Stage IV

hyler1
hyler1 Member Posts: 12
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
My mother was diagnosed in early March with stage IV colon cancer. Her doctor told her he did not think they could cure it and that she has 3 options. 1. Intravaneous chemotherapy. 2. Chemotherapy in pill form. 3. Do nothing. He then told her that he did not think she was strong enough to try the IV chemo. She agreed to try the chemo in pill form but has been really discouraged by the side effects and was advised by the doctor to stop taking the pills. She actually feels much better since she stopped the chemo but I'm really concerned that the doctor has given her no hope. Does anyone have any advice to help her?

Comments

  • pattieb
    pattieb Member Posts: 168
    #2
    I was also diagnosed with stage IV last june. I have had 20 treatments of intravaneous chemo which was hard but I got thru it. Thay have now found 2 more nodules on my pelvis and I will be do radation and FU5 chemo. Thay have told me that I probaly will never be cured but controlled. The drs also said I could also do surgery, but I want to try other thing before I have to do that. I too got sick from the chemo there are a alot of things you can take to help. When I started the chemo it was after my surgery and I was really weak, but I kept going. I also had to go back to work during all of this and it was very hard but I managed to get thru it. Your mother can't just do anything, maybe a support group could help. Good luck.
  • fandaj
    fandaj Member Posts: 81
    #3
    Hi, I just had surgery (removed 18 inches of colon) for Stage II colon cancer. I just started chem and have had 3 sessions so far. My medication is IV of 5FU and Leucovorin. I haven't had any side effects so far. Has she had a second opinion? Good luck
  • clanahan
    clanahan Member Posts: 2
    #4
    My mother was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer last April - she also has Multiple Myeloma. She has taken several different regimens of chemo - 5FU / Leuvocorin / Campistar / Xeloda. The Xeloda has taken her markers down considerably but the side effects are rough.
  • 2bhealed
    2bhealed Member Posts: 2,064 Member
    #5
    You asked for advice for your mother and I will happily give you some. Help your mother take control of her own hope. Read everything you can about people who beat their cancer with alternative methods. There are so many out there. Everyone should always have hope. There are wonderful books....too many to list all...but here are a couple:

    Beating Cancer with Nutrition by Patrick Quillin

    The Cancer Battle Plan by Anne Frahm
    The Cancer Battle Plan Sourcebook by David Frahm
    Cancer Diagnosis...What to Do Next by W. John Diamond, M.D. and W. Lee Cowden, M.D.

    There's a start. There IS hope. The doctors at Mayo gave my sister no hope either and she died four years after her diagnosis. I am almost two years cancer free on only alternatives after having surgery for Stage III lymph pos colon cancer. Never Give Up!

    emily
  • hyler1
    hyler1 Member Posts: 12
    #6
    2bhealed said:

    You asked for advice for your mother and I will happily give you some. Help your mother take control of her own hope. Read everything you can about people who beat their cancer with alternative methods. There are so many out there. Everyone should always have hope. There are wonderful books....too many to list all...but here are a couple:

    Beating Cancer with Nutrition by Patrick Quillin

    The Cancer Battle Plan by Anne Frahm
    The Cancer Battle Plan Sourcebook by David Frahm
    Cancer Diagnosis...What to Do Next by W. John Diamond, M.D. and W. Lee Cowden, M.D.

    There's a start. There IS hope. The doctors at Mayo gave my sister no hope either and she died four years after her diagnosis. I am almost two years cancer free on only alternatives after having surgery for Stage III lymph pos colon cancer. Never Give Up!

    emily

    Thank you. I will her some reading material on alternatives and hope that will give her some incentive to try!
  • cgriz
    cgriz Member Posts: 1
    #7
    I was diagnosed with State IV cancer with lymph node involvement and metastasis to the liver. I underwent surgery and they removed 18" of colon and 21 lymph nodes of which 6 were positive. I started chemo which was the 5FU and leucovoran IV and became very ill...so much so that I spent five out of seven days in bed with vomiting, etc. The doctor took me off the 5fu and put me on a pill form of chemo called Xeloda. After three months, it showed that the Xeloda did nothing for the liver metastasis. HOwever, there was no cancer in the colon according to the PET scan. Has your Mom's physician recommended surgery? I would recommend you get a second opinion and by the way, there are many different pills out there. Perhaps one could help her. I am sure she is feeling much better off the chemo and can relate to that. But that will not solve the problem. Perhaps she should join the cancer website and interact in some of the chat rooms which may cheer her up. I will pray for you and wish you luck.

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