Metastatic liver cancer

This post is an introduction to alternative cancer treatments, mainly a repeat from Kistan2’s question which we will print out below as it is part of her liver cancer story. Many hugs to you Kistan2 and thanks for sharing.

Our next post is about an alternative that sounds good in the sense of giving a person suffering from liver cancer a better quality of life. Yes, I am very prudent using the term : "alternative cancer treatments" as I will keep on saying that:

the only way to eradicate cancer is to prevent it!

This is a political choice and as you have noticed, it isn’t in any of the 3 remaining candidates program for the US presidential elections

Why a political choice? Because they can implement policies in order to :

• make sure we can breath in healthy air
• make sure we can drink healthy water
• make sure we can eat healthy food

Not healthy according to "their standards", but healthy to eradicate cancer big time.

All we can do at this point is try to eat as much healthy organic food as possible, reduce on red meat and increase on doing exercises.

Liver Cancer Story from Kistan2

My 43 yr. old husband was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma early February of this year.

[ hepatocellular carcinoma is a type of liver cell cancer: a malignant growth made up of liver epithelial cells (cells forming the covering of most internal and external surfaces of the body and its organs) that tend to infiltrate the surrounding tissues and give rise to metastases ]

The oncologist that we consulted with all concluded that his mass was to large to operate on and it was too dangerous for the other recommended treatments.

Our only option was the liver cancer drug - Nexavar which he began on Feb. 12th.

Since then his oncologist has also combined the treatment with an infusion of Avastin (which is not approved by Blue Cross Blue Shield).

Since the infusion I have watched my husband go downhill with extreme high blood pressure which leaves him weak and fatigued most of the time. He barely leaves his bedroom and when he does it’s only to eat.

To me, he is getting more jaundiced which is not a good sign.

We have two young children (3 & 12) - I feel saddest when I think of the kids without their father around.

This disease has turned our whole world upside down - I am praying for a miracle but from what I’ve read about this disease, it just doesn’t look good.

Everyday I feel like he is drifting further and further away from us and I live in a constant state of sadness and loss (even though he is still with us).

I’m always on the Internet looking for alternative treatments for his cancer. Has anyone ever tried alternative medicine and have gotten good results from it?

Metastatic liver cancer addings…

• Kistan2 says : To me, he is getting more jaundiced which is not a good sign. I also thought father was getting more jaundiced, so I asked my doctor and he said : not at all. So in all cases cancer: always ask for a (second) doctor’s opinion.
• The drug our GP doctor suggested was Xeloda, which is a pill taken orally and should only work on the tumor without messing up the entire body. Yet our oncologist said: it is still a chemo-therapy causing the common well-known side-effects. He suggested to not give any treatment, therefore we didn’t have the "chemo-therapy" side effects. But you do need to be prepared for the side effects of:
• a growing liver that pushes against all organs in the belly, causing enormous pain
• a failing liver that can’t clean all the blood which sooner or later starts affecting the brain (like people poisoning their blood do to not enough food… hallucinations are to be expected)
• As long as your husband is there, he is there: do cherish these moments as good as possible!

Please do leave a comment:

did you try alternative medicine and
what were the good results from it?

We also listed a small introduction to alternative cancer treatments at our liver cancer survival rate page.

Technorati Tags: alternative cancer treatments, hepatocellular carcinoma, Introduction to alternative cancer treatments, Liver Cancer, liver cancer story, quality of life, suffering from

Comment from Kristen at Liver cancer is a killer, with answer from Metastatic Liver Cancer.

The doctor gave him 2 days to 2 weeks to live. He died on Feb. 16th, 2007.

The cancer had spread and was inoperable.

Nothing prepared my family for the shock of his death and we are still trying to deal with it.

The ironic thing is my father was scheduled for a colonoscopy the day after we took him to the ER.

The stuff he was supposed to drink for the colonoscopy made him ill, which is why we went to the ER where we found out why.

People say it gets easier, but for my family, it hasn’t yet.

Metastatic liver cancer reactions

Dear Kristen,

Accept our condolences and a big hug.

Like you say: it just doesn’t get any easier emotionally. Physically we don’t have to take care of father, but emotionally, each and every day I think of him. I try to work it of so my mind is occupied with other things. Which works fine until you go to sleep…

Father felt dizzy sometimes, and after 1001 doctor and hospital visit they took a picture of his liver which was filled with tiny tumors, worse than a raisin bread. He didn’t pass away 2 days later after his diagnosis, yet it is a very weird idea knowing that your days are numbered and you have really nothing in hand to fight it off.

I agree: we are not prepared for this at all. We do take life for granted, as we take our earth for granted as well.

One brother of father said: "we all have cancer in us, just with some of us it comes out sooner than later". Although this isn’t really so, his theory at least takes into concern that he can get cancer any day in his life. With all the amounts of cancers around us, it’s practically true what he says. (be informed: we are not doctors here, we are trying to carry on with our lives…)

The doctor that did the operation on my other dad (tumor in the colon) said: the only thing that beats cancer is your own body: so make sure you are as healthy as possible.

Live healthy, eat healthy, go easy on red meat and eat more tomatoes, more avocado, even more fresh fruit… all fine, but what about the air we breath in and the water we drink? And the pesticide residues in the vegetables we buy from the local grocery? How to live healthy is we can’t see the pesticide residue, the unhealthy particles in the air, unlike we can see the beginning of a cancer?

The questions are more than the answers… All we can agree on is that life will end sooner or later…

Whoever read this: feel free to give your feedback! Sooner or later you will read something that can set your mind more at ease than it is now…

Technorati Tags: big hug, brother, CANCER STORIES, Colon Cancer, colonoscopy, condolences, dad, diagnosis, earth, Liver Cancer, nothing in hand, raisin bread, shock, sleep, tumors, weird idea

Father made the effort to start his online journal about his metastatic liver cancer at a stage of his life where the energy and life was drained out of his body.

With all respect to father, I am going to re-read his complete metastatic liver cancer blog and try to make it in some sort of e-book.

I would love other cancer patients and cancer care givers to join: leave a small comment about what cancer is in your life or what it means for you.

The idea is that all the people that still have to undergo sooner or later cancer within their lives, have some support from similar cancer stories.

Every cancer story is different, yet it all involves cancer.

Every person is different, yet we all are humans.