Latest Gallbladder Cancer discussions http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/cancers/gallbladder-cancer/1,0,119,21.htm Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ Hello everyone,          My father has been diagnosed with Gallbladder cancer in June. The doctor told him that  he is currently at stage two right now. He also gave him two options, to get surgery or to not get surgery. Before these options, he has already taken out his gallbladder, but the cancer has already spread to the bile ducts. If he does not get the surgery he would only live two more years, and if he does get the surgery (taking out a portion of the liver and replacing the bile ducts) he would live to five years. My father is extremely confused on what he should do. If he was to do the surgery many side effects might come from it. I am afraid that because he will be in so much pain from the surgery his immunity will go down,  making it possible for the cancer to spread even more. What is surprising to me is that the doctor said that chemotherapy and radiation will not treat this cancer, but yet I can see that many patients are able to receive these treatments. What are your opinions to my father's conditions? Thank you very much and hope the best for everyone. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,26373,0.htm BetN24 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hi,My mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 Gall Bladder Cancer.  She has been going to a private doctor in NYC who practices western medicine along with eastern methods.  He has given my mom supplements which I believe is helping her.  Overall I think my mom is doing greta she has lost some weight but she is eating very healthy since the gall bladder helps digest fat.  She is sometimes weak from the chemo and of course sometimes she is emotional.  The greatest thing that is helping her is all the family support and encouragement which doesn't make her lose hope.  She has not had Jaundice or any clogged bile ducts which I am happy about.  Since we are going to a private doctor we are spending ridiculous amount of money to the point where we may have to stop going to him.  My mom's insurance doesn't cover out of network doctors and I don't know if my mom will get approved for medicaid since she is 54.  I would like to know if anyone has survived from this cancer and if maybe we should go to a doctor that is covered by my mother's insurance? Or is this cancer that rare that no one survives it and we will be financially in debt to this doctor? I am just looking for a story of hope. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,26074,0.htm minnie77 Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hi  my mom was diagnosed  abaout 3 months ago with cancer  it showed up on a MRI her dr. told us they think its in the blood  so we went to the cancer clinic ad they did blood work and said  her hemogloben was fine they did a bone marrow test and it was fine so we were at a loss since then shes had numerious tests done more mri,s ct scans, blood work  and thier now saying they think its gall bladder cancer as there is a large mass  between the gallbladder and liver  she is jaundice now to and has gone from about 170lbs to 138lbs  she has no appetite and recently couldnt get on her feet we took her to er yesterday and they did a ct scan and said she has a fractured right hip  so we dont know how that happen or how long its been like this  she hasnt had any falls she is 73 she had 1 round of radiation  a week ago  but didnt help so what is her survival out come with  these 2 problems i need some opions please as the dr.s dont say much http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,26006,0.htm babydreams Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hi everyone, You are not alone, My mom just diagnosed with gallbladder cancer about 1 month ago, Dr. said she will have 1 more year left, because the cancer has spread to her liver and  lymph node. Also dr. said, surgery isn't help, either chemo or radition. My mom will move with another specialist for 2rd opinion on June 26, 08. And this dr. will start over everything ( CT scan, MRI, or Blood test..ect.)My mom live in Kentucky, and I live in California, cause I married and move here with my husband, I want to stay with my mom so I can help her while she sick but she doesnt let me, she wants me to stay in california to take care of my husband and my son, she says she ok with this. Now i feel everything in this world just nothing to me, Only thing I want now is my mom would live with me longer, I am not ready to let her ago while she's just 57 years old. I cant stand to see my mom in pain everyday, with small food, small drink, weight lost, sleep 2-3 hours per day. I can imaging how can I live with life like this. My mom's so strong, never complain, just moving on to waiting for that day's coming.   http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25328,0.htm goodbyes Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT Well, we now know my mom is stage 4.  The Cancer has spread to her liver and lymph nodes.  Two days ago she had a port surgically placed for the chemo, and she will also be receiving radiation.  She has lost a lot of weight and I am worried that she will not make it through theses treatments.  Mom has decided to follow her doctor's orders, and is not interested in second opinions, clinical trials, or anything else, so we are not pushing her.  Can someone please tell me what to expect, and how long she can continue with stage 4?  I do not want to ask the doctors in front of her, and she has not asked either.  We are so worried and upset over this.  Our mom is a wonderful beautiful woman and we love her so much. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25228,0.htm azureangel Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT I began using this site hoping for information that would help my former husband and dear friend, John A. Cathey of Albany, OR who was diagnosed with gall bladder cancer in February, 2006. John died May 22, 2008 quite peacefully in the care of Hospice.  The reason I write is because I would like others to know that it is possible to live more than two years with this dreadful disease without chemo or radiation treatments, even tho John would have tried them had it been possible.  