My Father

Fayard

Hello,

I am from the Uterine Cancer Board.
I am writing because my father has just been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma in the colon.
The onco suspects the liver, and therefore the lymph nodes, is involved.
He wants to do surgery, because according to him there is room to cut and saw the colon back together.

I am concerns about surgery without knowing if other organs are involved, metastasis.
He is 82, but very healthy, still driving. He leaves in Venezuela, which is where I am from.
The onco is also tanking about chemo and radiation.
I had chemo for 6 months, and it wiped me out! I am against it for my father, due to his age and the side effects doctors never tell you about.
I finished chemo July 2012, and I am now having joint pain from head to toe since October 2011.

Any way, I was wondering if anyone could tell me if there is any chemo for colon cancer that does not have severe side effects. This is what the onco claims. I do not believe it.
I also would like to know how effective it has been.

I hope to hear from anyone soon.

God bless you all!

tootsie1

Surgery
I did not have to do chemo, but there are others whom I am sure will chime in about that. I will say that the surgery is not a picnic, but it can be done (and is, all the time). Praying things go well for your dad.

*hugs*
Gail

SharonVegas

Hello, Sorry your Father has
Hello, Sorry your Father has been diagnosed with this terrible disease. Do you know what stage? Sounds like stage four. I am stage four and the first chemo I received wiped me out. I received other chemos and all of them had side effects of some form. I'm 60 years old and fairly healthy. I see older people in the chemo room and I don't know how they do it. But I guess we all push through it. If I were you, I would seek a second opinion if that's possible.
Prayers to you and your Father,
SharonVegas

annalexandria

Welcome to this forum!
This is just my opinion, but I think if I was in your father's shoes, and still healthy as you say, that I would have the surgery, and then based on the findings, do one of the "lighter" chemo regimens, at least for a few rounds, see how it goes. I know people who are on oral Xeloda, who have relatively few side effects. Hopefully someone who posts here and is on something similar will pop in to give you more details. Sending strength your way-Ann Alexandria

Lovekitties

Welcome
So sorry to hear about your father.

Have they done a PET or CT scan on him to determine if there is any metastasis? If not, I would insist before any surgery is done. If there is it may be that more than a colon resction could be done with one surgery.

Is it possible for him to get a second opinion?

Others here can tell you better than I about the side effect for chemo and radiation treatments.

Wishing him and you the best.

Marie who loves kitties

steved

Treatment
What is being suggested sounds like fairly standard treatment that many of us have had. Some people do find the chrome regimes very tolerable- I have had a good range and have always been able to keep working full time (am only 39) and know others herewith similar experiences. He is older but that does not mean he doesn't deserve full treatment as for many colon cancer, even stage four, can be managed Andlived with for a long period of time. It may be best to do some reading and attend the appointments.

Ultimately I guess it is up to your dad what he kwishes to do.

Steve

PhillieG

It Depends...
Some chemos are much tougher on the body than others are.
Do you know what protocol they are suggesting for your Dad?
Do you know if it is going to be used primarily as what they call "mop up" chemo?

If the chemo being suggested is for mop up purposes, you may want to explore some alternatives since they tend to be less harsh. There also tends to be less data on them so it's hard to compare potential results with those of chemo. While 82 isn't the same as being 45 (nor is it the end of the road either), if I were deciding what path to take at 82 I might have made different choices. Coulda, woulda, shoulda... But I wasn't 82 and I believe I've made the right decisions all along. At least I've made the right decisions for "me" and that's what matters.
Ultimately, it's the patients decision (your Dad) as to what will be done unless you are taking that role over which certainly is not unheard of. Looking at your comments it seems like you've made your mind up already and don't want your Dad to do chemo.
Best of luck to your Dad and you
-phil

Fayard

SharonVegas said:

Hello, Sorry your Father has
Hello, Sorry your Father has been diagnosed with this terrible disease. Do you know what stage? Sounds like stage four. I am stage four and the first chemo I received wiped me out. I received other chemos and all of them had side effects of some form. I'm 60 years old and fairly healthy. I see older people in the chemo room and I don't know how they do it. But I guess we all push through it. If I were you, I would seek a second opinion if that's possible.
Prayers to you and your Father,
SharonVegas

SharonVegas
Thank you for your input.
No, we do not know the stage yet.
We are still looking into if there are other organs involve.

The onco wants to do surgery; however, we want to know first if the liver and lymph nodes are involved.

We are seeing another doctor next week for a second opinion.

Hugs and prayers to you!

Fayard

PhillieG said:

It Depends...
Some chemos are much tougher on the body than others are.
Do you know what protocol they are suggesting for your Dad?
Do you know if it is going to be used primarily as what they call "mop up" chemo?

If the chemo being suggested is for mop up purposes, you may want to explore some alternatives since they tend to be less harsh. There also tends to be less data on them so it's hard to compare potential results with those of chemo. While 82 isn't the same as being 45 (nor is it the end of the road either), if I were deciding what path to take at 82 I might have made different choices. Coulda, woulda, shoulda... But I wasn't 82 and I believe I've made the right decisions all along. At least I've made the right decisions for "me" and that's what matters.
Ultimately, it's the patients decision (your Dad) as to what will be done unless you are taking that role over which certainly is not unheard of. Looking at your comments it seems like you've made your mind up already and don't want your Dad to do chemo.
Best of luck to your Dad and you
-phil

Everyone
Thank you very much for you input.

