Gallbladder Cancer - 2013 (Any Stage)

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  • Rita Nassanga
    Rita Nassanga Member Posts: 11
    edited May 2017 #162
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    Ja59 said:

    Update on immunotherapy

    Merry Christmas everyone!

    I just wanted to let you know the outcomes of my ACTL treatment in China. I had a three months therapy in January-April this year in Beijing this year for GBC stage 4 with liver metastasis 2.5 x3.0 centimeters. I had gallbladder removed a month before the treatment. I refused liver resection and chemotherapy and went to China instead.  I had a CT scan 8 months later. It showed that liver metastasis had dissapered. The leading professor in hepatobilary cancer could not believe his eyes.He requested the review of my original pathology, suspecting that there was a mistake and there was no cancer at all. Yesterday the results came back. The leading Sydney pathologist confirmed, that both speciments from liver and gallbladder contained cancer cells. Doctors do not know what to think, but I believe in immunotherapy as I was feeling better and better over the course of treatment.

    You can read about this treatment at this website asiancancer.com.  I was treated by the other company - cancertherapychina.com. You can just google CTL cancer or ACTL cancer. CTL means cytotoxic lymphocytes. This is an old treatment. ACTL is just one of its modifications. Trials on CTL are going all over the world, mostly on mice. Only China does it for people with good results. The treatment is only 2 years old and there is no much statistics yet. I'll keep you updated.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

    Hi Ja. Great news. My mom is

    Hi Ja. Great news. My mom is stage 4 GB with lung mets. Can we explore immunotherapy? What is the estimated treatment cost?

  • christ10
    christ10 Member Posts: 2
    #163
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    GBC Stage 4 Diagnosis

    My dad was recently diagnosed with stage 4 gall bladder cancer that has spread to bones in his back and lymph nodes in his chest and lungs. We've been told by his oncologist that radiaton and surgery are not options, due to the cancer having spread. Chemotherapy is the only suggested treatment option with the use of Cisplatin and Gemcitabine for a life extension expectancy of 6-9 months. My dad is 78 years old and is in good health and exhibits no symptons to date. Are there any survivors with a similiar diagnosis that can offer some direction or insights on treatments?  

  • mickey3233
    mickey3233 Member Posts: 1
    #164
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    Gallbladder Cancer

    Anybody out there that can give me a little insight or advise or anything.    My mother had her gallbadder removed and after found out she has GBC that has spread to the liver and lymph nodes in the liver.   Surgery is out.  Only Chemo.    I'm brand new to this site.   Looking for hope because all I hear now is just bad news.   She is 78 and in great health.    This just came out of nowhere.   

  • LiliTM
    LiliTM Member Posts: 32
    #165
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    mickey3233 said:

    Gallbladder Cancer

    Anybody out there that can give me a little insight or advise or anything.    My mother had her gallbadder removed and after found out she has GBC that has spread to the liver and lymph nodes in the liver.   Surgery is out.  Only Chemo.    I'm brand new to this site.   Looking for hope because all I hear now is just bad news.   She is 78 and in great health.    This just came out of nowhere.   

    Dear Mickey3233,

    I'm so sorry to hear this. I also came here looking for hope and advice for my parent. I've learned a lot since this all started for us in March. If you have any questions feel free to message me. I'll share with you some of what I shared previously on this site:

    My beloved, athletic, still-young father got a shocking stage 4 Gallbladder Cancer diagnosis in March. He began chemotherapy at the end of March with gemcitabine and cisplatin. Shrinkage is possible on this chemotherapy regimen. I have read about a few GBC cases in which chemotherapy (sometimes a different regimen) reduced tumors enough to render the patient operable, resulting in NED (no evidence of disease). It seems like it's so individual  - which makes it hard to tell if what works for one person will work the same for another. But it gives me hope that it is possible.

    These discussion boards don't seem very active for GBC. I check in every so often to see if there's any new advice - and I want to support everyone else dealing with this, with whatever we have learned.  I'll share some of the recommendation we got in case they are of help: one was to go to one of the prominent centers where they see more cases of rare cancers like GBC, such as MD Anderson, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Dana Farber... 

    We were also urged to send the tumor tissue for genetic sequencing. (At Memorial-Sloan they do the MSK-IMPACT test, the various centers probably each have their own - it can also be sent to Foundation One but insurance did not cover our test there.) If the genetic test comes back with targetable mutations, perhaps you will be able to do targeted therapy. If you have high microsatellite instability or tumor mutation burden, perhaps you will be a good candidate for checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy. 

    MSK has an integrative medicine center where they recommended probiotics, some supplements specific to my dad, and acupuncture/de-stressing. They also emphasized a vegetable-based diet and exercise, both of which seem to be helping my dad get through his chemo well. It might be helpful to ask wherever you go if they have an integrative doctor you can see. 

     

    My heart goes to you and everyone here, with all my best wishes. 

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