Guest guest Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 Bert goes to the USC/Norris Cancer Center in Los Angeles, about 50 - 60 miles one way from home. We didn't need any referral but I did contact them first to determine what kind of insurance they accept. Good thing I did...it turned out that they do not accept HMO's so I added Bert to my PPO insurance at my work and then just made the appointment for a second opinion with a oncologist specializing in treatment of gastrointestinal tract cancers, particularly colon, and the rest, as they say, is history. I'm so very glad we went. His old onc, under the HMO, would have stopped treatment after four months and while intense, the first words out of the new oncs mouth were " not long enough " and " too toxic " . He's on oxal/5fu/leuc now (a stage IV combo that can be given to high risk stage III's, which is what Bert is, and while the doses are even higher than the ones he was on before, the way it is administered makes all the difference with Bert and he is tolerating it very, very well. Monika > How do you get admitted to a cancer center? Here, I'm thinking of > Duke. Is a referral required? > > Maybe we are fine with the local surgeon and oncologist, but a second > opinion might be good. > > Please know that you have my thanks and admiration. > > Sharon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 I have also had the metalic taste in my mouth somewhat. Try chewing gum. RFA is Radio Frequency Ablation. It is a process of heating the tumors with and electrical probe to kill the tumors. It can be done thru a very small inscision, causes very little pain, and is generally done as an out-patient procedure. Dale M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 I have also had the metalic taste in my mouth somewhat. Try chewing gum. RFA is Radio Frequency Ablation. It is a process of heating the tumors with and electrical probe to kill the tumors. It can be done thru a very small inscision, causes very little pain, and is generally done as an out-patient procedure. Dale M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 I have also had the metalic taste in my mouth somewhat. Try chewing gum. RFA is Radio Frequency Ablation. It is a process of heating the tumors with and electrical probe to kill the tumors. It can be done thru a very small inscision, causes very little pain, and is generally done as an out-patient procedure. Dale M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 16, 2004 Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 The metallic taste isn't very nice. I was constantly eating jolly ranchers and life savers to try to keep the nasty taste away. ( I actually gained weight during radiation/chemo. ) I also drank a lot of water. I don't think there's any way to get rid of it other than covering it up with some other taste. Miracles happen, Cliff > DID ANYONE HAVE EXPERINCE WITH METALLIC IN YOUR MOUTH FROM CHEMO? > WHAT YOU DO WITH IT? I CAN'T STAND IT. I DON'T LIKE CHEMO. WHAT IS > RFA MEANS? LORI H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 16, 2004 Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 The metallic taste isn't very nice. I was constantly eating jolly ranchers and life savers to try to keep the nasty taste away. ( I actually gained weight during radiation/chemo. ) I also drank a lot of water. I don't think there's any way to get rid of it other than covering it up with some other taste. Miracles happen, Cliff > DID ANYONE HAVE EXPERINCE WITH METALLIC IN YOUR MOUTH FROM CHEMO? > WHAT YOU DO WITH IT? I CAN'T STAND IT. I DON'T LIKE CHEMO. WHAT IS > RFA MEANS? LORI H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 16, 2004 Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 The metallic taste isn't very nice. I was constantly eating jolly ranchers and life savers to try to keep the nasty taste away. ( I actually gained weight during radiation/chemo. ) I also drank a lot of water. I don't think there's any way to get rid of it other than covering it up with some other taste. Miracles happen, Cliff > DID ANYONE HAVE EXPERINCE WITH METALLIC IN YOUR MOUTH FROM CHEMO? > WHAT YOU DO WITH IT? I CAN'T STAND IT. I DON'T LIKE CHEMO. WHAT IS > RFA MEANS? LORI H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 20, 2004 Report Share Posted June 20, 2004 Thanks to all for their advice and support. I should have asked my questions seperately from the body of my email. It probably is better to ask them one at a time, too. Number one: Is chemo ever given in place of surgery? I am an early stage cancer. Cliff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 20, 2004 Report Share Posted June 20, 2004 In a word: NO. For early stage colon cancers surgical removal of the cancer is always the number one recommended treatment!Surgery,by removal can be a cure.Chemo is only a treatment. Hugs & Prayers to All, H S/O 'Hubby,52,diagnosed 7/31/03 inoperable stage IV cc Third-line chemo of Avastin/CPT-11/5FU/LV for 3 mo, 5/20/04 CT scans show significant progression of disease,CEA:1060 6/2/04 started " Plan D " ,Folfox 4 > Thanks to all for their advice and support. I should have asked my > questions seperately from the body of my email. It probably is better > to ask them one at a time, too. Number one: Is chemo ever given in > place of surgery? I am an early stage cancer. > > Cliff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 20, 2004 Report Share Posted June 20, 2004 In a word: NO. For early stage colon cancers surgical removal of the cancer is always the number one recommended treatment!Surgery,by removal can be a cure.Chemo is only a treatment. Hugs & Prayers to All, H S/O 'Hubby,52,diagnosed 7/31/03 inoperable stage IV cc Third-line chemo of Avastin/CPT-11/5FU/LV for 3 mo, 5/20/04 CT scans show significant progression of disease,CEA:1060 6/2/04 started " Plan D " ,Folfox 4 > Thanks to all for their advice and support. I should have asked my > questions seperately from the body of my email. It probably is better > to ask them one at a time, too. Number one: Is chemo ever given in > place of surgery? I am an early stage cancer. > > Cliff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 20, 2004 Report Share Posted June 20, 2004 Yes, it is. As I mentioned before, my mom has inoperable lung cancer since 2002 and has been on chemo (second go around) only. However, it is my understanding that if you are early stage, surgery is the best shot at cure and I don't know why you wouldn't opt for that. A double whammy of surgery and then adjuvant chemo is generally the protocal for stage I, II, and III colon cancer. Some stage IV's are operable as well. Monika > Thanks to all for their advice and support. I should have asked my > questions seperately from the body of my email. It probably is better > to ask them one at a time, too. Number one: Is chemo ever given in > place of surgery? I am an early stage cancer. > > Cliff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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