At this point, we are still waiting to see if there are other organs involved.
The onco mentioned chemo and radiation, but not definite protocol yet.

I agree it should be my father's decision to have chemo or not.
The problem I see is that doctor never tell you the real side effect of chemo.
I went through it already for 6 months. Although I trust my onco with my eyes closed, he is a physician above all, practices traditional medicine an gets his bonus for prescribing chemo.

I am 44, finished chemo July 2011, and I am still detoxifying my body and suffering from joint pain from head to toe. It took me a year to get rid of anemia.
Even though my father is 82 and strong, he is 82.

He thinks he has just a cyst in his colon, so he is very positive about making "some" changes in his diet. My brothers and sisters do not want to tell him what he really has, because they think his spirits will go down.

This is very sad, stressful, and terrible.

God bless you all!

Fayard

Fayard said:

Everyone
Thank you very much for you input.

At this point, we are still waiting to see if there are other organs involved.
The onco mentioned chemo and radiation, but not definite protocol yet.

I agree it should be my father's decision to have chemo or not.
The problem I see is that doctor never tell you the real side effect of chemo.
I went through it already for 6 months. Although I trust my onco with my eyes closed, he is a physician above all, practices traditional medicine an gets his bonus for prescribing chemo.

I am 44, finished chemo July 2011, and I am still detoxifying my body and suffering from joint pain from head to toe. It took me a year to get rid of anemia.
Even though my father is 82 and strong, he is 82.

He thinks he has just a cyst in his colon, so he is very positive about making "some" changes in his diet. My brothers and sisters do not want to tell him what he really has, because they think his spirits will go down.

This is very sad, stressful, and terrible.

God bless you all!

After you ere diagnosed with
After you were diagnosed with colon cancer, were you able to eat beans?
My dad's doctor does not want him to eat beans before surgery, because of gas.

Thank you

danker

side effects
I was 78 when I was dxed. The chemo was concurrent with radiation. Only side effect I had was diarrhea. Resection after 6 week rest. Am now 80 and NED. It was a bumpy ride, but I came out OK at the end. Now only see oncologist on a six month basis Good luck to your dad. I wish him much luck.

jr2012

danker said:

side effects
I was 78 when I was dxed. The chemo was concurrent with radiation. Only side effect I had was diarrhea. Resection after 6 week rest. Am now 80 and NED. It was a bumpy ride, but I came out OK at the end. Now only see oncologist on a six month basis Good luck to your dad. I wish him much luck.

Danker
I am so awed by your grit..
Going to surgery on Monday, 29th and already nervous :! but you make it sound so simple

praying for your forever NED

jr2012

xeloda
I did xeloda
it was pretty ok...
prayers for you and your dad..
its hard enough that you are going thru this and now your dad...
se fuerte ... beso

herdizziness

Colon Chemo
Isn't it amazing the different chemo's for the different cancers? It never ceases to amaze me, I have to look up each of my Sister-in-laws chemos because I've never heard of them (she has breast cancer). I've had Xeloda and Avastin and Oxyplatinin. The Xeloda and Avastin are walks in the park for me. The Oxyplatinin, if you look at my blog, that is how it is with me. Each person reacts differently though, some have it rough, some like me, have it fairly easy, and until it's tried, we won't know how it will be for you father.
I'm so sorry about his colon cancer, and I hope it is easily taken care of for him.
As for easy chemo's, I would say Xeloda and Avastin (you have to watch the blood pressure with Avastin).
My best to you and your father,
Winter Marie

thxmiker

Fayard said:

Everyone
Thank you very much for you input.

At this point, we are still waiting to see if there are other organs involved.
The onco mentioned chemo and radiation, but not definite protocol yet.

I agree it should be my father's decision to have chemo or not.
The problem I see is that doctor never tell you the real side effect of chemo.
I went through it already for 6 months. Although I trust my onco with my eyes closed, he is a physician above all, practices traditional medicine an gets his bonus for prescribing chemo.

I am 44, finished chemo July 2011, and I am still detoxifying my body and suffering from joint pain from head to toe. It took me a year to get rid of anemia.
Even though my father is 82 and strong, he is 82.

He thinks he has just a cyst in his colon, so he is very positive about making "some" changes in his diet. My brothers and sisters do not want to tell him what he really has, because they think his spirits will go down.

This is very sad, stressful, and terrible.

God bless you all!

Welcome to the board!
Welcome to the board! Sending Prayers and good thoughts your and your father's way!

At 82 he probably is going to get the blockage or partial blockage removed, and little else. Liver surgery is a very difficult recovery. They would also get any Lymph nodes in the area.

How much would Chemo prolong his life? Compared to how much pain would he be in? Those are going to be the factors. FolFox was a hiney kicker for me at 46 and in great health previous to cancer.

I recommend to everyone the Juicing for Life. I do not care if you are going to juice or not, it talks about the various foods that help our b believe to fight the fight on many battle fronts.

Best Always, mike