Primary Peritoneal Cancer

I am new to this website and was just reading some of the messages posted about primary peritoneal cancer. My 68 yr old mother was diagnosed with this awful disease in Jan 06--had major surgery to remove 97% of the cancer. We were told that chemo should get rid of the rest and put her into remission. She went through 5 rounds of intraperitoneal chemo---treatments nearly did her in. She lost a lot of weight and is now on a feeding tube. Her latest CT scan showed her abdominal area was clear, but still has fluid around her lung that needs to be drained for the 4th time. She still needs further chemo, but is too weak at this time.

Her dr gives her hope for at least 5 years if they can clear her lung.

It's so hard dealing with the side effects of the chemo---they are almost worse than the cancer itself.

Read your message, my mother was diagnosed with this cancer in August. They statred her on Taxol and cytoplatiin regimen after discovery a fluid buildup in one of her lungs. After three weeks these drugs didn't seem to work and thing got worse. After draining her lung for the third time the oncologist switched her to Gemcitabine and things seem to be turning around. We are praying that the fluid doesn't come back (a major symtom of this type of cancer). She has a long way to go, hopefully it will buy her some more time even though we know that the outcome is inevitable.

I know exactly what you mean about the chemo side effects being worse than the cancer.
My sister was diagnosed with peritoneal carcinoma when she was 21 (scarily the same age I am today). I spent the entire summer with her at home while she went through surgeries and treatments. The scarriest part was the fact that it turned out she was allergic to Taxol, one of the most common chemos.Her reaction was horrific. (anyone reading this please dont panic because apparently reactions are very rare!! and your drs will know what to do)
Seeing her feel so sick was the hardest part. She was making great progress, but that didnt help how difficult it was to get through each week. She lost so much weight and couldnt keep any food down. She also ended up back in the hospital 4 months later with a drain in her stomach. She was too weak to get any more chemos and her body just shut down.
My best moments with my sister we when she had her good days, but everyday holds the hope and promise of something better. Everyone will have thier good days, take the time to enjoy it and build strenght for what comes next.
I have learned a lot from this disease and it is now helping me get through my mom being diagnosed with breast cancer 2 years after my sister. Finding the right support makes all the difference.

I pray and hope for you and your mother. There has been a large group of people close to me that have come down with several types of cancer. I feel very strongly about about God and Jesus, they are a part of my every day. The reasons why I have put myself in front of you are; I would like to help. Please check the web sites for mangosteen and mangosteenexperiences. If this helps, great and that is my purpace. I have heard many success stories dealing with this fruit. Somehow get it into to your body as soon as you can, it surely can not hurt. Xango is the product I recommend. You will have to get this online or through a distributor of Xango.

Sincerely,

Joebrevort

My mother has been doing very well on the Gemcitabine, after five weeks the fluid has not returned and she is starting gain her strength back slowly. Hopefully she will be coming home in a couple of weeks if she keeps on progressing the way she been going. Hopefully it will prolong her life and maybe it may have some quality to it.

Hi - I just read your message. My mother was diagnosed 3 days ago with primary peritoneal cancer. She had surgery that removed her ovaries and uterus and the surgeon says he got all of it. She also needs chemo. I am trying to find out if any one oncologist specializes in this cancel and who has the best results. There is not a lot of literature on this. Any suggestions? How is your mom doing?

My mother has started to get weaker and weaker as the days roll on. Mainly to her lack of appetite and her inabilility or lack of energy to get out of bed. Her onclogist says one of her tumors is shrinking but she is too weak to take any more treatments at this time. We know where it is leading to, but still hope and pray there is some type of turn around for the good. Its hard to understand sometimes how much of rollercoaster ride the past few months have been of surges in her health and later further setbacks.

Hi - I hope your mom does better and gets stronger. My mom is starting chemotherapy next week and I am very nervous for her. She seems to be in good spirits, however, I know deep down she is very scared. The doctors are not doing the intraperitoneal chemo since it may be too strong for her. I haven't spoken or met anyone who had this type of treatment. The doctors say they have drugs to combat the nausea, however, I don't know anyone who didn't get sick. What types of chemo did your mom have?

My Mom was on Gemcitabine, she lost her battle with this disease just after Thankgiving. The chemo was just to much for her to deal with and just got weaker as time went on. The drug was actually working according to her oncologist but she was just too old to fight off the side effects. Even though I will miss her, it was a relief just to have her stop suffering and hopefully she has gone to a better place. Take care and hope things go better for your mother and yourself.