Great Scan Results

Good morning,

My Dad got the results of his post chemo PET and CT scans yesterday. He finished chemo 3 weeks ago. His Dr. said that he is in full clinical remission with No Evidence of Disease. At this time the Dr. doesn't feel that it is necessary to start another round of chemo as my Dad has already exceeded any expectations that either the oncologist or surgeon had initially.

Some history for any newcomers - my Dad was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer in June 2004 with peritoneal carcinomatosis. Scans prior to staring chemo in August showed a small spot on the liver as well. After 3 chemo treatments the spot on the liver disappeared and has not come back. My father gained weight during treatment and never had nausea. His blood counts were always good.

If what the surgeon said after surgery was accurate, my father would not have lived to see last christmas. We didn't listen to him and said statistics are bulls**t. Every person responds differently and what was seemingly a death sentence years ago, is no longer the case today. Of course nobody can tell the future but I believed from the start that my father was going to beat the odds and now the Dr. thinks he has a chance at that too. By the way, he told us about another patient he has been seeing for 10 years with the same diagnosis as my Dad's. He had 12 months of chemo and has been off chemo now for 9 years with no recurrences. Miracles do happen.

I asked the Dr. if anybody has ever done any studies to determine if there are commonalities between late stage cancer patients who are beating the odds. You know, like finding out what those people are doing in addition to, or in place of, chemotherapy. For example, nutrition, supplements, meditation, etc. We did all of those and I believe with all my heart that it's what made the difference. The Dr. said that he is not aware of any research or studies. No surprise.

Best Wishes to All,
Deneen