Stage IV with Met to Liver and Lungs next steps

I have stage 4 colon cancer mets to liver and lungs and have been treated at MD Anderson for almost 2 years. It is a nice hospital and I believe it is a well-known hospital in the field. I am little lucky I live in Houston, no travel required. I had second opinion in different center as well, they did confirm same diagnosis as MD Anderson.

My doctor prescribed Zofran for nausea. I take it as needed.  Ginger like in ginger tea or ginger snap cookies may help too.  As for non-prescription drugs, I recommend talking that over with the oncologist.  This is very important because drugs are usually processed by the liver.  With tumors in the liver and processsing the chemodrugs, the liver can be in a weakened state.

kyolcu said:

Hello there,

I have stage 4 colon cancer mets to liver and lungs and have been treated at MD Anderson for almost 2 years. It is a nice hospital and I believe it is a well-known hospital in the field. I am little lucky I live in Houston, no travel required. I had second opinion in different center as well, they did confirm same diagnosis as MD Anderson.

I had Avastin, Irinotecan and 5FU for almost 2 years, 22 months(total of 39 cycles of chemo). Because CEA started rising they changed it to Irinotecan and Cetuximab, I just got it last week. 

I am generally happy with care team they update me of prognosis. 

i live in MA, and can get medical marijuana.  This has been THE BEST thing I have done since getting a cancer diagnosis. Appetite, sleep and anxiety are all problems I have improved since smoking weed.  They have all kinds for different problems.  My biggest issue was sleep, now I sleep like a baby.  None of the prescribed pills (ambien) come close to nature’s marijuana.  If you don’t like to smoke, they have gummies, candy, all kinds of stuff.  Highly recommend it, and zero side effects, I wake up and go to work rested, no hangover. 

NewHere said:

On What Woody Said

I was looking at CBD Oil in a local shop and tried to get some information on which to use. Unfortunately no one could really help.  (I have a recurrance and am doing everything I can, herbs, vitamins, exercise, etc. to see how long I can go before going back on chemo.)  Anyway, they did mention that the CBD will show up on blood tests in case I am working for the government or certain other places where they do such tests.  I am guessing there are exceptions or waivers in there somewhere based on the medicinal use.  

If needed, I will ask about the program (I am in NY) and probably will go the gummies and candy route myself   

Something that worked well for me when I was on chemo were ginger snaps.  Overall I did fairly well with nausea, but did not have a big appetite.  So would nibble on those throughout the day. It was usually the day of hook-up through disconnect where I was eating the least amount.  

 

It might be the ginger - though ginger in raw form is unpleasant. I went through a box of ginger snaps over the past three weeks. They were on sale at Whole Foods and I needed them for a trip.

NewHere said:

I Love Ginger In General

Candies and the rest.  And ginger ale was a staple when growing up if I had an upset stomach.  I am using raw ginger in my herb mixture that I brew up.  I do nibble on a bit now and again.  It is strong for sure 

I grate fresh ginger into my plain whole milk yogurt and add fruit. Tastes Heavenly! 

Should you change your name to OldHere?   Good to see you.

Tru

PADAVE1 said:

5FU switch

Hi kyolcu - Curious - how did your CEA change for the initial ~2-years - did it fall - baseline and ultimately rise?  Did your "scans" act the same way?  TY - Dave

Sorry for late response, I just noticed your posting. I was initially diagnosed on 2-26-16, my CEA was 17000(seventeen thousand), and as of today it is 125. High CEA dropped very quickly after initial chemo regimen of Avastin, Irinotecan and 5FU.