Gallbladder Cancer 2023 (All Stages)

CaliforniaPatricia

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1710567#Comment_1710567

(I'm not sure why ACS won't let me edit the post you read, so there are some typos, for which I apologize.) You certainly have had a rougher time than I've had. It seems we are both facing the end-of-life phase. I see that Xeloda is a brand of capecitabine, which is an alternative to gemcitabine (what I was given) as the current standard of care, though gemcitabine is usually coupled with cisplatin or, sometimes, another platinum drug. I read that patients receiving capecitabine are screened for PT/INR (blood coagulation) and their intake of Vitamin K (found in leafy green vegetables such as spinach and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli) is closely monitored. Did you develop the blood clot despite taking these measures?

I'm very frustrated because the delay in treatment is totally unacceptable. The CT scan that showed peritoneal carcinomatosis (cancer metastasized to the peritoneum) was done 2 weeks ago. The oncology team's decision that I was not a good candidate for HIPEC surgery but might benefit (live a little longer) with a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy came 8 days ago. The meeting with the principal investigator of the new clinical trial was 4 days ago. They are waiting on the release of the latest informed consent agreement document so that I can read and sign it. Then there's screening with the oncologist going through the long list of criteria. Then there's a CT scan to see where the cancer shows up now and an ECG to check for a prolonged QT time. My estimate is that I cannot begin for another 2 weeks, making it an entire month for an aggressive cancer to enjoy no treatment. This is a disadvantage of being part of a clinical trial. A new drug can't be tested accurately if the time between diagnosis of an aggressive cancer and start of treatment is 4 weeks when it would be started within a week if it were an established treatment.