Stage 4 with mets to the liver...

Edina77 · October 2004

i am sending this as i am awaiting a phone call from my sister about my moms test results. I am so scared i can't even describe. I read all these great surivor stories and you have no idea how much that helps me. I find my hope in every single one of your stories.
My mom was diagnosed just 3 weeks ago after being rushed to emergency room with stomach pain. they did the surgery the next morning and took 6 feet of her colon out. The scan showed tumors in different parts of the liver. They are going to start her on chemo in a week or two. She is very,very, very depressed. I am doing everything i can to get her spirits up, to make her understand there are survivors out there and she can beat this too. She is only 64 yrs old. Never been sick.
If you know of someone who is a stage 4 survivor, let me know so i can print out the mesage and show it to her. and as for me... i've never been this scared in my life. My mom, my world. It is almost unreal. But i am sure all you have that feeling too....
Thanks in advance, you are in my prayers and keep fighting and stay positive!!!!

Edina.

Kaye2003 · October 2004

Edina:
I can't answer about the stage iv, but I can tell you to never give up. There are survivors all over this site and they will help you and your mom get thru this.
I will pray for her healing and for your family.
Your mom is very lucky to have you.
God bless.

Edina77 · October 2004

Kaye2003 said:
Edina:
I can't answer about the stage iv, but I can tell you to never give up. There are survivors all over this site and they will help you and your mom get thru this.
I will pray for her healing and for your family.
Your mom is very lucky to have you.
God bless.

well, the results show tumors in the liver ( cannot remove it by surgery) and 9 out of 15 lymph nodes affected. The surgen is scheduling an appointment with a oncologist for next week. i will be just in time to go with her as i am moving back to Dallas to go through the cancer battle with her.

And, my mom is nowhere as lucky to have me as i am to have her in my life....

stay positive!!!

Love

Edina.

kerry · October 2004

Edina,

You sound like a wonderful daughter and you must also have a wonderful mother. I am a stage 3 survivor of almost 2 years. All I can say is that there will be some difficult times ahead and some good times - hang in there and remember we here at the "semi-colons" are always ready, willing and able (usually) to give you support, information (from our experiences), lots of prayers and a bunch of "ears" to vent your frustrations.

Please keep us posted and check out our many web sites for lots of information.

Our prayers are with you and your family

Kerry

scouty · October 2004

Edina,

Your move to Dallas now makes you a caregiver. Caregivers are very special people and in some ways have it harder then the patient. The people on this board are awesome and will be with you every step of the journey. It is a tough one, but knowledge, friendship, love, spirituality, and humor are tough to fight when blended well. You will get to know Emily, our wonderful resident nutritionalist. You will also meet many stage 3 and 4 survivors. I am now in my 7th month on chemo for stage 4. The chemo is working and surgery will soon be an option where it wasn't 7 months ago.

Ask for our support any time you need it and just wait until you meet our resident kick butt survivor Stacey!!!!

Lisa P.

tkd3g · October 2004

Hi Edina. First off, you , your mom and family are in my prayers.

I am stage 3 and currently going thru 6 months of post-op chemo.

You are an wonderful daughter to become your mom's caregiver. She's going to need that support and love. We all do. You need it too. This is a tough journey, but very "doable".

This is a fantastic site to learn, gripe, laugh and cry. Come often.

Let us know how you and your mom are doing along the way.

God bless

Barb

StacyGleaso · October 2004

Edina,

I am a stage 4 SURVIVOR. Sunday, October 3rd of this year, I celebrated my 3 yr anniversary of being diagnosed. Today, I am all clear. I had no family history, and was a very healthy person until this hit. Now, I have conquered it and am back to healthy again. There are SO many success stories here, and you need to print them for your mom. Go into your start page, and click on USER DIRECTORY on the right in the Tools section. Look up web pages by the names you see in these postings. Just off the top of my head, I know the following people have done web pages: SpongeBob, judiths, 2bhealed, Monikaz, Lisa Rose, Kerry, jodell, kangatoo, grandma047, ron50, nanuk. (All the regulars out there, forgive me if I forgot you!) You will gain strength in every story.

Please have your mom e-mail me through this site for additional support. I'll help her understand some of the medical jargon which will be thrown her way, to make it all less scary.

Stay strong, and keep in touch,

Stacy

deneenb · October 2004

Hi Edina,

My father was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer with mets to the peritineum/omentum in June. The Dr. gave us the impression that there was nothing that could be done beyond the surgery he had to remove the colon tumor and that we had limited time left. We found out in August that he had 2 mets to the liver. He started chemo shortly thereafter (folfox w/Avastin). He has had 4 treatments so far and the oncology nurses and the nutritionist we see are all amazed at how quickly his blood counts bounce back. He gets very low on the week that he is off treatment and they double back up within 4 days. Everyone responds differently and according to our nutritionist, keeping someone with cancer nutritionally sounds absolutely helps with the fight.

