Mets to peritoneum - any hope??

My husband has stage 4 stomach cancer with mets to the peritoneum plus some lymph nodes – he has been on chemo since January 2009 with good results.  His original stomach tumor measured 4 cm and is now 0.9 cm.  However, he now has neuropathy in his legs and the doctor had to discontinue use of the cisplatin, now he is only on docetaxel and 5FU.  His Cancer Antigen 19-9 has increased, it was 111 in March and now its at 213.  Not sure if this marker is significant or not.

Here is my question has any one had the tumors in the peritoneum removed or have them killed off by chemo alone??  I have also been reading about HIPEC which is procedure where they heat up the chemo and insert it into the abdominal area to kill the tumor cells.  This procedure isn’t widely available right now.  My husband is being treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC and they don’t even have it yet, but it is being used at MD Anderson.

So I was wondering if anyone has had success with killing off the cancer that has spread to the peritoneum.

Thanks

my father was scheduled to have HIPEC after chemotherapy stopped working.  Another unrelated complication occured, and he passed away before having the scheduled surgery.  However during our surgery consult, it was presented as not curative but as a way to relieve his ascites and meant to afford him a better quality of life.  Not sure if that was specific to his case or not.  If you are in the NY area, University Hospital in NJ does the procedure.  You might want to schedule a consult. http://www.theuniversityhospital.com/hipec/index.shtml

In addition, you should post your question on the Ovarian Cancer board as well since that cancer also frequently metastasizes to the peritoneum.

Katherine

Thanks so much for the information and the link, that hospital is nearby where I live.  I have just been doing more research on my husband's prognosis since I received all the medical records from the hospital.  I have just been sitting at the computer and googling each word.  I didn't even know his cancer had spread to the peritoneum.  The doctor has never really explained the full extent of his cancer to us, just bits and pieces on a need to know basis.

Thanks again.

Maria

Hey Maria -

Glad to hear he's off the Cisplatin.  It's so harsh.  My husband has had problems with the neuropathy as well, just limited to his hands and feet though.  Acupuncture helps with the neuropathy and so does Capsaicin creme - or a diabetic aid creme that has capsaicin as the main active ingredient.  We use it on my husband 3 - 4 times per day (or less), and he is starting to getting some relief from the neuropathy.  You need to apply it cautiously to be sure he doesn't have a reaction to it.  If he has numbness, he might not be able to tell if its creating a burning sensation, but if you apply it sparingly and just watch to be sure he doesn't develop redness it may offer him some relief.

My husband has read up on the treatment you are referring to and he said most of what he has read has been positive. (He had studied medicine for a number years and understands this stuff much better than I)  MD Anderson is an excellent facility and would have been our next choice for a treatment center, and still remains an alternative should it become necessary. 

You should also check out another site, while you're reading, www.lifeovercancer.com  amazing stories of people that have overcome stage III and IV cancer.  The facility is wonderful, and combines healing the body as a whole (which is so important) with chemo and alternative therapy.

My thoughts and prayers remain with you and your family.

Karen

Hi Maria,

You may wish to cover your bases ... just in case your husband isn't a candidate for HIPEC.  Here's the URL to a clinical trial, also at MD Anderson.  http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00491855

Paula Jean

Hello,

I'm very sorry for all the news about mets in peritoneum.

All I can say is that my father, 64, died 3 months ago, because of stomach cancer and mets on peritoneum. There is no way of handling mets on peritoneum, and the end is striking very fast.

I'm sorry to be so direct, but....this is what my family went through. We never thought that in January, there was no met, and in march....full of it.

I'm so angry and ....................

Hope that for you will have another turn.

Anda