TheraSphere treatment????

Daisylin
Daisylin Member Posts: 365
in Esophageal Cancer #1
My husband, was searching the internet for 'the cure' and came upon TheraSphere therapy. I searched this site for any additional information, and found several mentions of it. Since the web site is not really set up for this kind of research, I was wondering if any of you have had any experience in this type of treatment? We have found lots of web sites describing the procedure, but am hoping to hear first hand from anyone who has actually experienced it.

Since I am fairly new here, I'll give you a recap of my husband's case....

He was diagnosed stage ivb, with mets to the liver. (about 15 tumours found in the liver) He began treatment this past February and has now undergone 4 rounds of chemotherapy. His treatment involved iv cisplatin and epirubicin followed by 2 weeks capecitabine (xeloda) orally, repeated every 3 weeks. We are currently waiting for cat scan and results to see where we stand. He is 48, and aside from the cancer has been very healthy all his life.
He has had quite a few of the chemo side effects (nausea, hot cold flashes, cracked feet, hair loss etc.. ) but has not had any swallowing issues since chemo began.

Thanks!
Chantal

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #2
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  • Unknown
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    #3
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  • Kenem
    Kenem Member Posts: 21
    #4
    unknown said:

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    Theraspheres at Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
    Completed the second liver lobe on Monday, May 17. New scans in three-four months, after liver inflammation quiets down. Scans while liver is inflamed (from radiation) won't reveal significant information. Maybe some increased fatigue but other than that there were no side effects especially compared to chemotherapy.

    Until then, we monitor the CEA number to check for cancer activity. I'll keep this site posted.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #5
    Kenem said:

    Theraspheres at Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
    Completed the second liver lobe on Monday, May 17. New scans in three-four months, after liver inflammation quiets down. Scans while liver is inflamed (from radiation) won't reveal significant information. Maybe some increased fatigue but other than that there were no side effects especially compared to chemotherapy.

    Until then, we monitor the CEA number to check for cancer activity. I'll keep this site posted.

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • mrsbotch
    mrsbotch Member Posts: 349
    #6
    Hi Chantel
    I am so sorry about your husband. I like Sherri, lost my husband to this terrible disease. Unlike Sherri, my husband had a recurrance.
    He passed away on Feb 23, 2011 after almost 2 years to the day of his initial surgury. He was also so healthy up until this BEAST came into our lives. He was a runner, non-smoker and non drinker so this was especially hard to take. I know exactly how you are feeling and I know also that you are getting some very good advice on this site from William , Loretta and Sherri. We are all here to help. I really have not been able to give alot of guidance as my husband seems to be only one of few that had a recurrance. THE PAIN IS THE SAME FOR ALL OF US THO.


    I can tell you one thing tho Love him everyday, be with him as much as possible and do everything you can to ease his pain if he has any.

    Know that we all care so much and I am proud of what you said about being a Canadian and how much you loved it. I am from the Maine border just 13 miles from St. Stephen N.B. have spent so much time in Canada and love your country.
    Where do you live?

    We should always be proud of who we are and what we are. I know live in Georgia but Maine will always be my home.


    Love
    Barbara
  • slg
    slg Member Posts: 200
    #7
    mrsbotch said:

    Hi Chantel
    I am so sorry about your husband. I like Sherri, lost my husband to this terrible disease. Unlike Sherri, my husband had a recurrance.
    He passed away on Feb 23, 2011 after almost 2 years to the day of his initial surgury. He was also so healthy up until this BEAST came into our lives. He was a runner, non-smoker and non drinker so this was especially hard to take. I know exactly how you are feeling and I know also that you are getting some very good advice on this site from William , Loretta and Sherri. We are all here to help. I really have not been able to give alot of guidance as my husband seems to be only one of few that had a recurrance. THE PAIN IS THE SAME FOR ALL OF US THO.


    I can tell you one thing tho Love him everyday, be with him as much as possible and do everything you can to ease his pain if he has any.

    Know that we all care so much and I am proud of what you said about being a Canadian and how much you loved it. I am from the Maine border just 13 miles from St. Stephen N.B. have spent so much time in Canada and love your country.
    Where do you live?

    We should always be proud of who we are and what we are. I know live in Georgia but Maine will always be my home.


