Colon Ca with mets to liver

MKPollitt

I hope that someone can give info. My father is 68 and was diagnosed 5 years ago with a cancerous "polyp" in his colon. It was removed and that was it. In June, 2004, was diagnosed with recurrent colon adenocarcinoma which was a 7 cm mass. He also had a mass on his liver. Both were able to be resected completely. A pet scan prior to chemo showed he was "cancer free" at that time. He has done 8 rounds of chemo (5FU cocktail?) and he thought he was done. Now the oncologist wants him to do more and he is resistant because at Stage IV he was told there is not much hope for "cure". His point is how much chemo do you do? Is his quality of life not as important as quantity? Each treatment of chemo is getting harder for him. Please advise. It is hard for my family because selfishly, we want him to continue but also see his point and hate to see him go through this if it is for "nothing".

kerry

You will get many different opinions to your questions. My opinion is that it sounds as if your father has a real good chance of beating this disease. If he was successfully resected and came out NED (no evidence of disease) the chemo is to take care of what microscopic cells may be lurking out there that do not appear on the scans. I am on my second round of chemo. I had a recurrance and my doctors are giving me great hope. The first time around I took 6 months (weekly) of chemo and it did make me pretty sick, but there are so many new anti-nausea drugs out now that this second time around I am not as sick.

I wish you and your dad all the best. These are tough decisions and you will be in my prayers.

Kerry

fedester

hi,
you have come to the right place. we have several stage iv survivors here. and i am sure they will be replying to your post. as for me i am stage 11 finished chemo. i was lucky not many side effects during treatments.
all the best
bruce

StacyGleaso

I was stage 4, and today I am a big ZERO...couldn't be happier to be called that! I went through pre-surgery chemo and radiation. Mine also spread to my liver, and the doc tool 40% of the liver. Diagnosed in Oct 2001. I was 33 when I was diagnosed, so I can understand how your dad's age may influence the decision for more chemo or not. I didn't have any chemo side effects. (Yes, I am SO lucky).

Maybe try the alternative methods of treating cancer...2bhealed, AKA Emily on this site is the captain of that ship. She can recite suggestions in her sleep, I'll bet.

Me personally, I would (and did) fight this every step of the way. I am not a dairy product...I do NOT have an expiration date that can be read by a doctor, regardless of how talented he or she thinks they are!

All my best,
Stacy

bryancarson

I too am a stage IV survivor. I am 31 and just got a DX of NED. I still have 4 follow-up treatements and not looking forward to it. The choice is your dads. I too have felt like quitting, but I have chosen life, even if that means being miserable for a couple more months. Although I understand your desire to "persuade" your dad to continue, you have to trust his choice. If the Dr. has said he is NED, have him do regular (every 3 months) CEA's and CT scans. If anything starts to re-grow, it will show immediately and can be treated and life will go on. Best of luck to you.

steved

A difficult question to adddress really; quality vs quantity. There is no 'right'answer to this and is something that yo need to talk over with you dad and those involved in his care. Chemo certainly reduced quality while it is happening but the aim is to increase it in the long term. The main question I asked myself when I was going through these decision was could I live with myself if it did come back and I hadn't tried to do everything to prevent it in the first place. My answer was 'no' so I had all the treatments going and suffered through them and am pleased I did so. It is not the answer for all but these are the kinds of questions you need to address with your dad. You willl find exceelent advis e and support here though so keep asking around and then sit down and discuss it through with your father.
Hope this is helpful,
Steve.

rejoyous

Hello and welcome,

Yes, it is extremely discouraging to be told that at stage IV there is not much hope. But if you spend any time on this site you will meet a group of fabulously courageous, inspiring, joyous people who have been to Stage IV and beaten it.

I am at Stage III, and just finished a six month FOLFOX slog. It was not fun, but bearable. The anti-nausea drug Zofran, sometimes supplemented by Compasine, were amazingly effective on the nausea. Another interesting thing was that although of course I became more and more depleted through the treatment, I would not say that each treatment was harder. Each treatment was different, and sometimes one thing would be harder (fatigue, for example) and then the next time the neuropathy would be worse but I'd have more energy.

Finally, my family and friends played a crucial role in helping keep my spirits up. Whether it was just quietly sitting with me or offering to take a walk, or encouraging me to sleep when I needed it, they helped me prioritize my well-being and made me feel valued. It sounds as though you are seeing your selfishness as a pressure on him. I see your point, of course, and such a personal decision must be his to make. Still, the fact that you treasure him is also a gift, no matter what he decides to do.

bsrules

Hello!! My name is Sue. I don't know when you entered this site. My husband Bob was diagnosised in Sept. 2003 and just resently passed away due to the cancer. He unlike your father was unable to have surgery for his liver due to the amount it had spread. He did have a colon resection that went well. He did chemo for over 1 year. He tried everyone they had. The 5FU coatail as tough for him also. He had his bad days and when he was able he was out working. My husband had a drive to survive and have the best qualtiy of life possible. The Dr. also said that his wasn't abled to be cured but was going to try and give him more time. Quality of life was number 1 for him. It was really hard to watch him go down hill but even through it all Bob kept a positive attitude and made life the best that he could. All you can do is support him in what ever he decideds to do. The Dr. will give him a break if he feels that he is having trouble with the chemo. Just make sure your Dad tells him the truth as to how he is feeling. Bob didn't at first and it hurt him physically. They need to know what is happening. If he is having to many down days tell them!!!!

I don't chack the board as much as I used too as it is to hard some days. But if you need to talk or ask me anything. If I can help I will!!!

Best of Luck!!!!

Prayers coming your way!!

Sue