He wants to die

Buckwirth said:

Geri,
There are a lot of things that go into a prognosis, and I know almost nothing about your husbands diagnoses, but I can tell you that most reputable Oncologists will not tell a patient that there is a two year limit. The fact is, they just don't know.

Here are some pertinent facts:

• For those diagnosed (dx'd) with mCRC (metastatic Colorectal Cancer) after 2004 the five year survival rate has jumped close to 150%

• Credit for the above is goes almost entirely to the new drug regimens

• There are several new drugs coming on-line in the next two to three years that should raise the survival rate even further

There are several people on this board whose doctors did give them a prognosis, and in almost every case the doctor was wrong, mostly because those doctors are not keeping up with the latest data.

There are other factors at play here. Based on your user name I would guess that you are about 52, and your husband is probably near the same age. The median age at dx is 72, the average life expectancy in the US is 76. Given that, the average life expectancy for those diagnosed with CRC is only four years. If, of course, you are 72 years old.

Your husband is probably much younger, so the odds of his surviving longer are probably much better.

Now, to the treatment. Right now your husband is probably being treated with Folfox or Folfiri, and I would guess that he is also getting Avastin. This will most likely last for 12 treatments, after which he will get a little break, be put on maintenance treatments, or get something like Erbitux. What I can tell you is that the second line treatments are MUCH easier to deal with.

Folfox and Folfiri are both brutal treatments, and when you are in the depths of the treatment it is easy to imagine that giving up is preferable, to be honest, I still have those thoughts on my treatment days (I am on a combination of Irinotecan and Erbitux every other week). On days like today (no treatment since last Friday and feeling great) I cannot imagine why I would think that way.

The weight loss is an issue. During this stage it is important that he try to keep his weight up, so when he can eat go for high calorie meals, and think about adding a protein drink to his diet (the kind body builders use). I use a powder, adding it to my coffee in the morning, and making a shake with peanut butter and bananas in the afternoon. On the days that eating is difficult, prepare small meals and snacks, again with a high calorie count. For the duration of chemotherapy treatment it is a good idea to forget about cholesterol, so real butter is good, and if he feels like steak and potato (with butter and sour cream) for breakfast he should go for it!

Lastly, part of your husbands treatment is probably a steroid. This can cause mood swings, so discuss these with his Oncologist. He may suggest talk therapy, or an anti-depressant to keep those in check.

Hopefully this gives you some hope.

Blake