ASAP:need advice to do Whipple surgery or alternative meds

ASAP:  Need advice to do surgery or alternative medicines instead or both??

My 63 yr. old husband is scheduled for Whipple surgery on Mon. May 7th. He has a growth on his portal veins and had a stent put in his bile duct 3 weeks ago when all of this was discovered.  He has a 90% diagnosis of probable pancreas cancer.

We have a friend who is convinced that alternative supplements,etc. have and can cure cancers of this sort.  He is confused on what to do and is worried Whipple surgery will affect his quality of life afterwards.

I know so many people rely on homeopathic treatments and I believe they have their place with many medical problems.  In your husband's case, since the portal vein, bile duct and pancreas are suspected, I would follow the recommendations of his medical doctor.  I know best results occur if surgery is performed in a hospital and by a doctor that has done many of this type of surgery.  You could contact the Cancer Treatment Centers of America who focus on many forms of treatment from surgery, homeopathic, body, mind, spiritual, etc. for an opinion. 

My husband was diagnosed only thru surgery after having been very sick for 4 months.  He had many CT Scans, MRI's, ERCP's, blood work, etc. that were never conclusive.  He had the whipple done on 12/21/05 and is very much alive altho he has recently been told he has recurrent pancreatic cancer in his liver and lymph nodes.  He's had 2 chemo treatments since this was found and is already stating his pain has lessened.

Good luck with whatever you decide and I pray for the best outcome for your husband.

K 

 

 

Good morning Nancie2007. Unfortunately there is no one who should be telling you to take one path or another. This is a decision only you and your husband can make. The best advice I can give you which worked for me personally is to do all the research that you can before you make a firm decision one way or the other. There are some medical doctors now who are very open to alternative and complementary medicine being used alongside their treatments and if surgery is all that will be required then for sure building up one's body and immune system through good diet and supplements etc should not be considered a negative. I suggest you do an internet search on Whipple Surgery......thousands of sites to check out, lots of information there and also take a look at this one which I am familiar with because I know of this treatment... and then if you would be interested in learning more about alternative, integrative and complementary treatments you could send me a private message. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&d ......Blessings to you and your husband Shemay

On 5/2/2007 Nancie2007 wrote:

ASAP:  Need advice to do surgery or alternative medicines instead or both??

My 63 yr. old husband is scheduled for Whipple surgery on Mon. May 7th. He has a growth on his portal veins and had a stent put in his bile duct 3 weeks ago when all of this was discovered.  He has a 90% diagnosis of probable pancreas cancer.

We have a friend who is convinced that alternative supplements,etc. have and can cure cancers of this sort.  He is confused on what to do and is worried Whipple surgery will affect his quality of life afterwards.

 

On 5/3/2007 Shemay wrote:

Good morning Nancie2007. Unfortunately there is no one who should be telling you to take one path or another. This is a decision only you and your husband can make. The best advice I can give you which worked for me personally is to do all the research that you can before you make a firm decision one way or the other. There are some medical doctors now who are very open to alternative and complementary medicine being used alongside their treatments and if surgery is all that will be required then for sure building up one's body and immune system through good diet and supplements etc should not be considered a negative. I suggest you do an internet search on Whipple Surgery......thousands of sites to check out, lots of information there and also take a look at this one which I am familiar with because I know of this treatment... and then if you would be interested in learning more about alternative, integrative and complementary treatments you could send me a private message. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&a ......Blessings to you and your husband Shemay

 

On 5/2/2007 Nancie2007 wrote:

ASAP:  Need advice to do surgery or alternative medicines instead or both??

My 63 yr. old husband is scheduled for Whipple surgery on Mon. May 7th. He has a growth on his portal veins and had a stent put in his bile duct 3 weeks ago when all of this was discovered.  He has a 90% diagnosis of probable pancreas cancer.

We have a friend who is convinced that alternative supplements,etc. have and can cure cancers of this sort.  He is confused on what to do and is worried Whipple surgery will affect his quality of life afterwards.

 

 

hi  my 52 year old husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer back in november of 2006 and had the surgery done within 2 weeks of the diagnosis. it was an intense experience for the both of us. he was there for exactly one week. and it still took a good 2 months to fully recover. slowly but surely he did it. because the cancer was in a few of the lymph nodes that were harvested during the surgery, it was recommended that he take chemo and then a round of chemo with radiation. i asked jim his thoughts on what you have written. although he says 6 months is not a very long time to be a judge on quality of life,  he is already able to do yard work, gardening and golfing. he still tires easily and takes frequent rest breaks, but that is due in part to the chemo and radiation. the only known cure is the whipple surgery and very few are given that option because so many are diagnosed too late. he is glad he had that chance. as for alternative treatments, we know they are out there. only you can make that decision for yourselves. changes in diet and healthier eating as well as supplements are always good choices for everyone. my husband has not smoked for 6 months now and his lungs are clear as a bell. (i could audibly hear him wheezing across the room before he quit. so for us, in spite of the obstacles and hard parts, life has been good. we are closer than ever and appreciate the time we have even more. we will say a prayer for you and your husband on monday. this message board has been a great support and encouragement to us both. sincerely jimandkathy 

I have had the whipple surgery in Nov. of 2003.  I the recovery was not that bad for me.  They had left the head of my pancreats.  I only had to take pancreatic enzimes.  That was so I could eat without everything passing right through me.  The one thing to watch out for is diabetes.  I had done fine for three years, but the cancer has returned.  I am now going through chem with gemizar and Tarceva.  After the whipple I had had chemo too.  And I had radiation with 5FU. and then Gemzar.  I am responding well.  There is a lot of hope in the surgery and your husband is lucky that the doctors can do the surgery.  I now do other things with the medical stuff.  Do what feels right to you.  I wish you all the luck and send my prayers to you.   Mary Grace

 

On 5/2/2007 Nancie2007 wrote:

ASAP:  Need advice to do surgery or alternative medicines instead or both??

My 63 yr. old husband is scheduled for Whipple surgery on Mon. May 7th. He has a growth on his portal veins and had a stent put in his bile duct 3 weeks ago when all of this was discovered.  He has a 90% diagnosis of probable pancreas cancer.

We have a friend who is convinced that alternative supplements,etc. have and can cure cancers of this sort.  He is confused on what to do and is worried Whipple surgery will affect his quality of life afterwards.

 

PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH!! You are dealing with a cancer that has the highest fatality.  It is imperative that you understand fully what your options are and that these options have reliable research supporting your decisions. Only 10 % of patients have the option of surgery and there are no cures other then surgery. These are facts supported by the National Cancer Institute of America and the American Cancer Society; the same in Canada. If you have the option of surgery, understand the risks but understand the risks if surgery is not an option. You will find no other reliable information, suggesting a cure for Pancreatic Cancer other then this surgery. Please also visit the John Hopkins Discussion Board. 

I hope you do not find this offensive............that is not my intent. I just want to caution you about the severity of this situation and to look at your information carefully. You can also visit me on www.craigscause.ca. There is a sugeon and researcher that supports this web site that will answer patient and family questions about PC. THis is also an option.......to ensure that you recieve research supported facts.  All the best to you and your family. 

1: Integr Cancer Ther. 2006 Mar;5(1):83-9.?  Links The long-term survival of a patient with pancreatic cancer with metastases to the liver after treatment with the intravenous alpha-lipoic acid/low-dose naltrexone protocol. Berkson BM, Rubin DM, Berkson AJ. Integrative Medical Center of New Mexico and New Mexico State University, Las Cruces. The authors describe the long-term survival of a patient with pancreatic cancer without any toxic adverse effects. The treatment regimen includes the intravenous alpha-lipoic acid and low-dose naltrexone (ALA-N) protocol and a healthy lifestyle program. The patient was told by a reputable university oncology center in October 2002 that there was little hope for his survival. Today, January 2006, however, he is back at work, free from symptoms, and without appreciable progression of his malignancy. The integrative protocol described in this article may have the possibility of extending the life of a patient who would be customarily considered to be terminal. The authors believe that life scientists will one day develop a cure for metastatic pancreatic cancer, perhaps via gene therapy or another biological platform. But until such protocols come to market, the ALA-N protocol should be studied and considered, given its lack of toxicity at levels reported. Several other patients are on this treatment protocol and appear to be doing well at this time. PMID: 16484716 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&d

 

On 5/2/2007 Nancie2007 wrote:

ASAP:  Need advice to do surgery or alternative medicines instead or both??

My 63 yr. old husband is scheduled for Whipple surgery on Mon. May 7th. He has a growth on his portal veins and had a stent put in his bile duct 3 weeks ago when all of this was discovered.  He has a 90% diagnosis of probable pancreas cancer.

We have a friend who is convinced that alternative supplements,etc. have and can cure cancers of this sort.  He is confused on what to do and is worried Whipple surgery will affect his quality of life afterwards.

 

Hi-

My husband had whipple surgery 7 weeks ago - he is at home now -has been dehydrated twice since his discharge, went back to the hospital  for I.V..

He has lost 48 lbs. so far, and is really having a difficult time with food. He has too  much pain in his stomach to tolerate tube feeding, so he is trying to eat approximately every 2 - 3 hours  

 We have not been to the Oncologist yet, and are not  sure if we want to  have chemo or radiation, and know nothing much about it yet because he is not strong enough at this point

That is all I can tell you except that the past 7 weeks have been  VERY difficult for both of us, and because everything happened so fast, we had no other option -

I wish you all the best of luck, strength, and  health, and please get a prayer line going---I will include you in mine.

Toni