Due to a serious wound site infection after the initial surgery, the window of opportunity for those treatments had closed, and so he went on trying to live his life as best he could.  He had very little discomfort until the bowel blockages began, and then it was discovered that there was a large mass in the abdoman hidden behind hernias which had precluded the mass being seen via the CAT scans.John received treatment from the VA in concert with the Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland for the information of others. All of us who are losing or have already lost our loved ones from this very difficult cancer must be vigilant and keep petitioning the medical community to put funds into place for research.  I have been told by OHSU that the majority of any treatment procedures are coming via Japan.I sincerely wish all who are stricken the very best, and the courage to make your own decisions about how this disease is treated.Nagatha http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25227,0.htm Nagatha Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT  Hi to all reading this.I dont know how I am finding the strength to write this, my mum died just over 16 hours ago of gall bladder cancer at the age of 63. She went into hospital on 9th March this year to have gallstones removed but they found that the whole gall bladder was basically infested with a tumour which was pressing against the liver. The doctors said the cancer was inoperable and put my mum on what was intended to be a 13 week  course of chemo.My mum only managed to get through 5 of the sessions, she was having no quality of life to speak of at all and it was decided to stop the chemo.In the past few days my mum deteriorated at a frightening rate, I dont think she wanted to live anymore. When I last saw my dear mother alive yesterday I could see that it would not be more than a few days before the end came...so it was totally devastating to learn this morning that she had been taken by this wicked disease.I feel absolutely shattered that my mother has gone....what else is there to say?     http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25044,0.htm Carl42a Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT I was diagnosed with GB cancer on June 3. This was done with local anasthetic because of a previous condition that makes me high risk for surgery. I have pulmonary hypertension and the doctors didn't want to take the risk of killing me while trying to cure the cancer. I have since been put on viagra to reduce the pulmonary pressures so that we can try the surgical path once more. I'll be very grateful if anyone could give me information on alternative therapies just in case the surgery cant be done. Has anyone tried Alpha Lipoic Acid? Does it actually reduce cancer tumors?I would also like to get in touch with anybody who has information on fighting both cancer and pulmonary hypertension.ThanksJoan http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25028,0.htm Ntuntuntu Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hello:I'm a 43 yr old male and was just diagnosed with polyps of the gallbladder. Most were small, however, one measured 2.2 cm. I had a routine CT scan done 3 months ago for something else and nothing was noted about my GB. My GP told me that it's highly unlikely that it's not malignant.I have an appoinment at Johns Hopkins this next week. Please pray for me. I've already had a huge bengin tumor removed from my sacrum which kept me at Hopkins for 2 months. I had to learn to walk again and have to self cath every six hours.  My family and I were just getting my life together and now this. I was told this is totally unrelated to the Giant Cell Tumor that was removed.Anyone here have a malignant polyp diagnosed? Anything over 1.8CM has a 70% chance of being malignant. There was no evidence of thickening of the gallbladder wall, duct or liver envolvement. IF it is malignant I hope I've caught it early enough.Peace and God's Blessings...Shane http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,25021,0.htm shaner Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT I want to tell my mother's story, and ask for any advice...  In March of this year we took my mother to the hospital, she was jaundiced and experiencing pain in her stomach and hips.  Doctors first believed she may have a stone blocking a bile duct.  Tests were done and a mass was found to be the problem.  A stent was placed and she was told that they could not help her here.  She then went to Thomas Jefferson in Philly.  They replaced the stent and added another.  They told my mom that they were 90% sure that it was cancer, though they could not determine if it originated in the bile ducts or the gallbladder.  They told my mother that it did not appear to have spread to the liver or anywhere else, (just the gallbladder and ducts).  They told her that they felt confident that they could remove it all, and reconstruct ducts if necessary with pieces of her bowel.  She would then need chemo and radiation.  Jefferson made light of the surgery, but did say that they would not know for sure if it spread until they got in there.  Surgery was set for May 6.  During the week or so before the surgery, my dad's insurance changed ( May 1st)  Jefferson would not accept new insurance so my mother decided to contact Geisinger in Danville PA.  After a couple of weeks she finally got an appointment.  Geisinger did every test over again.  Yesterday we sat with the surgeon and he told my mother that the cancer is in her liver, though 95% of her liver fine.  They now believe the cancer to have originated in the gallbladder.  They also biopsied a lymph node above the liver and it contained cancer cells.  They believe several other nodes in the area are also affected.  Geisinger does not want to operate, they want my mother to start on chemo.       I have many questions:  why did Jefferson want to operate?  Does this cancer spread this fast?  My mom is 69, and she has lost alot of weight already.  How long does she have at this point?  Will the chemo help her?  Does this cancer go into remission?  How about special supplements to build up her strength and appetite?  Should she get a second opinion?  