    Love
    Barbara

    Therasphere/Y-90
    Hi Daisylyn,
    Welcome to this website. I have found it to be very helpful and have continued to post so as to help others. My husband was diagnosed with primary liver cancer in Oct 2009. He was told there may me nothing they could do, not eligible for transplant. Thankfully, he was able to try a cancer drug in pill form called nexavar/Sorafenib and has had three TACE (Transarterial Chemoembolization) in the past year and a half. In September 2010 after a followup CT scan the Hepatologist said he was now in criteria for a transplant! He suggested we go to Kansas City University Medical Center since their wait time is much shorter than in California, where we live. He was evaluated at KUMED in November and put on the transplant list in December. Sadly, they bumped him down on the list two days before we were to fly to Kansas and in January they found four new tumors. The Doctor in Kansas recomended that my husband have the Therasphere/Y-90 in order to put him back in criteria for transplant. He had the Y-90 procedure on April 13th at CPMC in San Francisco. He did stay overnight as a precaution. he had a little bit of pain but was released the next day. As everyone else has said the only side effect has been extreme fatigue and he did have a bit of flu like symptems off and on for a few weeks. Nothing horrible though. We are 1 1/2 months from his 3 month Scan and are hoping to be told to come to Kansas soon after the scan. By all indications from the Doctors we believe he will be transplanted in August!!!! So, don't give up hope. We didn't and we are looking at him getting his health back soon and walking his daughter downt he isle next August 2012!!

    Feel free to email direct at slg72@aol.com for any more info Best of luck!!

    Sue
  • Daisylin
    Daisylin Member Posts: 365
    #8
    Thank you
    Thanks everyone for your words of advice, and for sharing your stories with me. I know it's not easy to talk about sometimes, but your stories are inspiring and informative.

    We are seeing the oncologist for Lee's cat scan results on June 8, and we will be asking about this treatment as well as the HER2, that i've read about here. The team of doctors have never mentioned either of these treatments to us, so I am very thankful to this site for pointing us in the 'right' direction. I am a bit irritated that doctors always warn you against googling and searching out internet cures.... but really, what option do we have when they won't inform us of EVERY option available? I don't know if it's because we're in Canada and the health care system wants to avoid such costly treatments or if the doctors are just lazy and uninformed.

    We live in London, Ontario which is about 2 hours west of Toronto. The therasphere treatment is only available in Vancouver BC, and Montreal Que, and I'm not sure if it is even covered by our health care system.

    Again, thanks for the kind words and wisdom!
    Chantal
  • dandickinson33
    dandickinson33 Member Posts: 2
    #9
    Y90
    18 Months ago I had the Y90 treatment in Chicago. I had a single lesion about 2.8 cm. 30 days later the MRI showed a black hole and the lesion was gone. 90 days ago I had my transplant and today I am doing fine. The biopsy on the old liver showed no cancer, no dysplasia, no cancer cells at all. I was told I was in the upper 1% of effectivness with this treatment, but I can tell youfor me it was magic. I have blooged the entire experience. Google "Dan's Liver Blog" and you will find it.
  • Loritta46
    Loritta46 Member Posts: 1
    #10
    theresphere treatment
    My dad is 79 years old and has liver cancer. Because his liver cancer is caused by Hepatitis from a blood transfusion he cannot have a liver transplant. He has had two cryoablation surgeries and one radiofrequency ablation. He is currently taking Nexafar chemo treatment. He is having peeling hands and is still losing weight. He is 6'3 and weighs 101.8 lbs. He is in no pain. do you think Theresphere will work for him? Is is dangerous to the people around him?
  • birdiequeen
    birdiequeen Member Posts: 319
    #11
    Loritta46 said:

    theresphere treatment
    My dad is 79 years old and has liver cancer. Because his liver cancer is caused by Hepatitis from a blood transfusion he cannot have a liver transplant. He has had two cryoablation surgeries and one radiofrequency ablation. He is currently taking Nexafar chemo treatment. He is having peeling hands and is still losing weight. He is 6'3 and weighs 101.8 lbs. He is in no pain. do you think Theresphere will work for him? Is is dangerous to the people around him?

    Loritta46
    The thread you commented on was started by Chantel who lost her husband, I don't know if she still check the board or not. Hopefully someone can reply to your question that has experiance with theresphere treatment. I'm sorry to hear of your dad's struggles.

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