Metastatic liver cancer

Archive for the 'Pancreatic Cancer' Category

Mar 06 2008

Death of actor Patrick Swayze

Published by Liver Cancer under Pancreatic Cancer

Patrick Swayze, 55, who starred in Ghost with Demi Moore and Dirty Dancing has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer as reported initially by the National Enquirer and New York Post. Now his doctor has confirmed this as well.

ghost patrick swayze

Ghost Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore

patrick swayze dirty dancing

Patrick Swayze dirty dancing with Jennifer Grey

Death sentence rumours

We all have to die sooner or later, it’s just the way it is brought to you that makes a hell of a difference…

According to Dr George Fisher, Patrick Swayze has “a very limited amount of the disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far”. George appeared to be responding to rumours that the actor was seriously ill and has only weeks to live.

Patrick Swayze pancreatic cancer

Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in late January 2008. He has been undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments at the Stanford University Medical Centre.

lisa niemi The actor’s rep has indicated that the actor will be continuing with his normal schedule and working on his upcoming projects.

Swayze has been married to Lisa Niemi since 1975. They met when Lisa, at 15, began dance lessons with Swayze’s mother and they have been inseparable since then. When his sister, Vicky, passed away, Swayze attended a clinic to treat his alcoholism..

Latest pancreatic cancer treatment

Published by Liver Cancer under Cancer treatment, Pancreatic Cancer

5FU Researchers from the US Based Radiation Therapy Oncology Group said that according to their findings, a combination of the chemotherapy 5-FU and gemcitabine (Gemzar) should be the new standard treatment for patients who have undergone surgery for pancreatic cancer.

5-FU was also the drug father should have been prescribed if he had opted to undergo chemotherapy. But father kind of made his last joke when he said " F you 5-FU! " …

The clinical tests involved more than 500 people who suffered from the disease.

About half of them were treated with gemcitabine alone and the other half received gemcitabine along with another chemotherapy treatment with either cisplatin or Eloxatin.

It appears that a combination of other drugs with chemotherapy gemcitabine is able to extend the lives of people whose cancer is already in the advanced stage.

As you can see: there is no mention about quality of life, just mention of "extend the lives" …

It was also found that higher-than-standard doses of gemcitabine, or combining gemcitabine with oxaliplatin does not seem to benefit sufferers of advanced pancreatic cancer.

All in all not the break through latest pancreatic cancer treatment I was hoping for.

Pancreatic cancer stage iv survivors

Published by Liver Cancer under Cancer, Palliative care, Pancreatic Cancer

If you want to be part of the small group of pancreatic cancer stage iv survivors you need to be very strong!

Stage 4 pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer has reached stage 4 if the tumor has spread from the pancreas to other organs like lungs, kidney or liver. In the last case you then have metastatic liver cancer like father.

Pancreatic cancer stage iv survivors are little

Unfortunately there are no much survivors that underwent chemotherapy. The typical drug used will be 5-FU, the same chemotherapy they advised my father not to take. Why not? Because father would have been killed by the chemotherapy in stead of the metastatic liver cancer. It’s a very difficult choice to make.

People with stage 4 pancreatic cancer do get chemotherapy, but you need to know that this is just part of palliative care, meaning, it’s not meant to cure you but to make your life as good as possible. As good as possible could mean every 2 weeks chemotherapy of which you will be 1 week vomiting in bed.

But the stage had been set: we are already talking here about palliative care and no more about a cancer cure. As said before, there are very few pancreatic cancer stage iv survivors.

Return for more about metastatic liver cancer, tumors, cancer and cancer treatments

By N2H