Radioactive Beads to the Liver

stepmj
stepmj Member Posts: 32
edited March 2014 in Esophageal Cancer #1
Hi All - This is my first post - I wish I found this site a year ago when my 85 year-old Dad was first diagnosed with EC with mets to the liver. We recently found that the chemo is no longer working and the tumors in his liver have grown significantly - fortunately the cancer on his esophagus is holding steady and he can still eat. Dad is set up to have radioactive beads put directly into the liver next week. Does anyone have experience with this procedure?

Thank you!
JoAnn

Comments

  • Tina Blondek
    Tina Blondek Member Posts: 1,500 Member
    #2
    Hi Joann and welcome to our
    Hi Joann and welcome to our family. My dad had the exact same dx. First the ec in 11/08, had chemo and radiation, went into remission, then in December 09 got mets to his liver. Unfortunately the only treatment his drs gave him was more chemo, which did not work. He passed away in March. The treatment you are referring to I think is called therasphere. There is another couple on here, Sherri and Jim. Jim is receiving this treatment as well. I will notify Sherri and tell her to reply to you. Best of luck to you and your dad. We will be thinking and praying for you. Keep in touch.
    Tina
  • stepmj
    stepmj Member Posts: 32
    #3
    Tina Blondek said:

    Hi Joann and welcome to our
    Hi Joann and welcome to our family. My dad had the exact same dx. First the ec in 11/08, had chemo and radiation, went into remission, then in December 09 got mets to his liver. Unfortunately the only treatment his drs gave him was more chemo, which did not work. He passed away in March. The treatment you are referring to I think is called therasphere. There is another couple on here, Sherri and Jim. Jim is receiving this treatment as well. I will notify Sherri and tell her to reply to you. Best of luck to you and your dad. We will be thinking and praying for you. Keep in touch.
    Tina

    Hi Tina -
    Thank you so much.
    Hi Tina -
    Thank you so much. Dad was diagnosed at stage 4 with the mets already in his liver so we feel so lucky to have made it this far. We've won a few battles along the way but and we know we can't win the war, but we are cautiously optimistic that maybe we'll get a little more time with this procedure.
    Thanks,
    Mary
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #4
    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • stepmj
    stepmj Member Posts: 32
    #5
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    Thank you William -
    It's
    Thank you William -
    It's actually both - Mary JoAnn :)
    Thank you for your notes - we have a fabulous Dr here in Denver doing the procedure - I understand he was the first in the country to do it. He has been terrific answering all our questions but I'm not sure we know what all the questions are! He walked us through Dad's PET scan and helped us understand why he's a candidate and explained everything he did on the mapping - for example, not more than 20% of the test beads can go to the lungs, fortunately only 6% did in Dad's case.

    I'm most interested in the side effects which I understand can be a lot like chemo side effects. Dad has grown so weak that if they are bad it could really put him out of commission - I know it's different for everyone but good to know Jim has had a good experience. Dad lives alone in his house (we lost mom 5 years ago) and I'm trying to figure out when he won't be able to do that any longer - I believe it's now but I can't get him to acknowledge it - so far I've been trying to make it HIS idea to move and he's not biting.

    Dad has already had the first step for "mapping" and is going in to get the beads this Wednesday.

    Thank you for all the good info!
    MJ
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #6
    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • stepmj
    stepmj Member Posts: 32
    #7
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    Hi Sherri -
    Thank you so
    Hi Sherri -

    Thank you so much for the reply.
    I'm so happy the results are promising for Jim!! The doctor taking care of my Dad gave us cautious optimism but he was clearly excited (almost giddy) about the procedure and what it can do to help folks in our situation.

    I can empathize with the journey as we too have been on it for a year - Dad already had mets to the liver when he was diagnosed – at his age (85) we certainly thank God for every day. The stage IV battle is not for the weak – and from what I read, you and Jim are providing inspirations for everyone on this board.

    I’ll say a prayer for you guys that things continue to go well.
    Thanks,
    MJ
  • Betty in Vegas
    Betty in Vegas Member Posts: 290 Member
    #8
    stepmj said:

    Hi Sherri -
    Thank you so
    Hi Sherri -

    Thank you so much for the reply.
    I'm so happy the results are promising for Jim!! The doctor taking care of my Dad gave us cautious optimism but he was clearly excited (almost giddy) about the procedure and what it can do to help folks in our situation.

    I can empathize with the journey as we too have been on it for a year - Dad already had mets to the liver when he was diagnosed – at his age (85) we certainly thank God for every day. The stage IV battle is not for the weak – and from what I read, you and Jim are providing inspirations for everyone on this board.

    I’ll say a prayer for you guys that things continue to go well.
    Thanks,
    MJ

    If he has the opportunity
    If he has the opportunity for theraspheres or SirSpheres to the liver, get them. Usually, if there is still an active tumor elsewhere they won't do them...so get them while you can. Layne had very few side effects, as well. He was tired the first week. That was about it.

Discussion Boards