Stage 4 to NED (no surgery?)

livefreeordie
livefreeordie Member Posts: 45
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi everybody,
Is there anyone out there that has gone from stage 4 to NED without getting any surgery? (chemo only)
Or have you ever heard of anyone doing this?
I've been doing chemo since last july, liver tumor is too big for surgery.. dont know if it will ever shrink enough for removal.. or if it could shrink on chemo alone..

thanks, and good luck to all, beat the beast :)

Comments

  • shmurciakova
    shmurciakova Member Posts: 906 Member
    #2
    Yes! Scouty did (Lisa P.). She has not been on here in a while, but she had mets to her liver and lungs. She as far as I know is still NED after approx. 3 1/2 years. She quit chemo and did a lot of alternative healing stuff (juicing, alkaline diet, supplements, etc.) You should check out her personal page and old posts.
    -Susan H.
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #3
    shmurciakova said:

    Yes! Scouty did (Lisa P.). She has not been on here in a while, but she had mets to her liver and lungs. She as far as I know is still NED after approx. 3 1/2 years. She quit chemo and did a lot of alternative healing stuff (juicing, alkaline diet, supplements, etc.) You should check out her personal page and old posts.
    -Susan H.

    No, Susan, I believe she did have some of her colon/rectum removed...I'll check...I do know she quit the chemo after awhile, tho....
    In this game, victory is the goal, however you get there!!!

    Hugs, Kathi
  • shmurciakova
    shmurciakova Member Posts: 906 Member
    #4
    I realize she had the initial colon resection surgery, I meant she did not have surgery on her liver or lung..
    Sorry for the confusion,
    Susan H.
  • scouty
    scouty Member Posts: 1,965 Member
    #5
    Hi Y'all,

    How bout I clear this up. I was dxed stage IV with mets to liver (2 confirmed with biopsies) and 1 left lung met (never confirmed) in early April 2004. Surgery was not an option so I started on chemo and did Folfox 6 with Avastin for 8 months (16 rounds) and could not take anymore so I stopped.

    I did see a naturopathic doctor with a PhD in Clinical Nutrition and followed everything she told me to which included juicing, a few teas, some herbs, vitamins, and other supplements. I also completely changed to an all organic/natural diet concentrating on eating 85%-15% alkaline-acid foods. Cancer thrives in an acidic enviroment.

    I stopped chemo and changed my lifestyle mid November 2004. By July of 2005 I was deemed NED by testing. My colon had perforated in Oct of 2003, my cancer was missed then and I ended up with a temporary colostomy bag.

    I finally got my nerve up to ask my oncologist about reversing the bag and then we decided to remove a foot of my colon, associated lymph nodes and check out the liver mets. That surgery was done early Jan 2006 (almost 2 years after dx). The found a tiny tumor where the original tumor had been but all the lymph nodes were clean and my liver was clear and never touched. CT scans showed the lung met had dissipitated and gone aways the spring of 2005.

    Because of my very unique situation, my onc uses my last chemo date as my "anniversary" and counts my as only 3 of his patients in "non-surgical" remission and if my testing goes well mid May, I will have been for 3 1/2 years now.

    If you want to learn more, you can check out my personal web page here. Holler if you have any questions.

    Thanks to Susan and KathiM for thinking about me so we can help each other!!!!

    Lisa P.

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