Average Rating:Rating
Rate this Discussion: rate!

Lungs Mets

Expand all Messages
Caregiver
Caregiver
Loving_daughter
Recommend this Message
Subject: RE: lungs mets
Date: 06/13/2008

I have just posted a message a second ago to another enquiry, with the recommendation of Dr Axel Rolle in Germany.

He pioneered the development of a special laser surgery option, which is the best in the world for treating multiple lung mets. This is because it cuts and seals behind it, meaning the minimal amount of lung tissue is affected, and multiple mets can be removed from the lungs, with very little scarring.

In Europe, this treatment is relatively well known about and well regarded. However in the USA it is not known about. It is expected to get FDA approval in the USA at the end of this year or beginning of next year, after almost 7 years in the processing.

However this treatment is available in many hospitals in Germany, and in Vienna and Italy, amongst other places. The best place to get it is at Coswig Hospital by Dr Axel Rolle who designed the laser frequency and has performed numouerous operations.

In my own father's case, he had a pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in the thigh, which was removed with good margins and 10 months of chemo. However 3 months after stopping the chemo, the cancer was back as mets in his lungs.

There were very few options for chemo or surgery, give the number of mets and that my father's white cell counts had plummeted on the chemo. Plus the resistance of his cancer to chemotherapy. (Although now Yondelis is showing some promise for treating sarcomas, which is a sea sponge drug under trial).

However with the lung surgery, he had a total of 20 mets removed from his lungs, and his lungs are now clear of cancer. There is a chance that a few more may pop up later down the track, but we will face that bridge if it happens and there is the option for more surgery or chemo then.

While we were there, we met with other International patients some of whom had hundreds of mets removed (That's right - hundreds!)  a few years earlier, and were back to have a few more cleaned up 3 years on.

However you would probably need to pay or fundraise for the surgery out of your own pocket as it is not covered by American insurance, and the cost of surgeries in Germany is a flat rate set by the government, which costs around 11,000 Euro per lung. 

I feel enormously frustrated that doctors in the USA don't know about the surgery, and are pushing chemo to patients who would really benefit from it. We were lucky to have a very independent minded oncologist who was open-minded to read all the journal articles and consider it, going on to give us his full support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Messages History for "Lungs Mets"

  1. lungs mets
  2. RE: lungs mets
  3. RE: lungs mets
Expand all Messages
close




Sending...
Required Fields All fields are required.
close
User is No longer Ignored
Show messages from this user
close
Report Abuse
Anonymous Note to Administrator:

Reporting
Latest Messages Show More
RE: Cat diagnosed w/ Lymp Posted by Maggie58 on 12/04 07:46:07 PM
RE: Having a hard time Posted by bullrita on 12/04 07:42:30 PM
RE: Swelling of the neck Posted by capp519 on 12/04 07:38:47 PM
RE: Tumor progression DUR Posted by Me-Denise on 12/04 07:37:46 PM
RE: Tumor progression DUR Posted by Me-Denise on 12/04 07:35:14 PM
RE: your gourmet selectio Posted by kteach08 on 12/04 07:29:52 PM
RE: GBM IV Posted by dianar2 on 12/04 07:27:37 PM
RE: Mourning our way home Posted by bullrita on 12/04 07:21:26 PM
hand and foot need relief Posted by Linda0908 on 12/04 07:10:25 PM
RE: Help!! Posted by bullrita on 12/04 07:02:23 PM
kidney cancer and its con Posted by margann on 12/04 06:52:54 PM
CNCAHealth