Recurrence-Avastin-rectal pain and inflammation and now perforation in small intestine.

jane283
jane283 Member Posts: 39

Hello folks

Wanted to take dad for cyber knife for rectal tumor removal but this came up all of a sudden...I wanted to post it so that someone taking a decision on Avastin and possible side effects can take a better decision after reading this...

FOLFIRI+AVASTIN did not really work well for my dad and yesterday admitted him for emergency....with vomitting and later stool passed from his rectum instead of his stoma(permanant colostomy).

Dad panicked a lot...When we asked the ONC he first said the tumor is growing rapidly and could have burst ????? and hence there is stool from rectum...which is ****( no pun intended)....

they said it was not the chemo...which seems untrue ...

anyone knows what kind of surgery is to be performed for a perforation in small intestine?laparoscopy or the one where they need to open up his stomach....Is it a major surgery....

Also from the forum seems like chemo and perforation is not as rare as they make it seem...

Comments

  • thxmiker
    thxmiker Member Posts: 1,278 Member
    We are sending our thoughts

    We are sending our thoughts and prayers for your Dad and family,

     

    If his intestine is perferated I would think they are going to open him up.  They need the space to be able to clean up the abdmin so he does not get sepsis.  If they do Laproscopy the risk is they can easily mis something.  (I know of people whom have had each, and the opened up seem to do better.)

     

    Sorry to hear that the Folfiri did not do well for yourr dad.  There are other Chemo types.  Folfox did not do well for me, and Folfiri was the trick.

     

    Best Always,  mike

  • tachilders
    tachilders Member Posts: 313
    One possible and very serious

    One possible and very serious side effect of avastin is GI perforation so very likely this was caused by avastin. Sorry you dad is going through this. 

    Tedd

  • fatbob2010
    fatbob2010 Member Posts: 467 Member
    Very Sorry

    Very sorry to hear abour your father's situation.  I have no experience or knowledge about the surgery.  As another has posted, I have heard of some side effects from Avastin.  For me, all of hese treatments are a risk to reward trade.  I hope that your father soon improves...hope and peace to you both.   Art

  • jane283
    jane283 Member Posts: 39

    Very Sorry

    Very sorry to hear abour your father's situation.  I have no experience or knowledge about the surgery.  As another has posted, I have heard of some side effects from Avastin.  For me, all of hese treatments are a risk to reward trade.  I hope that your father soon improves...hope and peace to you both.   Art

    thanks all

    he is going into surgery today despite being less than a month since avastin was stopped..now that he is passing stool from rectum instead of the colostomy site,the perforation is ni small intestine and now there is a fissure or an absess that is hurting bleeding and releasing fecal matter...

    I am finding it very hard to believe everything is happenign so fast....we are still planning a surgery despite all the complications...

    side note:post avastin hsi overall health has deteriorated a lot and his lungs and heart too are not functionaing too well....

     

    pls keep us in your prayers...will post a POST-OP update soon!

  • renw
    renw Member Posts: 282 Member
    Perforations due to avastin

    Perforations due to avastin are not as rare as oncologists make out. I have been off avastin for over a month and I still get chunky lumps if congealed blood every time I blow my nose. With a half life of 21 days, it will be at least 2-3 months to get it out of my system. Just like the lining of the nose, avastin loves to play havoc with the endothelial lining of the intestines. I had problems with my rectum in particular with painful fissures that just did not want to heal.

  • jane283
    jane283 Member Posts: 39
    renw said:

    Perforations due to avastin

    Perforations due to avastin are not as rare as oncologists make out. I have been off avastin for over a month and I still get chunky lumps if congealed blood every time I blow my nose. With a half life of 21 days, it will be at least 2-3 months to get it out of my system. Just like the lining of the nose, avastin loves to play havoc with the endothelial lining of the intestines. I had problems with my rectum in particular with painful fissures that just did not want to heal.

    fissures

    how did the fissures heal?since dad is passing stool from the fissure now they need to resect.. :(

  • smokeyjoe
    smokeyjoe Member Posts: 1,425 Member
    jane283 said:

    fissures

    how did the fissures heal?since dad is passing stool from the fissure now they need to resect.. :(

    When I was going to get

    When I was going to get Avastin my oncologist talked about possibility of perforation ..... he said it mainly happens when people still have their tumor in their colon....but since I didn't have a tumor in my colon, it was resected,   that it was less likely I would have a perforation.    But, yeah, definitely that was something my oncologist brought up.  

