Re: stage IV Colon Cancer

[Guest guest]

Dear Kim,

I'm heart touched at your young age and with such a young child. There is

always hope, and you've taken the first brave step at reaching out and asking

questions. I wrote this to someone else recently and hope you don't mind it

being recycled, but it says what it needs to. Hope that it helps...and prayers

are with you and your family.

Sheila

I've actually investigated some things too on the alternative side (natural

or homeopathic) and found several good resources. Dr. Murray is good

to investigate - he has a book out and it details alot on diet and vitamins.

Along the same path are the folks at healthquarters. They are very open to

questions and you can contact them directly - you can find their info at

healthquarters.org. They have two books I recommend...The Cancer Battle Plan

and the

Cancer Battle Plan Source Book. The first gives the history and insights

and second gives the how-to.

I've taken some of the suggestions and am planning on at least a fast with

juicing if things come together right. I have Stage IIIA rectal cancer and have

been through Xeloda and radiation treatment together. I am scheduled for

surgery in the beginning of November. I am still working and doing fine, partly

attributable to age (43) and decent health to start with, with a tenancious

attitude as well which doesn't hurt. And lots of prayers.

Best of luck to you! Write if you'd like. I'll answer what I can and refer

the rest to the board, which I know will be helpful as well. At any rate, I

would not recommend JUST alternative over the conventional - but rather use the

alternative to Compliment the traditional...the best of both worlds. A change

in diet is probably the most crucial thing a person can do with CRC - and

probably most other types of cancer as well. Of all the things I've

read...that's been the one most common thing among the literature and the

successes. I

have a " mentor " that has gone to healthquarters and chose just surgery for

breast cancer and not the rad and chemo ...it's been a year out and she is doing

well....but of course time will tell. I do know she has radically changed her

diet....periodic fasting for cleansing and a juicing for over all health as

well as low low meat and animal fat and organic everything whenever she can get

it. It's not cheap but neither is curing cancer....I know it's helped me with

energy and losing weight even (without really trying). Push to be active -

even a little bit every day helps - I try to walk as much as possible. Take

the stairs at work etc...just so that I keep up and don't succomb to the " no I

can't do it " attitude. Prayers are with you!

[Guest guest]

I haven't had a scan yet - will probably in December after surgery is done.

I know that my turmor was significantly reduced with chemo and rad...but not

completely gone. If the tumor had been completely gone by the time the

radiation and chemo were done, it would have been a much harder decision re:

surgery.

But it wasn't, wasn't quite shrunken as much as might normally be

expected...but that's the way it goes. So far, only one lymph node has been

indicated,

but I'm sure they'll take out more than that with the surgery. I am

anticipating a lower anterior resection...and the doc seems pretty positive

about it

being reversible. Course won't know till they get there. I am prepared either

way. I found out about my cancer (still seems weird to say that) in June of

this year. I had many symptoms along the way, even some tests done but never a

colonscopy. Many here will tell you the same kind of story. It seems odd

that the scans would have come back clean in your bro-in-law's cse but then

again, it's a strange, aweful disease with a lot of intricacies. If I hear of

other books or information I will pass it along.

[Guest guest]

Shelia-

Have you had follow up scans since your treatment. My brother in law has stage

4 rectal cancer with mets to liver, stomach area and nodes. He had scans that

show NED (no disease) except the rectal tumor which was reduced 75%. I am

wondering if this is common or what. Thanks for any information. I am going to

look into the books you suggested to Kim.

Susie

Re: stage IV Colon Cancer

Dear Kim,

I'm heart touched at your young age and with such a young child. There is

always hope, and you've taken the first brave step at reaching out and asking

questions. I wrote this to someone else recently and hope you don't mind it

being recycled, but it says what it needs to. Hope that it helps...and

prayers

are with you and your family.

Sheila

I've actually investigated some things too on the alternative side (natural

or homeopathic) and found several good resources. Dr. Murray is good

to investigate - he has a book out and it details alot on diet and vitamins.

Along the same path are the folks at healthquarters. They are very open to

questions and you can contact them directly - you can find their info at

healthquarters.org. They have two books I recommend...The Cancer Battle Plan

and the

Cancer Battle Plan Source Book. The first gives the history and insights

and second gives the how-to.

I've taken some of the suggestions and am planning on at least a fast with

juicing if things come together right. I have Stage IIIA rectal cancer and

have

been through Xeloda and radiation treatment together. I am scheduled for

surgery in the beginning of November. I am still working and doing fine,

partly

attributable to age (43) and decent health to start with, with a tenancious

attitude as well which doesn't hurt. And lots of prayers.

