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Vincent,
You should also search the internet, there are tons of books on herbal treatments, and nutritional supplements. My dad was/is open to many that I have researched and given him. I am not really in a position to tell you what you should give to your mom, but when my dad was first diagnosed I did tons and tons of research on nutrition, and so I can tell you what i do for my dad. I went out and bought a really good juicer immediately when he was diagnosed. I will give him atleast one(sometimes 2) vegetable juices a day. Many different combos- carrot, beets, broccoli, tiny bit of garlic. This summer, I used most vegetables from the garden. I give him a cup of Essiac tea everyday. (you can look that up on internet), he tollerates that with honey. He doesn’t like to take too many pills, and says they bother his stomach, but I do give him 1 melotonin a day. Also, there has been a lot of studies on a good Attitude(which Lainy and Teddy, who are members of this site, can attest to) We try to keep my dad positive and laughing. He recently told me he loved the show The Odd Couple, so my brother found a whole DVD set of the series, and everyday we pop those in DVD for him. I love to hear him laugh. The good and bad aspect of this cancer is every persons situtation is different, and what has given me hope, is many people have out lived the doctors expections by years.
Thoughts with you
Barbara

Hi Gavin,
Your story rang a bell for me as well. My father’s old business partner lives two doors down from my parents, and although his partner sold out 15 years ago and retired(he is 82), they still maintain that they are best friends, and stop to see eachother everyday, have a glass of wine, talk about the early days of business and the “old country”, as Andy is from Italy as well. Well, when he found out my dad had cancer, and it was rather rare cancer, he did the same as your fathers friend. He stopped visiting, and when my dad went to his house, he didn’t talk much, couldn’t look at my dad. So my mom had talked to Andy’s wife about the situation, and she said Andy felt so guilty. He had made it to 82, he had been a smoker for years, and yet it was my dad who was sick. So maybe it was some kind of “survivors guilt”?. or maybe some people feel guilty, that they are “relieved” it is not them? Or cancer scares them b/c they have heard such tragic cases. I love the phrase “cancer is only a word, not a sentence”. people need to understand that. In my dads friends case, my mother stressed to his wife how important my dads friendship is to her husband, and how he needed to feel normal and talk about normal things…..so his friend came around again, and they are now back to normal, but it took some time. Infact I bumped in to him yesterday on the street, and he knows we go in Monday for my dad result from all the lung tests, and he said, “I am praying for your father that it is nothing but scar tissue, he as to be o.k.” he was all teary eyed. Made me teary eyed. Gavin, if you see your friend again or his dad, by all means, let them know your father Needs his old friend to be the exact same as before, let him know, that is what he can do for him.

I am so sorry, I just read your posts. God must have a plan for family to have to endure so much pain and suffering.
I have never heard of CC occuring to more than one family member, it didn’t strike me as being heretidary, more like random.
My thoughts and prayers go out to your family, especially your brother at this time.
Barbara

Hi Kristin,
I dont think you mentioned the type of chemo the ONC’s were discussing with your family. Is it Gemzar? If it is, that is the chemo my father was on, and I will say that he had very little ill side effects. He started chemo a bit weaker, not just from the whipple, but the three times his stent had to be inserted and reinserted due to infections. So he felt a bit of weakness pretty much the 6 months on chemo, but on a scale of 1 to 10, maybe 3 for weakness(10 being the highest) no nausea, and no hair loss. That was his personal experience, it may have or had a different effect on others. In our case, as I said, the jury is out if it worked. Catscan and Pet test tomorrow, so I guess we will know in the next few days what those nodules on his lungs are- the waiting never gets easier.
Barbara

Hi Kirsten,
Im new to this site as well, but not as new as you to the cancer. My father was diagnosed July 07, like your father, he was able to have the tumor taken out, he had the whipple. He had no spreadage to any other organs, 5 out of 9 lymphnodes, which were clear, no metastasis, clear marginss, so we were pleased. Oncologist remcomended Gemzar for 6 months as a precaution, b/c this particular Oncologist gave us some statistic that CC returns usually within 1 to 4 years. In March of of 08 after my dad finished the Gemzar “suspicious” spots were found on my fathers lungs(2 in left lung, 1 in right). They grew a bit by June, and then a bit more by August.(still under 1 cm) The Radiologist, and Pulminologist seem to think the spots are cancer, and the Oncologist is fairly sure. Pulminologist and Oncologist have determined if it is cancer, they don’t have any treatment for the mets. This particular cancer team does not believe chemo or radiation will eliminate the tumors or slow the growth, and told me he had a survival stat of 4-6 months. We are allready going to another hospital that treats lung mets from CC. WE have had one appointment last Thursday, and go Tuesday for a Cat and Pet test, I will keep you posted. (Lainy is being super positive that the growth are not cancer- I like the way she thinks)
However, on the topic of your dad, all I can say, at the risk of sounding negative, there is no rhyme or reason to this cancer, or to the effect any treatment has on any one person. Why ones persons cancer doesn’t ever return, or returns in 6 months is anyones guess- one Oncologist(liver specialist) once told me, a lot of it is luck. So I will keep you posted, if my fathers cancer returned, it will have returned after gemzar chemo, and in less than 9 months, after a successful whipple.
If you decide against any treatment, I personally would have your father engage in a aggressive health program – from suplements, organic diet, excercise.
I hope I am not sounding negative, it is just that we have has such a rollercoaster ride with this cancer….
I send a note after Tuesday.
Barbara

Hi Tess,
Just want to say hello and introduce myself as a fellow caregiver for my father. I am new to this site as well, and lack some of the expertise as some of the other members, but from what I have seen and read, every CC case is different. It seems in your fathers case, the symptoms and side effects came on really quick. My father had tons of pain in his the beginning of his diagnosis in his ab area, and it was determined that his stent was infected and causing the pain.(three emergency room visits, that involved changing stent twice) It seems like the key is going to be some treatment to shrink tumor, your dad has to feel up to the chemo. Im not sure where you live, but we are currently going to Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Illinois, there are four locations , and they apply chemo and radiation with much alternative therapy, to alleviate some/all side effects. I know you think your father feels all alone, but the truth is, many battle cancer alone, and your father is not alone, he has you and your siblings and your mom. If I learned anything with this cancer: is dont look at the stats, keep asking questions, every case is different, everyone reacts differently to different therapy. My thoughts and prayers are with you, you are not alone.
Barbara