abdominal cavity mets, need information and help

abrub said:

IntraPeritoneal chemo

I had Intraperitoneal Chemo (IP) for my my metastatic appendix cancer which had spread throughout my abdominal cavity.  Most places that do colorectal IP chemo use HIPEC (heated chemo done during surgery.)  At Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC, they remove all visible cancer, place a belly port, and do the IP chemo post-op, which is what I had.  I've been fine since (7 1/2 years since IP chemo).  You need a specialist/specialty location for this process, but it is worth looking into.

Alice

Thank you, Alice. I really appreciated your response.

annalexandria said:

I'm sorry you got this news.

Having been through several recurrences, I know how hard it is.

Do you know how many spots showed up in the scan?  I had a few peritoneal mets (can't remember exact number, maybe 3 or 4) on one go-round, and on another had one large area where the tumor tangled up the peritoneal wall and the small intestine together in one big mess.

In both these cases, I had regular surgery and it was successful...I've been NED since 2011.

I think I would want to talk to the most experienced CRC surgeon you can find if possible.  And if the mets are super small, maybe discuss the risks/benefits of waiting a few months to get them larger and easier to find and resect.  As chemo never worked for me, this "watch and wait" mode (supported with frequent scans) followed by surgery worked well.

Hang in there.  This is all so tough.

it was like 5 or 6 spots on his right side of abdominal cavity, scattered, not in one place. Oncologist said surgery is not an option now because my husband hasn't fully recovered from pelvic exenteration in last Oct, it was not because of the location of the small tumors, it is just his body has to be strong enough to stand another open up surgery. Thank you very much, Anna. Do you know any information about the most experienced CRC surgeon? if you don't mind, can you please PM me? thank you.

Trubrit said:

Contnuing the fight

I am sorry to hear this news.  I pray that you and your husband will find a great surgeon when he is stronger and recovered fully from his last surgery, and until then that you are able to get him on a great plan that will shrink or maintain the mets. 

Sending love and prayers your way. 

Sue - Trubrit

Thank you both, Sue and Jeff, you both are very amazing people. I really appreciated.

traci43 said:

similar situation

Hi there - I've been dealing with colon cancer for almost 8 years now.  My mets are always to the abdominal fat or lymph nodes, not the organs, execept for the initial diagnosis which was mets to the omentum (fat) and ovaries.  I've done a lot of chemo over the years and had 4 surgeries.  In some ways it's good and in some ways it's bad that mets are to the abdominal cavity.  Your organs aren't affected, but, I think, there's better chance of a cure if mets are to the liver as it can be removed surgically somewhat easily.  Surgery for abdominal mets is usually long and involved, especially looking for very small mets.  You need an experienced surgeon that knows what to look for.  There is a procedure, HIPEC, where they remove the mets and then do a heated chemo bath to the entire abdomen.  It is more successful for appendix cancer and ovarian cancer than for colon cancer.  It's a big, tough surgery--they call it the Mother of Aall Surgeries for good reason.  I've had it and had recurrences after, but I know of a woman (not on this board) with colon cancer that has been cancer-free for about 6 years post HIPEC.  I'm not sure there are any other options for abdominal mets besides chemo, surgery, and HIPEC.

In my experience it takes mets of a certain size to even be visible on a scan, so don't feel bad that they could not find it previously.  I've done chemo to the point where my CEA was pretty low (about 1.5) and then stopped and taken some time off (6-12 months) before starting back up again or trying for surgery.   Good luck, Traci

Thank you so much, Traci, you are great inspiration to us.  I am so glad that chemo is doing it's job for you to keep your cea so low. I really appreciated your input.

LivinginNH said:

Doctors

Hi,

Not sure if MGH is doing HIPEC yet...at least they weren't a few years ago.  These were our surgeons - they're excellent.

HIPEC: - Dr. Martin Goodman - Tufts Medical

MD is Director of the Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Program.
In addition to being one of the country's few doctors to perform HIPEC procedures, he has been ranked among the top 1% of surgeons nationwide by U.S. News & World Report. Dr. Goodman is also a recipient of the Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Award.

Liver: Dr. Kenneth Tanabe - MGH

Kenneth Kenji Tanabe, MD. Chief, Division of Surgical Oncology. Deputy Clinical Director, MGH Cancer Center. Director, MGH Liver Surgery Program.

Best wishes,

Cynthia

Thank you, Cynthia. I will keep it in mind. I really appreciated.