Best of luck to you! Write if you'd like. I'll answer what I can and refer

the rest to the board, which I know will be helpful as well. At any rate, I

would not recommend JUST alternative over the conventional - but rather use

the

alternative to Compliment the traditional...the best of both worlds. A change

in diet is probably the most crucial thing a person can do with CRC - and

probably most other types of cancer as well. Of all the things I've

read...that's been the one most common thing among the literature and the

successes. I

have a " mentor " that has gone to healthquarters and chose just surgery for

breast cancer and not the rad and chemo ...it's been a year out and she is

doing

well....but of course time will tell. I do know she has radically changed her

diet....periodic fasting for cleansing and a juicing for over all health as

well as low low meat and animal fat and organic everything whenever she can

get

it. It's not cheap but neither is curing cancer....I know it's helped me with

energy and losing weight even (without really trying). Push to be active -

even a little bit every day helps - I try to walk as much as possible. Take

the stairs at work etc...just so that I keep up and don't succomb to the " no I

can't do it " attitude. Prayers are with you!

[Guest guest]

,

All will go well. I think that your prognosis is excellent and

that they are doing a PET this early is good. I feel for you - I

have 3,6,9, and 12 year olds myself and Stage IV cancer.

I know people that take supplements - I know that there is this

stuff called Essiance that claims to be antineoplastic in nature;

there are other nutritional things as well that can be beneficial, I

think, as long as one is as rational about taking them as they would

be normal medicine.

I think that in most cases, it can't hurt and that peace of

mind that you are doing everything that you can is as good as

anything else. At the same time, I would give two words of caution:

1. Tell the oncologist what you are taking so that you can be

sure that there are no bad interactions with other medications that

you might be taking. My doc told me about a guy who he saw who had

a platelet count of 0 - when he asked him if was taking any

medicine, he said " no " , but it turned out that he was taking 20 or

so supplements.

2. Keep a eye on ingredients so that you can do some

troubleshooting yourself - for example, the Essiance that I

mentioned above is 15-20% ethanol (alchohol) - that might be

something that would mix too well with some things, such as opiates.

Best of Luck - there are great oncologists and surgeons floating

around the Dana Farber cooperative there in Boston - I consulted

with a surgeon named Dr. Dave Berger for a second opinion - I know

for a fact that he does at least 50 or so liver resections a year,

if you need a guy with experience; he is at MGH.

Joe

>

> Hi everyone,

>

> I am new to this group. I am a 34 year old mother of an 8 week

old

> baby that I worked really hard to have. Three weeks after he was

> born I was dignosed with Stage IV colon cancer. The cancer has

> metastasized to my liver (the tumor on my liver is on the right

side

> only but is pretty much covering it). I already had one surgery

to

> remove the tumor off my colon. The tumor on my colon had actually

> attached to my stomach and my small intestines. All that is gone

> and the margins are clean in those areas. They removed 14 nodes

and

> found 2 with cancer. The focus is now on my liver.

>

> Next I have to have a PET Scan, which I am scared about!!!!!! The

> surgeon that removed the tumor from my colon doesn't think that

the

> cancer is anywhere else but my liver but I am stilled scared. It

> better not be anywhere else. I really don't think that it is!

>

> I will start chemo very soon. The doctors hope that the tumor

will

> shrink and then they will go in and remove it. They will have to

do

> a liver resection, removing the right lobe of my liver. They say

> there is a chance of getting it out.

>

> I guess my case is pretty rare and in some ways this could be

good.

> I don't know. I have been getting a couple of different

oppinions.

> I will probably end up at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute for my

> chemo and have the surgery at the Brigham and Women's, both in

> Boston.

>

> I plan on trying some natural treatments to compliment the chemo.

> Have any of you heard of Pecta Sol or Graviola? I also plan on

> seeing a nutritionist. Do you think this would be beneficial?

>

> I would appreciate any information that any of you would like to

> share with me.

>

> Thank you and Peace and Healing all!

>

> Kim

[Guest guest]

I am so sorry you had to find this site, but the people here are kind

and very knowledgeable.

You will go on my prayer list.

Sharon

>

> Hi everyone,

>

> I am new to this group. I am a 34 year old mother of an 8 week old

> baby that I worked really hard to have. Three weeks after he was

> born I was dignosed with Stage IV colon cancer. The cancer has

> metastasized to my liver (the tumor on my liver is on the right

side

> only but is pretty much covering it). I already had one surgery to

> remove the tumor off my colon. The tumor on my colon had actually

> attached to my stomach and my small intestines. All that is gone

> and the margins are clean in those areas. They removed 14 nodes

and

> found 2 with cancer. The focus is now on my liver.

>

> Next I have to have a PET Scan, which I am scared about!!!!!! The

> surgeon that removed the tumor from my colon doesn't think that the

> cancer is anywhere else but my liver but I am stilled scared. It

> better not be anywhere else. I really don't think that it is!

>

> I will start chemo very soon. The doctors hope that the tumor will

> shrink and then they will go in and remove it. They will have to

do

> a liver resection, removing the right lobe of my liver. They say

> there is a chance of getting it out.

>

> I guess my case is pretty rare and in some ways this could be

good.

> I don't know. I have been getting a couple of different

oppinions.

> I will probably end up at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute for my

> chemo and have the surgery at the Brigham and Women's, both in

> Boston.

>

> I plan on trying some natural treatments to compliment the chemo.

