Metastatic adenocarcinoma (liver mets)

Bellen said:

Liver mets

Hi Nick - I am starting folfiri plus avastin tomorrow (Have colorectal with mets to liver).  How are you feeling?  Have you taken anything that has helped with the side effects?  Best to you.

Bellen,
I am from the uterine cancer site. Uterine and colon cancer have alot in common. I was diagnosed with
Stage 3B endometrial cancer in Oct  2014. Had total hysterectory Nov  2014. Two months after surgery,
cancer had metastasized to liver, spleen, outer rectum, and I had nodules on lungs, outer colon and spleen.
(34cm of tumors in total). I was now Stage 4 and given 4-6 mos to live.

I had two infusions of Taxol/Carbol and then started on metformin. It is a drug given for diabetes and insulin resistance
and has over 20 anti cancer properties. It does what all the cancer drugs don't do but need to do. They are looking into repurposing
this drug for cancer treatment because it has already been proven to help cancer patients.  There are many trials going on with
this drug but your doctor can just prescribe it for you. It is a generic drug that has been around over 50 years.

Avastin was recommended for me because it stops angiogenesis: I'm sure thatis why it has been prescribed for you.
In order for you to have metastases, you have to have angiogenesis, the creation of new blood vessels to feed the cancer.
And I had alot of metastases. But Avastin has severe side effects and does not have great outcomes. I refused the drug.

Metformin stops angiogenesis while doing many other anti-cancer things. I started on metformin
the end of Feb 2015- after one month, 88% of all my metastases disappeared, including those to my liver.

Remember, the liver makes glucose. Metformin manages glucose levels. I also had very high levels of Insulin
Growth Factor- this is a hormone that fuels cancer and keeps the cancer cells from dying.  Metformin lowers IGF-1.
It is typically elevated in endometrial, colon and prostate cancer . Has your doctor checked your IGF-1 levels? 
Something has to be fueling your metastases so you need to figure out what in your body is the source of the fuel. 

I also tested very high for ferritin- measures iron levels. Guess where iron is mainly stored- the liver and spleen.
I ate alot of red med and drank alot of wine.  Alcohol and red meat increases your iron levels.  As you know, eating
red meat is tied to colon cancer.  Iron damages your DNA. Has your doctor checked your ferritin levels? 

After 7 months on metformin, I went into complete remission, in Aug 2015.  I have been in remission now for 13 months 
and I have had no new cancer for over 18 months, since I started on the metformin.  I remain on metformin plus follow a
comprehensive cancer treatment plan, including over 44 supplements.

I did take a total of  only 6 treatments of Taxol/Carbo- my last chemo was May 2015.

I would suggest you ask your doctor about adding metformin to your protocol. Colon and endometrial
cancer have many of the same risk factors, so if you have some of the same risk factors as I did, it may help
you as well.

Takingcontrol58

There are studies that show that metformin can make your chemo work better for colon cancer- you can look up your
chemo and metformin at www.pubmed.gov.

Bellen said:

Liver mets

Thank you - I will ask about this - next appt, and read about it. Just had one treatment so far.  i know my iron levels were low and I was taking feramax about every 3rd day, so that is not high. Even my CEA marker was not off by much - had colonoscopy in 2014 and my colorectal cancer was not diagnosed - no polyp seen then.  Not sure how this all started so fast - colorectal adenocarcinoma with multiple liver mets.  

Bellen,
I hope your treatment is going well so far.

I happened to read an article this morning entitled "Are you getting too much iron?"
The article talks about iron supplements. Says each standard iron tablet contains
almost 10 times the amount of iron men are recommended to eat each day- and
these dosages have not been changed for 50 years.  Thte article says the typical
supplement is 18gm of iron. The research suggests we may need
to think more about how much iron we give to people, and try to tailor the dose to the
patient, since it is well known the damage too much iron can cause.  Maybe you can
mention this to your doctor as well.

Iron also increases inflammation.  I take two low dose aspirins each day- aspirins
fight inflammation by inhibiting the COX-2 enzyme.  I know it is often recommended
for colon cancer patients. If you aren't taking aspirin and don't have stomach issues,
maybe you can ask your doctor about aspirin as well.

If you ever had polyps in your colon, they are usually caused by high
Insulin Growth Factor levels.  This hormone, fuels many cancers. You
didn't mention if you were ever tested for this or not. It is a key cancer
generator.

If you can find out the source of what is fueling your cancer, you can treat
the source- chemo does not do that. Cancer can only form if your body is
conducive for it to grow- meaning the body has a toxic internal environment.

Regards,
Takingcontrol58

Bellen,
It is too bad your WBC counts are low- are you doing any supplementation to keep them up?  I have been on many
supplements under the direction of my integrative oncologist- many specifically boost the immune system.

I started the real metformin after 2 chemo infusions (Taxol/Carboplatin). I originally entered a trial that added
metformin or a placebo to the Taxol/Carbo to make the chemo work better.  But when I learned of all the anti-
cancer properties of the drug, my own integrative oncologist put me on it and I withdrew from the trial. I was in
the trial for one month before I was able to meet with my integrative oncologist. I couldn't risk getting the placebo.
There are many trials for many cancers testing metformin with various chemos.

A good article to read at www.pubmed.gov is "Potential Benefit of Metformin as treatment for Colon Cancer- the
evidence so far"  Article no- PMID 26745038- 2015. It gets into alot of the processes involved in the formation
and metastasis of cancer that metformin treats.

Hoping your liver mets disappear.

Takingcontrol58