Progression of Symptoms With Lung Mets

I can't help on lung met progression, but I did read an article that indicated the Keto Diet may help starve cancer cells. A state of ketosis forces the body to convert fat to energy, and the fuel from that doesn't feed the cancer cells the way sugars do. Wish I had a reference to give, but you could "google it if you're curious. You don't look as though you need to diet in your pix, and carrying a little extra weight is safer strategy than being rail-thin, but you could keep the calorie level up, enjoy protein and whatever else the diet allows, and see what the effects are. Just a thought, and I hope you get the answers you need, along with some good, peaceful times during these holidays, and beyond..........................................Dave

My husband just passed on November 27.  He was diagnosed in August 2017. He had a tumor in the ascending colon with liver, lung, peritoneal and lymph node involvment. His only symptom was shortness of breath when running and a small pain in his side. Lung mets were small, but did grow but never enough to alarm the doctor. Buck's initial CEA was 1200, the lowest we ever got was 115. Buck had all the therapies, folfox, folfiri, oral meds, chemoembolization to the liver (pretty successful), was on a clinical trial for immunotherapy.  Buck developed an intestinal blockage, more like a shutdown, in the Spring of 2019, also a liver abscess. At this time our doc told us we were out of options, suggestioned hospice.  Buck was not ready. I prayed so hard for one more summer;  he got it.  His bowel function returned after a gtube, abscess drain and TPN. He went back on chemo. Buck enjoyed the summer, he had rehabed a shore house we had purchased the winter before being diagnosed and got to spend most of the summer there. In October he basically went into liver failure, his bilirubin was 19, he was sooo orange, some mental changes also.  Drains were placed in the liver to bring down the bilirubin but then he started taking on water like the Titanic and that was when he put up the white flag. He would get his abdomen drained weekly but... In November he was in distributive shock, we went to our community hospital (had been getting treatment in the city). Very good experience at the community hospital, Buck went onto hospice service. Our daughter was to be married this December, she got married in his hospital room, it was his last fully conscious day. Buck's passing was so peaceful. He had the chance to have a heart to heart with all our children (all grown).  Buck used these past two years to their full advantage.  He tolerated chemo so well, yes there were down days but as long as he knew they would be followed by good days, he was okay with that.  He saw this disease as a blessing, said it got rid of the noise in his life, blessed that it happened when our kids were grown (3 had gotten married in these 2 years). He truely appreciated every day. Sorry for rambling. What I really wonder is if we had not done the clinical trial would things be different.  In my mind I associate the trial with the liver abscess. The liver was doing fine before the trial.  We entered the trial to address the lung mets which were not responding to the chemo. I don't know.  Not worth questioning.  We had great care at Penn, really have no regrets. Was just hoping for more time. In the end, his passing was so peaceful, he was ready.

Slow-runner said:

Liver damage not the lung mets that proved fatal

My husband just passed on November 27.  He was diagnosed in August 2017. He had a tumor in the ascending colon with liver, lung, peritoneal and lymph node involvment. His only symptom was shortness of breath when running and a small pain in his side. Lung mets were small, but did grow but never enough to alarm the doctor. Buck's initial CEA was 1200, the lowest we ever got was 115. Buck had all the therapies, folfox, folfiri, oral meds, chemoembolization to the liver (pretty successful), was on a clinical trial for immunotherapy.  Buck developed an intestinal blockage, more like a shutdown, in the Spring of 2019, also a liver abscess. At this time our doc told us we were out of options, suggestioned hospice.  Buck was not ready. I prayed so hard for one more summer;  he got it.  His bowel function returned after a gtube, abscess drain and TPN. He went back on chemo. Buck enjoyed the summer, he had rehabed a shore house we had purchased the winter before being diagnosed and got to spend most of the summer there. In October he basically went into liver failure, his bilirubin was 19, he was sooo orange, some mental changes also.  Drains were placed in the liver to bring down the bilirubin but then he started taking on water like the Titanic and that was when he put up the white flag. He would get his abdomen drained weekly but... In November he was in distributive shock, we went to our community hospital (had been getting treatment in the city). Very good experience at the community hospital, Buck went onto hospice service. Our daughter was to be married this December, she got married in his hospital room, it was his last fully conscious day. Buck's passing was so peaceful. He had the chance to have a heart to heart with all our children (all grown).  Buck used these past two years to their full advantage.  He tolerated chemo so well, yes there were down days but as long as he knew they would be followed by good days, he was okay with that.  He saw this disease as a blessing, said it got rid of the noise in his life, blessed that it happened when our kids were grown (3 had gotten married in these 2 years). He truely appreciated every day. Sorry for rambling. What I really wonder is if we had not done the clinical trial would things be different.  In my mind I associate the trial with the liver abscess. The liver was doing fine before the trial.  We entered the trial to address the lung mets which were not responding to the chemo. I don't know.  Not worth questioning.  We had great care at Penn, really have no regrets. Was just hoping for more time. In the end, his passing was so peaceful, he was ready.