> Have any of you heard of Pecta Sol or Graviola? I also plan on

> seeing a nutritionist. Do you think this would be beneficial?

>

> I would appreciate any information that any of you would like to

> share with me.

>

> Thank you and Peace and Healing all!

>

> Kim

[Guest guest]

Very good advice Joe!!!

I'll just add that alcohol and liver tumors are a bad combination.

When one stops to think about it,if a supplement like essiance is

20% alcohol that's the same as 40 proof liquor(the same as most

flavored liquors,flavored schnapps are only 30 proof!)so taking it

would be the same as having the cocktail.Many times,people don't

realize this and that's when they have problems.

H.

>

> ,

> All will go well. I think that your prognosis is excellent

and

> that they are doing a PET this early is good. I feel for you - I

> have 3,6,9, and 12 year olds myself and Stage IV cancer.

> I know people that take supplements - I know that there is

this

> stuff called Essiance that claims to be antineoplastic in nature;

> there are other nutritional things as well that can be beneficial,

I

> think, as long as one is as rational about taking them as they

would

> be normal medicine.

> I think that in most cases, it can't hurt and that peace of

> mind that you are doing everything that you can is as good as

> anything else. At the same time, I would give two words of

caution:

>

> 1. Tell the oncologist what you are taking so that you can be

> sure that there are no bad interactions with other medications

that

> you might be taking. My doc told me about a guy who he saw who

had

> a platelet count of 0 - when he asked him if was taking any

> medicine, he said " no " , but it turned out that he was taking 20 or

> so supplements.

> 2. Keep a eye on ingredients so that you can do some

> troubleshooting yourself - for example, the Essiance that I

> mentioned above is 15-20% ethanol (alchohol) - that might be

> something that would mix too well with some things, such as

opiates.

>

> Best of Luck - there are great oncologists and surgeons floating

> around the Dana Farber cooperative there in Boston - I consulted

> with a surgeon named Dr. Dave Berger for a second opinion - I know

> for a fact that he does at least 50 or so liver resections a year,

> if you need a guy with experience; he is at MGH.

>

> Joe

>

[Guest guest]

Kim,

I will keep you in my prayers and wish you the best of luck at both

Brigham and Dana Farber - 2 great hospitals. My Dad met with a Dr.

over at Dana Farber when he was diagnosed - they were wonderful to us

and I sometimes get an email from the doctor asking how my dad is

doing - how thoughtful. Unfortunately for us we had the same

response from them and my dad was very comfortable with his dr. at

New England Medical that he chose to keep his treatments there.

Keep us posted!

(also from massachusetts)

>

> Hi all,

>

> Thank you for all of your supportive and informative responses. I

> am so scared of this cancer but at the same time I feel that I am

> stronger than it is. I plan on trying to do everything that I can

> to facilitate a cure.

>

> My husband and I are going to see a surgeon at the Brigham and

> Women's today. The Dana Farber can't see me until the 27th. I am

> hoping to get in sooner. We'll see.

>

> I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers, please keep me in

> yours.

>

> Peace and Healing.......Kim

[Guest guest]

Kim,

Welcome to the board, wish you weren't here, but since you are

welcome. You will find a lot of great information on this board. I

too was diagnosed with CC at 34 years old. I had a 18 month old. I

really believe that having my son was the biggest blessing of all.

If I had been diagnosed earlier I would have never had him or any

children. I was Stage III with 2 lymph nodes positive. I finished

chemo 12/2000 and have been NED ever since. My oncologist firmly

believes that women with young children have a much better chance of

beating this than most. We have a life that depends on us more that

the older child and we " will " ourselves to deal with everything

better. I can see where this is true and it certainly has been for

me.

I wish you patience, peace and calm through this roller coaster

ride. We do share the age/young child thing so please feel free to

contact me by email if you have any questions or just want to talk.

I read the board everyday, but I don't post very often. I have been

so lucky to have beaten this thing without all of the suffering. I'm

reminded constantly by my Oncologist that It will never really be

over, but 4 years NED, makes me feel very hopeful.

I just has my Gall Bladder removed 2 weeks ago and I asked to Surgeon

to take a look around since being in there was better that any scan.

He said everything looked normal.

Please take care of yourself the best you can and LOVE that baby, it

will keep you well.

Dee Kilgore

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you for the note.

So the docs told your father that he needed to do chemo before

surgery? Did he end up following there advice? If he chose to do

chemo first what was the tumor's response? Do you know if his tumor

was mucinous?

Sorry for all of the questions. I just get so scared and hope to

hear good news.

Where in MA are you?

Kim

> >

> > Hi all,

> >

> > Thank you for all of your supportive and informative responses.

I

> > am so scared of this cancer but at the same time I feel that I

am

> > stronger than it is. I plan on trying to do everything that I

can

> > to facilitate a cure.

> >

> > My husband and I are going to see a surgeon at the Brigham and

> > Women's today. The Dana Farber can't see me until the 27th. I

am

> > hoping to get in sooner. We'll see.

> >

> > I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers, please keep me

in

> > yours.

> >

> > Peace and Healing.......Kim