Adrenal Cancer has come back in my right gland

In October 2005 I was diagnosed with adrenal cortical carcinoma, it was also invading the main vein into my heart.  I had open heart surgery and had my left adrenal gland. Kidney and tumour removed.  All was going well until August 2007 when the cancer returned in both my lungs and liver, it is inoperable.  I was put on mitotane and all seemed to be going well until I had a CT scan two weeks ago, the cancer has now come back in my right adrenal gland and more tumours have appeared on my lung, there is one that has grown to 13mm.

My Oncologist told me last Wednesday that I will have to be admitted into Clatterbridge (Merseyside), for chemo.  He is having talks with my consultant to see if she will/can operate on the adrenal gland and remove the tumour.

Does anyone know of a good diet, or anything I can take to help?  I have been told that Manuka honey 25+ UMF is very good, has anyone else heard this?  I will try anything as you can imagine.  There is not much help with adrenal cancer on the web.

Thanks.

Jeanette

 

 

On 9/14/2009 nettyb wrote:

In October 2005 I was diagnosed with adrenal cortical carcinoma, it was also
invading the main vein into my heart.  I had open heart surgery and had my
left adrenal gland. Kidney and tumour removed.  All was going well until
August 2007 when the cancer returned in both my lungs and liver, it is
inoperable.  I was put on mitotane and all seemed to be going well until I
had a CT scan two weeks ago, the cancer has now come back in my right adrenal
gland and more tumours have appeared on my lung, there is one that has grown to
13mm.

My Oncologist told me last Wednesday that I will have to be admitted into
Clatterbridge (Merseyside), for chemo.  He is having talks with my
consultant to see if she will/can operate on the adrenal gland and remove the
tumour.

Does anyone know of a good diet, or anything I can take to help? 
I have been told that Manuka honey 25+ UMF is very good, has anyone else heard
this?  I will try anything as you can imagine.  There is not much
help with adrenal cancer on the web.

Thanks.

Jeanette

 

Dear Jeanette  My husband has the same cancer that you have  Unfortunately his was inoperable  He was given 2 months to live  Six months later he is doing very well and the tumor is shrinking  Not everyone can do what we are doing  I am his full-time caregiver  The first 3 months were tough  He was very sick and losing his appetite  I researched the ALKALINE diet He has been on it for 6 months and he is thriving on it  It isn't easy at first  There are at least 5 versions of the diet on the internet  My background is in nutrition and it was difficult at first just deciding which one to use  My husband is German so we chose the one that said potatoes are alkaline  He hasn't lost one pound EAT ONLY ORGANIC FOODS  We begin our day with a shot of wheat grass and a glass of green juice (cucumber.\, celery and parsley occasionally carrot, beet broccoli added to the mix juiced in a champion juicer)  For breakfast he has quinoa that has been sprouted (rinse 1 cup of quinoa and place in a quart jar fill with water and soak over night  Drain water( a sprouting lid helps) and set on its side for 8 hours or until sprouted Place in a small pot with 2 cups of water and cook like rice Bring to boil turn down heat for 20 min  Put as much as you can eat into a bowl add strawberries raspberries banana or other alkaline fruit  Not too many sweet things as sugar makes cancer grow  For lunch a salad dressing must be alkaline Try BRAGG"S SALAD DRESSING or raw veggies with 2 cups cottage cheese mixed with4 Tbsp flax seed oil and 4 TBSP ground flax seed (check out the Bugwig diet)  He uses this in his cereal in the AM  There is so much more that we do but he is doing well  He is healing but it is a tremedous amount of work that we do to keep him alive  

 

Thanks for the advice.  I went to see my consultant last Thursday, have my operation 13th October to remove right adrenal gland and tumour.  Looks like they will have to take some of the liver to.  I am then being admitted to Clatterbridge for Oncology on Merseyside for intensive chemo.  Fingers crossed.

I do appreciate you getting back to me and we will try what you have told me.

Thanks again,

Jeanette

P.s You never left me your name.