I can’t imagine how painful this has been for you and your family but thank you so much for sharing this information. Sending you love and peace.

k

Slow-runner said:

Liver damage not the lung mets that proved fatal

My husband just passed on November 27.  He was diagnosed in August 2017. He had a tumor in the ascending colon with liver, lung, peritoneal and lymph node involvment. His only symptom was shortness of breath when running and a small pain in his side. Lung mets were small, but did grow but never enough to alarm the doctor. Buck's initial CEA was 1200, the lowest we ever got was 115. Buck had all the therapies, folfox, folfiri, oral meds, chemoembolization to the liver (pretty successful), was on a clinical trial for immunotherapy.  Buck developed an intestinal blockage, more like a shutdown, in the Spring of 2019, also a liver abscess. At this time our doc told us we were out of options, suggestioned hospice.  Buck was not ready. I prayed so hard for one more summer;  he got it.  His bowel function returned after a gtube, abscess drain and TPN. He went back on chemo. Buck enjoyed the summer, he had rehabed a shore house we had purchased the winter before being diagnosed and got to spend most of the summer there. In October he basically went into liver failure, his bilirubin was 19, he was sooo orange, some mental changes also.  Drains were placed in the liver to bring down the bilirubin but then he started taking on water like the Titanic and that was when he put up the white flag. He would get his abdomen drained weekly but... In November he was in distributive shock, we went to our community hospital (had been getting treatment in the city). Very good experience at the community hospital, Buck went onto hospice service. Our daughter was to be married this December, she got married in his hospital room, it was his last fully conscious day. Buck's passing was so peaceful. He had the chance to have a heart to heart with all our children (all grown).  Buck used these past two years to their full advantage.  He tolerated chemo so well, yes there were down days but as long as he knew they would be followed by good days, he was okay with that.  He saw this disease as a blessing, said it got rid of the noise in his life, blessed that it happened when our kids were grown (3 had gotten married in these 2 years). He truely appreciated every day. Sorry for rambling. What I really wonder is if we had not done the clinical trial would things be different.  In my mind I associate the trial with the liver abscess. The liver was doing fine before the trial.  We entered the trial to address the lung mets which were not responding to the chemo. I don't know.  Not worth questioning.  We had great care at Penn, really have no regrets. Was just hoping for more time. In the end, his passing was so peaceful, he was ready.

Slow-runner, would you like to share this post on a new thread? I know that your forum family will want to share their hearfelt sympathy with your at this time.  

And please, there is no need for any apology. You are not rambling at all. And lastly, do not play the what-if game because there is no answer.  You will chase you tail and get nowhere. 

I hope you find peace as time passes, and find joy in your family and those who love you. 

UPDATE:  Slow-runner, I am going to copy and paste your post to a new thread, so that we can respond with our love and thoughts.  I hope I haven't over-stepped. If I have, please PM me, and I will make emends.

Tru

mojogirl67 said:

I Did A Whole Lot Of Investigating

I will again post that chemo DOES cause liver damage. All I can suggest to others here is to be your own advocate and don't just read ONE study someone throws your way. Educate yourself as much as possible. This board and many more are wonderful places to learn and share. Still, we are all human and affected by emotion and our individual experiences. Keep that in thought thru all of it.  Chemos are toxins and yes, they do kill cancer cells. BUT, they also kill much more. For me, I have had an entire lobe of my liver removed, part of my colon resected and my gallbladder removed. MY system is extremely compromised to filter anything as it once did so pouring more toxic chemicals into it in hopes of killing what was never addressed in the first place may buy me more time ,but it is not the "quality" of time that I desire. I will take two months of good time verses 6 months of nausea, diarrhea, endless injections/medications and running from doctor to doctor to be scanned and debated upon oh how to tackle what still remains...Stage IV METASTATIC CANCER in my body that NO ONE has a cure for.  I am nobody's judge or jury on how to approach and deal with the cancer they face. I just happen to have had more experience than I ever bargained for with being a caregiver for over a year to a husband and then being the patient in the driver's seat. When my husband got sick, we chased everything to cure him. I have never seen a human being turn the shade of yellow that he did. His liver was bombarded and never recovered. I could only stand by when a last resort of a feeding tube was suggested to him and he took it. He started his fight at 220lbs on a 6'4 frame and when he died he was 140lbs. I so wish we had spent more time in quality than we did in fear and fight. That is a choice that each must make with this horrible disease. 

I just want to come to NC and hug you !!!