Or trail and error… Vicky shares her father’s colon cancer chemotherapy and the scary chemotherapy side effects. Vicky’s father was diagnosed with stage iv colon cancer that has spread into his lungs and liver.
Her father started his chemotherapy for colon cancer with Avastin cancer drug. This colon cancer chemotherapy worked well that it broke down the tumor but… it also put a hole in his colon.
The doctors managed to remove the cancer during surgery.
One year later her father had undergone 3 different colon cancer chemo drugs, but none seems to work.
So now they are trying again to give Avastin chemotherapy, be it in a lower dose and see what’s going to happen.
Enhance your health using alternative cancer treatments
Since Avastin worked before and is now given in a smaller dose, I would suggest Vicky’s father to find "something" that enhances the power of the chemotherapy. Google for alternative cancer treatments that have proven to enhance the results of chemotherapy.
Get some inspiration from our post where we describe how Jim’s son survives metastatic liver cancer using chemotherapy and alternative treatments for cancer.
What’s utterly important is your father’s overall strength. With a longer history of chemo colon cancer treatments, one can imagine your father’s immune system, his spirit and his body strength can all use a boost.
Colon cancer prevention
It is said that a persons diet is very important in preventing colon cancer. Since the advice below helps to maintain a general healthy lifestyle, it’s good that you make it part of your lifestyle:
- quit smoking (if you do)
- every day eat fruit and vegetables
- eat food rich in fibre and calcium
- eat less red meat and fatty foods
- exercise! at least 5 days a week for 30 minutes each day
- avoid more than 1 glas of red wine a day
- make sure your weight is healthy for your size
- some do advice to take aspirin : one or two per day decreases the risk of colon cancer. Be warned: Aspirin causes stomach ulcers, at least it did in my stomach.
In an holistic cancer treatment, all of these should be practiced in stead of thinking: well, at least I practice one from the list…
New colon cancer treatments
Hepatic Arterial Infusion or HAI is a new cancer treatment for people with metastatic colon cancer. This cancer treatment administers the chemotherapy drugs to the liver through a catheter into the main artery supplying the liver.
Even more high tech is the use of an Hepatic Artery Infusion pump.
The placement of such an hepatic artery infusion pump into the blood supply of the liver allows chemotherapy medication to be delivered directly into the liver. The pump will be connected to the hepatic artery after liver resection and will give up to 6 months of additional chemotherapy.
Although it looks promising in clinical trials, most likely your hospital won’t have the pump available. And although it looks "clean", it’s still chemotherapy, be it straight delivered into the liver.
Vicky’s father colon cancer chemotherapy story
Vicky commented her father’s secondary liver cancer first at What do you say to man who is going to die and left her update describing the colon cancer chemotherapy treatments at Avastin cancer drug.
My dad was on Avastin chemotherapy when he was first diagnosed with colon cancer back in February of last year.
He only got two doses in before he had to have emergency surgery, because it had worked so well that the tumor had broken down, and put a hole in his colon.
They ended up getting the tumor out, but they had to stop using the Avastin because this chemo was too strong and they were afraid it might rupture another hole in his colon.
So here we are a year later and he has been through three other types of chemo, none of which have worked.
They are now going to try to put him back on the Avastin starting today, a lighter dosage, and see if that works, this is his last chance, so we are keeping our fingers crossed, that it will work as well as it did the first time, on his liver and lungs, and at least extend his life a couple of more years.
I will keep you updated on his progress.
Try to make your loved ones life as meaningful as you can for their last days.
My father has stage 4 colon cancer that has moved into his lungs and liver, diagnosed in February 2008.
I struggle everyday with that thought, how do you say good bye , but also keep on living.
I know that God has a special place for my father, and that he will be OK . It is just getting there that is hard.
A big hug for Vicky and her family!
Thanks for keeping us updated and try what Patrick Swayze said to Barbara Walters recently:
"gotta have a dog!".
I would say love is important and I see you are giving all you have.
Yet every extra love can make a difference! Vicky’s father is our next metastatic liver cancer survivor!
Colon cancer chemotherapy summarized
Vicky’s father underwent more than 1 different colon cancer chemotherapy with positive results using Avastin, be it with the scary chemotherapy side effect that shrinking the cancer made a hole in his colon.
We wished we knew then what we know now: when you add the following alternative cancer treatments to chemotherapy, you end up with an holistic cancer treatment that has a better outcome than only using chemotherapy.
We repeat again what we learned from our metastatic liver cancer survivors so far how they treat cancer:
- chemotherapy treatment
- alternative cancer treatments or natural cancer cures that boost your immune system
- a positive mind-set
- eliminate stress
- lead a healthy lifestyle (that especially means exercise for those who don’t move too much)
- Get a dog! (Read our next post on January 26th to find out why)
All our hugs and fingers crossed that Vicky’s new Avastin colon cancer chemotherapy will work!