pcl1029
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi,
fatigue is a major problem for me since I am on Xeloda for 10 cycles ;normally 6 months of Xeloda will be fine in most of the cases;most likely ,taking a nap for 2 hrs each day will help; if still feeling the same, your oncologist will lower your dose to 1000mg twice daily or shorten the dosing schedule.diarrhea is another problem as well as anemia and creatinine clearance;I do not experience any hand foot and skin problems ;but much depends on your health status before and after the diagnosis of CCA
John Hopkins is one of the best place for treatment so you are in good hands.
God bless.hi,
please tell me is the tumor in the liver or the bile duct? any CT or MRI conclusion or impression statements you can copy and paste on this message board or you can send me a email if privacy is your concern.
I will try my best to give you a honest opinion or an opinion in general without upsetting statement.
At this point ,I think you should not concentrate your energy on the word” death”.
God bless,Hi,
I am a patient of CCA for 3 years and counting;it is God’s Grace for me to live that long.I know if the bile duct cancer originated from the common bile duct or the distal bile duct;they can metastasize downward or spread to the abdominal areas and develop peritoneal carcinomatosis ( cancer nodules in or on the fat layer inside the abdomen); It can also spread to the ovary and the uterus and develop ovarian cancer and/ or uterus or endometrial cancer. My sister-in-law developed ovarian cancer due to the extrahepatic bile duct cancer metastasized to the ovary; she also developed peritoneal carcinomatosis; Gemzar and cisplatin usually works on both of the CCA and the ovarian tumor.
CT scan with contrast may provide more information about the current status of the tumor sizes and nodules involvement. 2nd opinion by experienced doctor on medical oncology is recommend.
BTW, I am just a patient and not a doctor.
God bless.Hi,
Dr. Gores is the pioneer on the subject of liver and bile duct cancer research.
You should be very happy about his response.
If you decide to ask Dr.gores to look at the scans;you can just call Mayo clinic or fill out the form on the internet and ask to schedule an appointment with Dr. Gores ( he is a hepatologist-doctor who specialized in liver and biliary tract.).He may ask you to have a MRI and MRCP done there to render his final analysis. If so, I will jump on the chance.
God bless.Hi,
Just upfront and let you know I am not a doctor:i am just a hospital worker.First and foremost, bring your mom to see a liver specialist (Hepatologist) now and check out the most appropriate treatment to start first (ie: to treat the accumulate interstitial fluid first or the liver tumor first or at the same time;) Get a 2nd opinion by a GI specialist to see whether the urinary problem is related to the fluid accumulation because of the liver failure or the function of the kidney due to irreversible damage caused by the platin group of chemo agents.
I do not think this is a good time to restart chemotherapy and a 2nd opinion on medical oncologist other than the one you are seeing now and who is familiar with this rare cancer from a large institution along with radiation oncology consult are basic steps to help your mom back to as normal as she can.
God bless.Watch for infection is also a must for your mom since she may be too weak to have another septic encounter with infection.(that means everybody have to be clean and wash hands with soap for at least 15seconds each time before and after taking care of your mom. Fatigue is ok as long as she can relax and has bed rest; if it come to be unbearable,and the Hemoglobulin is <8, blood transfusion may be a good way to to relieve the problem temporary; And be sure to rotate her side to side every 2-3 hours or so to prevent DVT (blood clot formation in the legs or other parts of the body);help her moving around in the house every couple hours also helps.
But most important of all now is getting all those 2nd opinions that are mentioned above. I try to find out where your are so I can recommend some places for you but I do not know where Sequim is located.
God bless.Hi,
DID YOU PERSUIT CHEMOEMBO OR RADIOEMBO thru consultation by an interventional radiologist before deciding on alkaline diet ? It seems you are not .
It is hard for me to see this is happening,when treatment may extend life with quality of life better than chemotherapy is available but not persuit futher; but then again we can only suggest. it is not our function to ask people to do things even though better evidenced-base treatment is available for such cancer if qualify .
Good luck and God bless.Hi,
I just emailed to Trevor, he is doing fine,still on CYCLIC TPN,but slowly gaining back little by little his appetite and energy back.. He still on GEM/5FU infusion pump.but at reduced dose.
God bless.Hi,
Indeed, look at Eli’s picture and you will understand better if the tumor is located on the “Y” junction between the letter R and L. And it grows up into one side or both side of the liver. But remember, this is a drawing only, the actual “bile duct ” — the green one are located tightly under the liver ,so it is not difficult for the tumor to spread and grow into the liver. I think that is what your dad had.
Good job ! Eli.
God bless.Hi,
The answer is yes, the patient can have both intra and extra hepatic CCA .
Hilar CCA is the example ; depending on the tumor location it can grow into the liver both to the left or right side of the liver or either side of the lobe.
You did not mentioned what stage it is or instead of using traditional chemotherapy, your father opted for a phase I clinical trial using a MET 1/2 pathway inhibitor, which discovered several years ago for antiimflamatory usage but now finds out it may be of benefit to solid tumors too.
BTW, MET inhibitors are hot this year in the ASCO meeting( that means more dollars will be spend on research on them.
God bless.Hi,
You did it,you are in this section.
I think next time if want to start a new one, you can use th” new post” next to the new topics.
God bless.Hi,
Recurrence is very common in intrahepatic CCA. 30 mm is a good size for using RFA or microwave ; IMRT may be of benefit for the nodule in the lung; interventional radiologist consult is highly recommended.Resection , chemoembolization with RFA or radioembolization are choices if the tumor become larger than 30 mm or more .
God bless.Hi,
What other medication she is on, Coumadin,carafate,any blood pressure pills like losartan,vasotec,proto nix, or famotadine ?
God bless.Hi, Eli,
That means still have no straight answer to say yes or no, the decision still lies on the doctor and the patient. 2nd opinion is a must from well known institution.Research is a must by the caregiver, to discern and understand the importance of knowing about this cancer. For that, I always think that your wife is so lucky to have you by her side.
God bless.