 

 

On 9/30/2009 nettyb wrote:

Thanks for the advice.  I went to see my consultant last Thursday, have my operation 13th October to remove right adrenal gland and tumour.  Looks like they will have to take some of the liver to.  I am then being admitted to Clatterbridge for Oncology on Merseyside for intensive chemo.  Fingers crossed.

I do appreciate you getting back to me and we will try what you have told me.

Thanks again,

Jeanette

P.s You never left me your name.

 

Sorry I didn't leave my name  It is Nancy  We are also using a very expensive supplement called Haelan 951  It is $50 a day  You can get it off the internet   Essiac tea also   We were told that people with this adrenal tumor usually die of liver failure so we are doing a lot of things to detox the liver  Take 300mg of alpha lipoic acid once a day  milk thistle 3 times a day (2 capsules)  mix 4 Tbsp flax seed oil with 2 Tbsp ground flax seedand 1 cup cottage cheese  (flax cannot be absorbed with out whey that is contained in the cottage cheese)  Hans also drinks 4 ounces of wheatgrass a day and he does two wheatgrass enemas a day  Info for this can be found on-line   My husband continues to recover from this terrible cancer He is also going to a Chinese herbalist  If you are interested in Chinese herbs I can give you the name of some he is taking  He also does visualizations and meditation twice a day  He visualized the tumor shrinking and his heart healing  His heart has been impacted by the tumorbut even this is improving  He hasn't lost a pound and is getting better slowly but significantly  Good Luck ps get rid of all the stress in your life that is huge in combating this kind of cancer

 

Dear Jeanette  Here is a book that might help you  It is written by a brain doctor  who gets brain cancer  He goes through surgery chemo and radiation and the cancer is totally gone but within a short time it grows back  He tells how to keep it from coming back and he has been caner free for 15 years  It will be a lot easier to read and do than what we are doing  Hans has a very large adrenal tumor on his right adrenal gland Oncologists offered him a very invasive operation that would have removed his adrenal gland right kidney his diaphram and half his liver plus they would've had to do a double by-pass on his heart during the operation  So we decided not to do that  At first we decided to prepare for his death but once I started reading about stage 4 cancer cures on the internet we decided to try to save his life  I am now my husband's doctor and caretaker and I am doing a better job of saving his life  than any oncologist can  He is doing well  He is notand has not ever been bed ridden  He is still definitely ill but we go out occasionally  We travel 200 miles to San Francisco every month to go to a concert  He hasn't lost any weight on the alkaline diet and his tumor has shrunk by almost half  I don't know if he will fully recover but right now he is alive and the quality of his life is good enough that he wants to continue living  Love to you Nancy

Dear Jeanette Forgot to giveyou the name of the book  The Anti Cancer Book A new way of life  I don't remember the author  He's a doctor  Best of luck  You are in our prayers  Nancy

Hi Nancy,

Thank you for the information, I will get that book.  My friend is doing a Masters degree in alternative therapy and is helping me to.

Not been that good, my Consultant brought me into hospital for the day and I had a CT scan, she thought I might of had a build up of fluid after the operation.  It was good news, there was no build up and all seemed fine to go ahead with chemo, hopefully mid December.  Hopefully sounds a little strange, but what I mean is at least they were prepared to do the operation and now the chemo.

I will be admitted for two day's every three weeks for six session's, that is if I can tolerate it.  If all goes well I will stay on mitotane, I am now on 3000mg per day (six tablets) and seem to be ok on the extra one up to now.  I am also on 25mg of hydrocortisone three times a day plus 50 microgram fludrocortisone.  I have also had a chest infection which hasn't helped as you can imagine.  I went from being on no tablets to thirty three a day.  Before my surgery my consultant told me I had approx three to nine months to live and they were doing the surgery for quality of life.  I asked again after my surgery and she said I am not typical text book and couldn't  or wouldn't give me a time, she said I am in the 15% minority that should not be here today.  Told me to keep thinking the way I am as she thinks it is helping as I have been so positive and strong, said she has never known anyone to be so strong and positive.  I have got my daughter getting married in July, so that will keep me busy helping and organising the big day. 

Best of luck and will be thinking of you and your husband.

Jeanette