Thank youRenee  http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,24887,0.htm azureangel Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT Having gone thru the treatment experience with a family memeber, I can tell you this: it's vital that you take the 'right' steps right from the get-go the diagnosis. The disease is so aggressive and so little known that first steps are critical. Let me know if you wish to hear more.Art http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,24817,0.htm Zorba Sun, 08 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT My dad had gallbladder cancer from radiation and asbestos exposure for over 30 years.  He was diagnosed last July.  The tumors responded to the chemo and were about 1/4 of the size they had been. But the chemo took it's toll.  Dad became so weak and dehydrated that he couldn't get around or help in his care at all.  He died last Friday night and is now home with the Father, my Lord.I want to thank all of you for your prayers and positive thoughts that have been with us for the last 8 months.  For a 78 year old man - I think my dad did good.My last thoughts are - if have any kind of cancer, heart disease or any other type of life changing illness - fight it for yourself - not your family, wife, children, or anyone else.  It may not be a cure - but you need to continue making lovely memories for yourself and for those who will be left behind.  May God grant you peace and comfort. Charlotte K http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,24482,0.htm charlkyl Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT I am Dr Vikas from India.My mother was diagnosed with gall bladder cancer in feb2008,since then entire family is in very stress.Now doctors here are saying it inoperable.Recently I have read in some journal about PROTON THERAPY IN CANCER.I am not sure whether it is given in case of gall bladder cancer or not? Please can you help me in this matter?  Many Thanks.                                                  sincerely yours,                                                                       Dr vikas                                                                       India http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,24474,0.htm aakash Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Has anyone had a regimen of either Erbitux or Avastin?Art http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,23965,0.htm Zorba Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT To anyone who might be interested,My dad was diaagnosed with GB cancer in July last year and was told there was no treatment for him because of the metastisis.  He gave up and almost died in Nov.  He started chemo with Gemzar and his tumors has shrunk to about 1/2 the size they were.  The time between having his abdomen tapped and drained is now 4 weeks and the amount is a 1/3 of what it had been. His liver is working again.  The main problem now is that he can't eat or drink much.  He is soooooooo tired of boost.  When he became confused and started falling - his doctor finally saw what we had been seeing and order TPN for dad.  Dad has a mediport in his chest and TPN is a high calorie, high protein and high lipids (fat) flluid that goes into the mediport.  He was so mal-nourished before and now he is mentally clearer than he has been in several weeks.  We are praying that his appetite returns soon and he doesn't require the TPN for a long time. It does increase the chance of infections and has to be given by an infusion pump but for now we still have dad.Miracles happen every day and it's not always a cure that is the miracle.  God bless you.                  Charlotte http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,22500,0.htm charlkyl Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT hello,i am writing bc i am concerened about my mother.  her aunt just passed away within 3 weeks of her gall bladder diagnosis.  i just learned that my mom had severe gallstones, resulting in the removal of her gall bladder when she was about 38 (she is now about 48).  however, she still has unexplained abdominal pains, had a past h. pylori infection, and the whites of her eyes are yellow (but have been for a while).  my question is, should she be worried about gall bladder cancer even though her gall bladder was removed long ago (no biopsy was performed that i know of).  also, if so, what tests should she have done to rule out cancer?  thank you for your time and help. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,22386,0.htm worrieddaughter1 Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT My sister, 44 yrs old, was diagnosed Christmas eve with gall bladder cancer.Her gall bladder was removed on 1/16/08 along with 7 lymth nodes and a small 5% of liver.Cancer was found in the gall bladder and 5 lymth nodes, the liver was clear. She was staged at stage 2. Her surgery was done at Sloan Kettering in NY a wonderful place! She had a fluid collection complication at the incision site. A drain was placed and the horizontal incision was opened to clear infection. The open incision had to remain open to heal from the inside out delaying, chemotherapy.  Gemcitabine is their recommended drug but,Sloan was clear that there is no established treatment for gall bladder cancer after surgical resection.They use protacol for a near by organ, the pancreas to decide which drug to prescibe. My hope is that someone may have some insight to share. We need to begin some type of adjuvant therapy very shortly. If not gemcitabine, or gemcitabine based, what else? Are there any sucess stories. I send my prayers to everyone touched by this. Thanks everyone.Nancy  http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,22253,0.htm nynancy Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT A 40-year old friend of mine was diagnosed with gall bladder cancer in 10/07.  It's inoperable and has spread to lymph nodes and his pancreas.  He currently has a biliary stint and the tumors are pressing on it, causing it to collapse.  I think he's had it replaced 3-4 times.  He went through a cycle of Gemcitabine....the tumors grew 30%.  He was then told that there is no cure for this cancer and the goal would be to improve quality of life.My friend contacted Dr. Vogl at the University of Frankfurt in Germany.  He's the same doctor who is treating Farrah Fawcett.  The just returned from their first visit.  He is being treated by Dr. Vogl, using TACE.  