On 1/8/2009
msandra wrote:
Hi,
I am a new member to this site and I have been very frstrated and confused for the past couple of days. My dad was admitted to the hospital around 20 days ago suffering from sever pain in his stomach after vomitting and being nacois for a week before. The dotors kept him there for around 5 days and then released him without even giving a diagnosis. So, 10 days after this inciden,t he was admitted of course to the emergency room once more with intolerable stomach pain where a surgey needed to be done on the spot. ( because his intestine was bloaded and no digestion was taking place-a hernia also needed to be repaired in his stomach from a pervoius surgery?. Unfortunaty, tumor cancer spots were found during surgery on the lining of his stomach, liver and his abdominal area ( they say it is stage four ). My father was diagnosed with colon cancer around 6 years ago and underwent chemotherapy for around 1 month. He went to his scheduled appointments and did everything his doctors had asked. He is for the most part positive and is a hard working person. At the current time, they are checking to see if the cancer has spread to the lungs. I feel like I stand alone in an ocean of questions that I have no answers for... how is he stage four and so advanced despite the fact that he went to mulitple doctors and gave them all the signs and symptoms, most importantly, what oncologist would you recommed to seek a second opinion in terms of treatments, what can I do to make his life easier for him? and what can he do for himself as well? I would not want this to happen to anyone, epecially somene you dearly love..please help me.
Dear Msandra,
I'm sorry to hear about the difficulty your father is having. I'm sure you do feel like you stand alone in a sea of uncertainty - I'm not sure I can give you a satisfactory answers, but I will try.
It sounds to me like your father's treatment for his previous cancer was inadequate. Most people get chemo for more than just a month, especially with colon cancer (the colon is so close to other vital organs that are rich in blood supply and energy resources and the area is very rich in lymph nodes also - very important to make sure primary colon cancer is treated with some big guns.) In addition to follow up appts I would think that he should have had follow up scans and blood work - difficult to say colon cancer is cured without doing those things.
I'm not sure if you're asking why are they calling this stage IV, or if you're asking how could he have stage IV cancer and no one realize it.
From what you say, there is definite metastasis past the lymph nodes - sounds like the primary cancer may have already started seeding to these other areas either when he was first diagnosed or shortly thereafter. The diagnosis of stage IV sounds correct. If he had a hernia while all this was going on, the drs may have felt his symptoms, nausea and vomiting, and especially pain, were caused by the hernia, and they may not have really looked any further for any other diagnosis. (Not knowing where your father lives and what the standard of care is there, it is hard to say much more than this about his situation.)
It's good that they are checking to see if he has lung involvement - learning as much as they can about this metastasis before they start treating it will help them have a better plan, and will also be important for measuring his progress once treatment starts.
Again, not knowing where your dad lives makes it difficult to recommend a dr. I am a very strong advocate of natural treatment, so I highly recommend that he see a naturopathic oncologist if one is available. If not, the oncologists at the larger medical centers may have more experience in treating this than small town drs. If there is no naturopathic oncologist available, hopefully he can get additional care from some kind of holistic dr (a naturopath, osteopath, homeopath, traditional chinese medicine or ayurvedic medicine) who can help him with nutrition and boosting his immune system as well as suggesting natural foods, herbs and supplements that will help him fight this cancer and build up his immune system.
I highly recommend making use of a cancer journal. You can start it by writing down everything that's happened up to this point, in addition to whatever information your dad and family can remember about the previous cancer episode.) If you will be going with your dad to see the drs and for his treatments, write down all your questions in a notebook and take it with you to appts, etc. make sure you get answers to your questions, in terms that you can understand, and write those answers down so you can refer to them later. Also write down the recommendations the dr makes, prescriptions (drug name, dosage, how often to take it, and how well your dad responds to them.) Record appt dates and times and who he sees - same with treatments. In other words, write down everything. Include the dates and places and results of diagnostic tests, blood work, scans, anything he has done.)
If you are not accompanying your dad, get him to write these things down, or ask him to have someone else go with him who can be responsible for keeping the record, leaving him free to listen and to focus on treatment, etc.
It's very important that your dad drink plenty of pure fresh water - the best quality he can get. (Steam distilled or reverse osmosis filtered are best - I do not know if your dad will have access to these.) The body can't fight cancer if it's not getting enough fluids - your dad will need at least 64 ounces of water per day, especially if he starts chemo again. Green tea and/or black tea are both cancer fighters, and are very good at detoxifying the body. (Your dad's organs will not only be releasing toxic byproducts from the cancer, but as cells start to die they will possibly burst and release cellular debris that have to be carried to the liver and kidneys and then out of the body. Adequate hydration is very important for this also, and detoxifying natural fluids and foods will help greatly.) If your dad is on or will be on blood thinners, he needs to get an ok from the dr before drinking really large quantities of tea.
Best for your dad to eat as much fresh fruits and vegetables as he can - especially apples, citrus fruit, berries, leafy green vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and other greens, beets, carrots, asparagus, whatever is available where he lives.)
THere are many herbs and supplements your dad could take to try to reverse this cancer; however there is a small group of minerals that many of the leading advocates of alternative therapies are saying are an absolute must for anyone with cancer:
selenium: 200 mcg/day (can start with 400mcg/day but only for a few weeks)
magnesium: 200 - 250 mg/day (350 mg/day max), take with food
zinc: 50 mg/day (can start with 100mg/day but only for a few weeks), take with food
manganese: 10 - 15 mg/day, take with food
calcium: 1200 mg/day
We need Vitamin D-3 to be able to absorb and utilize calcium. Our bodies manufacture D-3 if we get adequate sunlight (15 - 20 minutes exposure/day) - but I do not believe in leaving this to chance, so also recommend a Vitamin D-3 supplement, 1000 - 2000 iu/day (10,000 iu/day max)
If your dad were to choose to not take supplements, please ask him to at least take selenium. Every single cell in the body requires selenium to function properly - we cannot effectively fight cancer without it, and very few people get enough selenium through dietary intake alone.
Also, your dad needs to maintain as positive an attitude as possible. Exercise will help there - this soon after surgery, encourage him to do some gentle walking, 20 minutes every day if he can. Laughter and humor are tremendous elements for recovery and maintaining good spirits. Help your dad to find something to laugh about every day - 10 minutes of good belly laughter works wonders.
If you will post more information on where your dad lives - the country and what area of that country - perhaps some other posters to the board can give you suggestions on good drs in that locale. They might also be able to give you specifics about chemo, support groups, etc.
I wish you and your dad the best. Some days may be very hard, but getting through this is certainly doable.
Sincerely,
Tre