If the body has several ailments to fight, the immune system is focusing a little bit of attention on fighting all ailments. If the body just has cancer to fight, the immune system can focus all of it's energy on fighting that.

I was very, very scared when my father was originally diagnosed. I immediately began researching and reading and studying and making phone calls and appointments. I feel tons better today. I still have days where I worry but I truly believe that my father is going to beat this. I have read stories of survival from people battling every stage of every type of cancer. I have read stories about people who were given months to live and lived years. I believe so strongly in the nutritional aspect of treating cancer that I am in the process of determining a new career path for myself in nutrition. My father's nutritionist is going to work with me and has actually recommended that I consider a career in patient advocacy in the meantime. Not to get off the track here but I feel so strongly about approaching the treatment of my father's cancer from several angles that I belive it is going to be the key to his success. There is hope and my advice to you would be to educate yourself as much as possible. Knowledge is power. Look at all of the options for treatment and believe that everyone has the chance to be a survivor. Turn to this board as often as necessary for support, advice, a chance to vent. The people here have been a godsend for me.

Best Wishes,
Deneen

mikew42 · October 2004

Hello Edina,
First I want to tell you that like everyone here, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your mother. I also admire the caregivers for those of us going through this. I thnik in many respects it tougher on you.

As for hope, you've come to the right place. The people on this site are so encouraging. I was diagnosed in Feb. of this year with Stage 4 with mets to liver and 8 of 25 lymph nodes positive. I am 42 with 3 young boys and a wonderful wife. The onduty oncollogist gave me basicall 1 1/2 to 2 years and no possibility of making it 5 years. Needless to say, I was very depressed. After tests (PET and MRI) it was found that I had 1 met to liver, and that it is operable. I started chemo in March which includes a new drug Avastin, and within two months my tumor had shruck 50% (down to 1 cm.). I have continued to do chemo, but the "spot" is still there, although it does,t show on PET scan, just MRI. Now we are going to do Radio Frequancy Ablation (RFA) probably at the end of this month. My current oncologist thinks that because I responded so well to chemo that I have a pretty good prognosis (heck, he is even discussing "cure). I know I have a long way to go, but I do see a light at the end of the tunnel. I think the combination of Zoloft (anti-depressent), this site, family, religious faith, and my will to live combined with my stuborness are to much for this cancer and I will beat it!!

As for your mom, check to see if they do chemo, and it works to shrink tumors, would she be able to have surgery. Also, look into RFA as they can get to spots that htey may not be able to operate on.

Take care and keep us posted.

Mike

Unknown · October 2004

Hello Edina. My name is Monika and I am, like you, a care giver to my husband Bert, a current no evidence of disease stage III colon cancer survivor and also to my wonderful, wonderful mother, advanced non-operable lung cancer or "beast of beasts" as I call it.

I know your pain, your fear, your sorrow all to well as I faced it myself two years ago when my mom first diagnosed and again last July 2003 when hubby was diagnosed. All I can tell you is, and as hard as it may seem, don't throw in the towel. Not ever!!!! The only person who can make that choice is your mom but with good care and all the advanced treatments that are available now plus support from a wonderful daughter like you, there's no reason why she can't enjoy many more years of quality life and perhaps even beat this ****.

As I said, my mom's odds for being here today were dreadful...but thanks to her strong spirit, positive attitude, good medical care, and the grace of God, although by no means cured, she is holding her own and plans on going to Europe for five weeks October 26!!!! At diagnosis time, I didn't even think I'd have her today....shows you how much I know.

My husband, on the other hand, has responded real well to chemo and fortunately, at time of diagnosis was operable and remains no evidence of disease almost a year and half later. That's another one that I thought I had lost (as people on this board who have known me for awhile will attest to when I first joined the group).

Please remember that cancer is no longer an automatic death sentence and while it still takes far to many lives, there are more and more survivors every single day. Focus on that and whenever you feel yourself falling into the pitt of anxiety, worry, and fear...come and vent here. Your mom needs you...believe me she does and what she needs is optimism and encouragement. She is lucky to have you and yes, as a daughter of a wonderful mother too, we are lucky, oh so lucky, to have them.

Hugs,
Monika

cheer3 · October 2004

Edina,

I am a stage IV SURVIVOR! I have a web page also.
I have been in clinical remission 15 months. This is a wonderful place, you will always find someone who can say just the right thing to help you feel better. I read a lot more than I post.I can tell you are a blessing to your Mother. You and your Mother will be in my prayers.
Jean

Stage 4 with mets to the liver...

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