figure 3 and the info.that just below them to understand how doctors make up their decisions;read the Box 2 about the risk factors and Box 3 for current investigational approaches for CC treatment.
The author points out that distinguish pathological and clinical characteristics of Intrahepatic and ductal CC may affect the effective of systemic treatment;as the author points out that “in contrast to patients with intrahepatic CC, the combination of gemcitabine with cisplatin does not seem to offer an advantage for those with ductal cancers”
Thanks again,Gavin.Hi,
Base on “the Basis of Clinical Pharmacotherapeutics”” text book, tumor growth on average double its size in 2-3 month on average,some are faster and some are slower; that is why I think the oncologists like to schedule CT or PET every 3 months or so to monitor the progress of treatment. So I donot think it makes a difference if the chemo is delated for a couple weeks.
Base on your description,your husband has stage IV CC;so the recommendation choice is systemic chemo therapy as your oncologist suggested is correct.
I recommend you to read the”detailed clinical trial description” section under the PiCCA study (Panitumumab in Combination with Gem/cis) put up by Gavin in the Clinical Trial board here.It will provide you a general understanding of the current systemic treatment -the percentages of responses of each treatment group of chemo agents and the trend of current and future chemo treatment ideas.
Current recommendation by uptodate.com is that they prefer patients enroll in clinical trials whenever possible. Your husband is young so this is one advantage if you choose clinical trial for your husband.Hi,
Under this clinical trial “Detailed Clinical Trial Description”,you will find a very informative info. about CC as a disease.
Base on the numbers in the article,there are 197,000 of CC patients out of the 9.7millions cancer patients in 2007 or 2008, and is increasing every year.So I donot think CC is a rare cancer anymore.
Thanks Gavin for the info.Hi,
Qi, or the balance of energy between human and the enviroment (or nature)is one of the principle of the Chinese herbal medicine practice.
Once I went to Toronto to see a Chinese medicine practitioner for consultation,he is my high school alumni and he is specialized in treating tumors with herbal medicine. As you may have already known,the key to use herbal medicine to treat illness is the practitioner’s knowledge and his practice experience.This is especially true if you want to use herbal medicine for treating tumors.
He told me the best way to treat tumor is by using the Chinese herbal medicine to complement the chemotherapy.to provide a better enviroment in harmony with the human body so that the “yin” and Yen” will be balanced and therefore the body will recover from the illness faster and stronger.
He did not want me to be treated by using herbal medicine alone because he believes strongly the complement of the” East and West” in medical practice espically in treating tumor.
I hope the info. helps .Hi,
Side effects of blood transfusions are fever and transfusion allergic reactions such as itching ,rash and shortness of breath ,which if occur, will be in the begining of the transfusion and generally will be managed by premedicated with Tylenol and Benadryl(antihistamine.) before transfusion.
CEA and CA19-9 are tumor markers ,along with ALK phosphatase, to MONITOR the progress of the chemo treatment. Doctors are looking for a TREND rather than single value ,together with the Cat Scan result to determine the course of treatment.
If you have advance cancer or cancer metastasized ,CEA is more likely to have higher value;a steadyily rising CEA value often is the first sign of tumor recurrence.
If you have CC in your liver(intrahaptic),you will most likely to have a much lower CA19-9 value than if you have the CC in or near the main bile ducts .
CA19-9 is ordered for checking bile buct blockage and that is why after putting in a new stent the CA19-9 will be lower.
Cat Scan is for diagnosis purpose.(including initial diagnosis and follow up after resection or chemo treatment for CC. Both MRI and Cat Scan are used to look for structural changes.PET scan is used to look for functional changes of the CC.
According to one study compared 20 intrahepatic patients images ,the extent of the tumor enhancement was similar with both MRI and CT methods,however the relationship of the tumor to the vessels and surrounding organs was more easily evaluated on CT scan as opposed to MRI.For perihilar tumors CT also has limited sensitivity for extra regional nodal disease(ie metastases to the periaortic,pericaval or celiac artery lymph nodes.)—from uptodate .com
PET Scan allows visualization of CC because of the high glucose uptake of the bile duct epithelium(the lining )– the “Hot spots” will light up on the PET scan.
A PET scan therefore can help to tell if the bile duct obstruction is caused by a cancer or not.PET scan can also be useful in determining the cancer may have return after treatment.
Some hospitals equiped with machine that is able to perform both A PET and CT scan at the same time(PET/CT scan) ;this allows the radiologist to compare areas of higher radioactivity on the PET with the appearance of the that area on th Cat scan. But according to the radiologist I talk to , A (PET/CT scan ) is not the SAME as if you take them SEPARATELY. Remember Ct scan is for structural and PET is for functional visualization. That is why sometimes doctors order a PET scan on this 3 month checkup and on the next checkup, he/she orders a CAT Scan instead.
Additional info. from uptodate.com
MRI and CAT SCAN (CT) have similar resolution for liver lesions.
CT has been considered to be superior to MRI for evaluating extrahepatic organs and calcifications. MRI is more specific than CT for differentiating cavernous hemangiomas,diffuse hepatic steatosis and focal fatty infiltration.Also MRI should be reserved for the evaluation of lesions less than 2 cm,or lesions located adjacent to the heart or to major intrahepatic vessels.If you are allergic to the IV iodinated contrast agent used for CT,then MRI is the alternative because the contrast agent used is different than CT.
I hope the above info. helps.Hi,
Your dad is only 54 years old,it is too young to give up for just trying the 1st-line regimen without considering other alternative treatment plans unless he is too weak or too advance into the disease. If I were you,I will do the following;1.Find out the CT Scan result(you should have one 3 month after the !st chemo and the last lab results,) eg.CEA,CA19-9,liver enzymes ;then compare them to the one in October,the one before the chemo starts. All these reports can be obtained through the hospital or his/her office where your oncologist practiced.
2. google for the definitions to understand the medical terminology in the reports and therefore you will have a better picture about your dad’s condition
when you talk to the doctors.
3.obtain your dad’s permission and get medical records from the hospital to find out the reasons why the oncologist had to terminate the treatment and did not proceed with other treatment plans instead of hospice.(it should be appear on the” progress notes” on the date that the decision was made to your dad.);or you can ask the oncologist or your primary doctor politely and directly for the explanation.
4.Ask your dad’s primary doctor or healthcare provider(insurance co,hospital) to refer him to hospitals which familar with CC (eg like Mayo or MD Anderson) for other treatment options even if you are satisfied with the primary and oncologist explanations.
by the way,ascites or edema is not a reason for discontinuing chemo treatment;reaction to one chemo regimen does not mean your dad will react to all other regimens;and of course,besides systemic treatment(chemo) there are radiation therapy too.
I hope the info. helps.Hi,
My sister-in law asked me what to do after she was diagnosed having CC 3mo ago.I told her to bring a recorder for the 1st appointment with the medical onocologist so she can recall the treatment plans.Her doctor spent 40min from assessment of her condition to finalized her treatment plan by using clinical trial.
Most importantly,I told her if she didnot understand what the MD said,asked him/her again until she got some ideas.She did and emailed me the recordings so her friends in church and I can help her out more thru our connections.;I also asked her to obtain a copy of the procedures(ERCP,Cat Scan etc.) each time she had one,so that she can have a better picture of her progress.
If your father’s condition is getting worse before 3/23(more jaundice in the eyes and under the tongue;darker unine;clay-color stool;shortness of breath and edema or pain);Call your primary doctor. My sister-in law had to go to the hospital and remove about 4 liters of fluids from her abdomen(ascites) and got duretic to reduce her edema before her oncologist appointment.
God bless.
I
