metastatic colon cancer treatment Posted: 04-07-08 23:10pm
My husband had a resection of his sigmoid
colon in nov 05 with a large met to his
liver. Treatment with chemo went well for
2 years, but now the tumors are growing
quickly-large tumors in both lobes of the
liver and mets to lymph nodes and 5 small
tumors in his lungs. He has had 2
theresphere treatments and is now on
erbitux. He was holding alot of fluid in
his ankles and stomach. My question is
after additional lasik medicine his
swelling has gone down, but he has lost 19
pounds in one week. This sounds like too
much for one week. Any thoughts?
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MandMs
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 26 Jan 2007 Posts: 2300 Location: Strumica, Macedonia
Thanks: 48
Thanked:11
Hi and welcome to ehealthforum! Posted: 04-10-08 04:44am
Severe malnutrition and wasting are
considered hallmarks of advanced malignant
disease. Having a cancer can deplete
body’s nutrients, cause negative effect
on patient's appetite and on the ability
to digest foods.
What type of nutrition he is taking?
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bluects
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 4
Thanks for the reply Posted: 04-10-08 22:57pm
My husband's appetite has been good most
of the time until these past few weeks. I
feel he was drinking and eating the well.
His doctors recommended several small and
light meals a day. Since he likes
chocolate, I buy him the chocolate
flavored Boost and Ensure drinks. He also
likes the DanActive drinkable yogurt
products. The last few weeks he has not
wanted to eat or drink much. Early Monday
morning (chemo day) he had a Nutra-grain
bar and some cranberry juice, but threw it
up before treatment started. I tried to
see if he would eat a couple of saltine
crackers or soup later, but he did not eat
again until 5:30pm. ( a few bites of
crackers and a little soup) He is taking
40mgs of morphine twice a day for pain. I
just hate for him to have an empty stomach
with all the medications. We called his
doctor today and he is going to give him
some fluids tomorrow so I hope it helps
keep him hydrated. Thank you for your
reply.
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MandMs
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 26 Jan 2007 Posts: 2300 Location: Strumica, Macedonia
Thanks: 48
Thanked:11
Posted: 04-11-08 02:15am
You are welcome!
Most people don't have signs and symptoms
in the early stages of liver cancer.
Symptoms do appear, when it's quite
advanced and usually include loss of
appetite and weight, abdominal swelling
(ascites)and nausea and vomiting.
Approximately 80% of patients with
advanced-stage cancer have cancer
anorexia-cachexia syndrome, in which one
of the main manifestations is
malnutrition. CACS is characterised by
anorexia, decreased food intake, tissue
wasting, and body weight loss. It is also
associated with changes in lipid, protein,
and carbohydrate metabolism, leading to a
decrease in fat and muscle mass, which
independently influence mortality in
cancer patients.
Three major things may contribute for
noticeable loss of weight:
-Chemotherapy has destroyed the lining of
a person's digestive tract and nutrients
are not absorbed by the body,
-The person simply cannot physically eat
very much for a variety of reasons,
-Cancer cells steal nutrition from the
normal cells.
Alternative treatments for this situation
may involve a cesium chloride I.V. or a
high dosage vitamin C I.V. Other
treatments would be Hydrogen Peroxide
(I.V.), HBOT and ozone treatments.
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1yearlater
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Jul 2008 Posts: 2
Question and History Posted: 07-14-08 10:10am
I will start with my history and then ask
my question(s)
I am a 39 year old male who one year ago
was diagnosed with metastatic colon
cancer. I had 4 tumors in my liver. I
started FOLFOX shortly after diagnosis,
had 4 treatments and then had surgery.
They removed about a foot of colon, about
40% of my liver and inserted a hepatic
pump. I resumed chemo about 5 or 6 weeks
after surgery. FUDR to the liver once a
month and FOLFOX systemically twice a
month. Due to neuropathy they stopped the
oxaliplatic and due to side effects they
reduced the FUDR and other meds from the
FOLOFOX regimen. One tumor that remained
after surgery which had been shrinking
started growing when all the meds were
reduced. I had ablation of the tumor and
was started on Vectibix and Irinotecan
about a month ago. I have not lost any
weight yet and my apetite and energy are
still fairly high. I continue to work 7
out of 10 days (the other three I work
from home while on chemo).
My diet has changed a bit, more salads,
flax and yogurt every morning.
Now my question...MandMs - you mention
CsCl (cesium chloride), H2O2 (hydrogen
peroxide), and other items in your message
from April. Why would you suggest these
items now as opposed to earlier in
bluects' husband's treatment? Are you
suggesting them to help with the side
effects of the chemo or are you suggesting
them to potentially assist in his
treatment?
I ask because I am coming to a crossroads
right now. I would like to try an
alternative treatment in the hopes of
stopping this disease before it progresses
beyond the point of no return. CsCl and
H2O2 are two of the items I have been
considering.