  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    jane283 said:

    fissures

    how did the fissures heal?since dad is passing stool from the fissure now they need to resect.. :(

    Fissures...

    Seem to heal with time.....I had multiple fissure events over the first four years post rectal resect.

  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    jane283 said:

    thanks all

    he is going into surgery today despite being less than a month since avastin was stopped..now that he is passing stool from rectum instead of the colostomy site,the perforation is ni small intestine and now there is a fissure or an absess that is hurting bleeding and releasing fecal matter...

    I am finding it very hard to believe everything is happenign so fast....we are still planning a surgery despite all the complications...

    side note:post avastin hsi overall health has deteriorated a lot and his lungs and heart too are not functionaing too well....

     

    pls keep us in your prayers...will post a POST-OP update soon!

    good luck, Jane

    My heart took a hit post Avastin as well.....prolonged use of the drug can cause congestive heart failure....though the company literature did not state 'how long' that would be.

    I got a heart tic from it and find myself gasping for a breath here and there and it feels like I'm trying to breathe the heart back into rhythm......it was much worse at first...very scary actually.....over time it lessened,and I don't feel like I'm going to die, but it is still an attention getter when it happens.....and it happens multiple times a day, everyday.

    I had always heard that you needed to do surgery 6-8 weeks post Avastin, but it sounds like your situation requires immediate intervention at this time....I'm wishing you all well and success with the procedure.  I'm so sorry he is going through all of that.

    Just a difficult thing that so many of us have to go through fighting this fight....

    Here's to a successful outcome in the O/R!

     

  • annalexandria
    annalexandria Member Posts: 2,571 Member
    jane283 said:

    thanks all

    he is going into surgery today despite being less than a month since avastin was stopped..now that he is passing stool from rectum instead of the colostomy site,the perforation is ni small intestine and now there is a fissure or an absess that is hurting bleeding and releasing fecal matter...

    I am finding it very hard to believe everything is happenign so fast....we are still planning a surgery despite all the complications...

    side note:post avastin hsi overall health has deteriorated a lot and his lungs and heart too are not functionaing too well....

     

    pls keep us in your prayers...will post a POST-OP update soon!

    Hang in there, Jane...

    and tell your dad we're rooting for him.  I had a perforated intestine as well, although it was the tumor that did it (I wasn't on any chemo at the time).  I'm glad that they are getting him in right away, as the release of fecal matter into the rest of the body is very dangerous.  After surgery they will probably put him on high doses of one or more antibiotics to help reduce the risk of infection.  You might consider asking the doctor about adding in probiotics to help balance this out...I ended up with c-diff during that process, which I suspect had to do with the depletion of good bacteria in my gut (as well as the proliferation of this germ in hospitals...if you can pull it off, get people to wash their hands thouroughly when they come in your dad's room.  It's the only thing that works against c-diff).  Keep us posted on how things go.  Hugs to you both~Ann Alexandria

  • renw
    renw Member Posts: 282 Member
    jane283 said:

    fissures

    how did the fissures heal?since dad is passing stool from the fissure now they need to resect.. :(

    took about 3 weeks to heal

    took about 3 weeks to heal for me. They came back a few more times, but nothing as bad as the very first time. If you are constipated and push too hard, this can cause them very easily. an enema to soften the stool beforehand can be a good solution too.

  • jane283
    jane283 Member Posts: 39
    renw said:

    took about 3 weeks to heal

    took about 3 weeks to heal for me. They came back a few more times, but nothing as bad as the very first time. If you are constipated and push too hard, this can cause them very easily. an enema to soften the stool beforehand can be a good solution too.

    operated for perforation

    and is doing good now...i think small portion of ileum was bypassed..more updates to follow..dad is cheerful and better now...

    i cant thank you all enugh....