Treatment Options for Stage 4 Colon Cancer?

My sister, 42,was diagnosed 4 m ago with 4 stage CC with liver mets. She got 4 cycles (every 2 weeks) low dose chemo and today her doctor told that it didnt work at all, . feeling depressed. and looking for new treatment options either.

losbridges said:

Hi, I'm so, so sorry to hear

Hi, I'm so, so sorry to hear that. Why did they recommend low-dose? 

 

She is skinny and always been and with chemo it's difficult to keep weight stable. Her weight badly affect her treatment. 

gul1976 said:

weight problems

She is skinny and always been and with chemo it's difficult to keep weight stable. Her weight badly affect her treatment. 

I am gaining weight on chemo. The fatigue makes me super hungry

im Stage four too.  It probably depends on his current condition and age.  Im 40, and my initial treatment was FOLFOXIri, which is everything they got.  It’s no joke, every two weeks, it’s tough.  I go to DF in Boston too, so you should get good info there. Good luck.  There are no guarantees with chemo, sometimes you respond, some people don’t. There is no formula for success. 

I was diagnosed stage 4 rectal cancer with mets to the liver  in April/May 2015 at age 70.  I weighed  85 pounds  at the beginning of treatment and  my weight has remained stable throughout, although at one  point, just before surgery,  I did gain a few pounds. The initial CT scan showed  that I had "severe centrilobular emphysema"but it had never  been a problem and never required medication and has remained stable   in subsequent scans. I  received 8  Folfox  plus Avastin treatments, followed by 28 chemo/radiation treatments, a liver ablation in August 2016 and abdominoperineal resection (APR) surgery in October 2017, resulting in a permanent colostomy.  I'm now on maintenance chemo of Erbitux and  Irinotecan. You can click on  my "About Me" section for more details of my treatment. So far,  everything is going well,  recent CT scans show no evidence of new metastatic disease. I live a fairly active lifestyle and  am able to enjoy working in my garden and most of the things I did before diagnosis, although I do   tend to  avoid crowded situations because of  a weakened immune system from chemo.

As others have said,  people react differently to treatment, and there really doesn't seem to be  a sure way of knowing just how certain treatments will affect anyone.  I hope your father does well with whatever treatment is finally decided upon and although I am sorry you needed to find this site, I am glad that you have, and hope you find much useful information here as so many of us have.

Grace/lizard44

losbridges said:

Thanks for the encouragement!

Thank you everyone for the thoughts! That's so helpful. 

One thing our doctors haven't recommended yet is surgury. I keep seeing that many people online have had surgury in the GI tract and/or liver. My father has a tumor in his colon and mets on the liver, but they said they'll only pursue surgury if it interrupts his food degestions/passing. Should we be asking more about surgury?

I would be asking about the liver mets. I'm sure they plan on shrinking them down before surgery, but if I were you, I would want them to detail you about what their exact plans are. 

I suggest keeping a detailed journal/notebook (your father may already be doing this). Write absolutely EVERYTHING down. Aches and pains, no matter where they are. Reaction to foods. Bloating. Blood. Changes in stool (I'm sure your dad has learned to 'look in the loo after every poo'), you name it, it should be written down, no matter how insignificant you think it is. 

Of course I am talking abuot your dad doing this, not you. Oh, that would be kinda freaky - 'Hey dad, can I look at your.....'  - anyway, I digress. 

I am happy to hear that a second opinion is being sought. It all helps. But be warned. You may very well end up with two completely different treatment options, and that, my friend, can get really frustrating. 

I wish your father the best.  I am always heartwarmed by children who come here looking for help. You're obviously a good son. 

Tru

losbridges said:

Thanks for the encouragement!

Thank you everyone for the thoughts! That's so helpful. 

One thing our doctors haven't recommended yet is surgury. I keep seeing that many people online have had surgury in the GI tract and/or liver. My father has a tumor in his colon and mets on the liver, but they said they'll only pursue surgury if it interrupts his food degestions/passing. Should we be asking more about surgury?

Last Friday I got diagnosed With a tumor in my Sigmoid colon,  When I awoke up from the colonoscopy, the doctor walked in and was surprised that he found a tumor and it's quite big, so the 1st thing he  Was we are gonna get it out. I get  My results tomorrow morning, and he wants to remove my sigmoid by the beginning of next week. He said, you don't leave things like that in, gotta get it out.

peterz54 said:

Some options to consider

Levi,    

Do a Search By Keyword (in this forum) for 

Lemanne

Longo

Seyfried

Reynolds

Yale 

See my 2018 posts for each search results.   These will be some things to consider in addition to, not in place of, standard of care.   

Lemanne is an oncologist while Longo and Seyfried are professors/researchers who have done work applicable to cancer.   

Diet matters, but Dr. Colin Champ (an oncologist) has demonstrated that major cancer centers are all over the map in terms of dietary recommendations for their patients, so take what you hear from your father's physicians (if you hear anything at all) in this area with more than a grain of salt unless you know for a fact that they know the literature in this area as most do not.  A common thread is to dramatically limit simple carbs and in some cases overall carbohydrates and at the same time keep protein moderate at best.  

 

Peter, you are so right on. My traditional Onc and surgeon basically tell me I'm fortunate to have a good appetite, and go ahead and eat whatever I want. My integrative oncologist tells me to follow Dr. Longo's advice, do intermittent fasting (which Harvard study recently proved beneficial), and employ a Mediterranean diet at the very least. He will tell my diet is absolutely key to controlling the spread of my cancer. Thanks for reiterating this. I need the kick in the pants every day until I master it. Really tough for me. 

I'm sorry to hear about your dad.  Just make sure whatever you decide it's good to get a couple options and opinions.  If you aren't comfortable with one then seek out another doctor which it sounds like you are already doing.  Wishing your father well.

Kim

losbridges said:

Thanks for the encouragement!

Thank you everyone for the thoughts! That's so helpful. 

One thing our doctors haven't recommended yet is surgury. I keep seeing that many people online have had surgury in the GI tract and/or liver. My father has a tumor in his colon and mets on the liver, but they said they'll only pursue surgury if it interrupts his food degestions/passing. Should we be asking more about surgury?

But, yes, ask for an explanation.   My recollection is that for liver surgery the mets have to small enough, with no portal vein involvment, so that if surgery occurs they have hope of getting it all and leaving enough good liver to regenrate.   The paradox is that sometimes chemo is used to shrink the tumors so they can then be removed, but the chemo compromises the healthy parts of the liver, reducing its functionality.  And the patient has to be strong enough to bounce back from the trauna of surgery and go without threatement during the recovery phase,  In any case, it's not as obvious as one might think, especially for Stage 4 patients.   Ask them to explain the surgery options for your father, incluiding the reasoning behind each option.