Does anyone here have any experience with TACE or know of any success stories that I can pass along to him?He'll be returning two more times, with a 3-4 week span in between treatments.  He's back in the hospital now having the sting replaced again.   Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,22063,0.htm txaggie Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT My cousin was dx with GB cancer Nov. 2007 and spent approx. 2 months in the hospital before undergoing surgery to determine if removing the GB was possible.  The surgeon determined that the cancer had spread to nearby organs and determined that removal of the BG and surrounding organs would be too risky.  Thus, after insertion of the tube into the GB to remove fluids, no further action was taken. Query for GB survivors and/or doctors, what if anything further can be done to help the patient at this stage?  It has been close to 3 months since she has undergone surgery and since this past week began taking higher dosage of pain killers with dietary supplements to help her cope.  Based on initial research from other sites, it appears she may be now going into the final stages of the disease but my family really does not know what we can and or should do for her.  Any advise or comments someone who has gone through this with family members would be greatly appreciated.Cousin - worried, sad http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,21551,0.htm moyakorea Sun, 02 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT My brother has been diagnosed with this type of cancer and this poses many questions.   We have been told that this is rare and difficult to treat.  Are there any stats that show his odds? Or to see about life after the diagnosis?  http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,21490,0.htm gincleyg Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT It would be really helpful to know if there is someone who has had 'fractioned-dose' chemotherapy. That's chemo in small amounts given over several days instead of one larger dose. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,21103,0.htm Zorba Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT I am glad I stumbled onto this message board. First of all, I am very sorry to hear about all the others who have been diagnosed with this dreadful disease. I hope a cure is found soon.My mom was diagnosed with gallbladder carcinoma metastasized to the liver and lymph nodes last week. She is 61 years old and is otherwise in very good health. The only symptom was brief upper abdominal pain. No fever or weight loss. The doctors did a CT scan and performed a biopsy of the lymph node from the neck to confirm the diagnosis. They immediately started her on chemotherapy - Gencitabine and Cisplatin. My mom is undergoing treatment in India. I am traveling there this week to be with her. I have asked her to start taking alternative treatment of 4.5mg Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN). Does anybody have experience with using LDN for gallbaldder cancer? I am also contemplating coenzyme Q-10. Any other alternative treatments anyone can think of?  http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,21071,0.htm shyam71 Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hello everyone!My name is Gemwel, and just this January of 2008 - my father who is now 60 years of age went to the hospital to have himself checked up because he has dificulty in urinating (thats what I know for him). After the doctor examined him "cystoscopy", they found out that my father already has stage 4 Gallbladder cancer. Then the doctor gave him some prescribed medication. And thats it, until now he's not yet coming back to see the doctor again because we don't have enough money, even consultation only to the doctor really involves money. And I hate it. I really hate to think that these doctors when they were still kids, they used to say like "when I grow up I wanna be a doctor someday to help those people who are in need", but now money down first is their first priority not helping those who are need... : (Now the problem is, we(my family) dont have any knowledge/idea on what to do next. Is it safe to remove his gallbladder even if the patient has this stage 4 thing?Please help me like what food should my father eat, cannot do and can do?Before my father is very active but when he found out on what was the result of his examination, he is now weak and sad.PLEASE HELP US!!!Hoping that someone can help me.Thank you very much.sincerely,Gemwel http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,20837,0.htm gemwel08 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT My sister in law was recently diagnosed with gallbladder cancer.  Her gallbladder was removed for unrelated reasons and then found to be cancerous.  During the surgery, non invasive, cancer cells spilled out of the gallbladder and are now on her abdamon.  She is undergoing chemo but having a hard time with the nausa.  She is only 45 yrs old.  Her mental state is very weak and I just want any info that could help her live as long as she can. thanks http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,20712,0.htm DeniseAna Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hi allThank God I found a site like this as I feel so frustrated not having someone who understands where I am. My husband was disgnosed with gallbladder and liver cancer, in July 07, in Aug 07 he had 2 thirds of his liver and gallbladder removed.  He was very very ill and had alot of setbacks as a result of major surgery, however, he had now made a remarkable recovery.  He still gets tired some days and gets tired when we walk to far but all in all I cannot believe he is still here, as I'm sure some of you will understand, we haven't asked as many questions as we should have and all we really know is that no-one has ever survived this type of cancer for more that 5 years and they told us my husband would probably have 2 years. Is there anyone out there who knows of anyone with this type of cancer, if so I would love to hear from you and compare notes. We are going for a check up CT scan this friday and are both worried sick.Look forward to hearing from someone.Siobhan (Ireland)   http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,20469,0.htm Shove Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT