CancerCompass message board discussion started by tongrenhealer on 1/26/2008 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,20339,0.htm Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ It's been two days and i haven't been able to say it.  Although the early December CT was clean, the emergency bowel resection on Christmas with all the morphine (feeds cancer cells) that went with it was more than his immune system could handle.  Oncologist did CT although we  planned to skip it at 3 months in March (for the 1st time we were going to at least 6 months between scans) since he'd had surgery.  He was thriving with tongren and we couldn't foresee a problem, but the surgery changed everything and we haven't been able to regain our footing.  Lost 10 lbs we haven't been able to regain with surgery.  The CT showed nodules in lungs again (4th time) so we will do PET Tuesday to get a clearer idea of what's up.  Plan to tongren more intensively and get healthy cells producing rapidly and boost immune system.  Changed school schedule to easier program rather than give up goal of summer certificate to return to world of work (we've been self employed over 20 years and I need a job), but know it will be rough if chemo happens again.  All I can do is keep moving forward.  I WON'T GIVE UP!!!    tongrenhealer Sat, 26 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT NEVER give up !! I hope things get under control again soon. Let us know what the pet scan shows. I will keep your family in my thoughts and prayers.                          Pat Patty5 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT  On 1/26/2008 tongrenhealer wrote:It's been two days and i haven't been able to say it.  Although the early December CT was clean, the emergency bowel resection on Christmas with all the morphine (feeds cancer cells) that went with it was more than his immune system could handle.  Oncologist did CT although we  planned to skip it at 3 months in March (for the 1st time we were going to at least 6 months between scans) since he'd had surgery.  He was thriving with tongren and we couldn't foresee a problem, but the surgery changed everything and we haven't been able to regain our footing.  Lost 10 lbs we haven't been able to regain with surgery.  The CT showed nodules in lungs again (4th time) so we will do PET Tuesday to get a clearer idea of what's up.  Plan to tongren more intensively and get healthy cells producing rapidly and boost immune system.  Changed school schedule to easier program rather than give up goal of summer certificate to return to world of work (we've been self employed over 20 years and I need a job), but know it will be rough if chemo happens again.  All I can do is keep moving forward.  I WON'T GIVE UP!!!   I am so sorry to hear this news about your husband and I pray that he will not have to go through chemo again. Please keep us posted and let me know if there is anything I can do to help.God Bless,George's Girl GeorgesGirl Sun, 27 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT  On 1/26/2008 tongrenhealer wrote:It's been two days and i haven't been able to say it.  Although the early December CT was clean, the emergency bowel resection on Christmas with all the morphine (feeds cancer cells) that went with it was more than his immune system could handle.  Oncologist did CT although we  planned to skip it at 3 months in March (for the 1st time we were going to at least 6 months between scans) since he'd had surgery.  He was thriving with tongren and we couldn't foresee a problem, but the surgery changed everything and we haven't been able to regain our footing.  Lost 10 lbs we haven't been able to regain with surgery.  The CT showed nodules in lungs again (4th time) so we will do PET Tuesday to get a clearer idea of what's up.  Plan to tongren more intensively and get healthy cells producing rapidly and boost immune system.  Changed school schedule to easier program rather than give up goal of summer certificate to return to world of work (we've been self employed over 20 years and I need a job), but know it will be rough if chemo happens again.  All I can do is keep moving forward.  I WON'T GIVE UP!!!   I notice that you are making the statement "morphine feeds cancer cells".You may want to take a look at the following article.  Believe you have been misinformed.If a patient has lung cancer, and morphine is administered for the pain, does the morphine speed up the process? Erin McMenamin, MSN, CRNP, AOCN, Pain Medicine Nurse Practitioner and Program Manager at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, responds: Morphine will not speed up the process of the cancer. Morphine is in a class of medications called opioids (commonly known as narcotics). They are medications that bind with a receptor in the body to alter the perception of pain in the brain. These medications are used for a variety of painful conditions, including surgery, chronic pain, and cancer, just to name a few. The medications are intended to be used for the relief of pain, and hopefully will also result in an improvement in the patient's quality of life. When used appropriately, they are among the most effective and safest classes of medications available for pain, with the fewest side effects. In addition, morphine used for comfort at the end of life does not speed up the process of death. Morphine may be used to make sure the patient is comfortable in the final moments of life. It is the overall disease process that got the patient to this point, not using morphine to make him or her comfortable. If the patient had the opioid (pain medication) titrated (adjusted) slowly, it would not be the cause of death. The patient would have to take approximately three times the usual dose in order to cause significant changes in breathing. Nonetheless, this is often a question that lingers in the minds of family members. The key question is - would the patient have suffered if he or she did not have the Morphine? Most likely the answer is yes, and so you did the right thing.    Chessie Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT I guess there are varying views because I have information that says morphine and other opiates impair immune function, particularly NK activity, lymphocyte-macrophage production, and other key immune cytokines.  Healthy immune function is required post surgically to kill cancer cells which have escaped from the primary tumor and are seeking to metastasize.  Tramadol is actually a better choice post surgically.  In the lab tramadol actually stimulated NK activity in humans and blocked enhancement of lung metastasis induced by surgery, whereas morphine did not provide this beneficial effect. We were in a post surgical situation, with lung mets being a persistent problem in the past, so it may be very appropriate as pain management in many cases, but I still feel it was one of the factors in why the mets came back so quickly after being totally under control for months.  Morphine also stimulates angiogenesis, activates a tumor cell survival signal, and inhibits apoptosis of cancer cells according to research released in 2002.  I appreciate your info, even though I don't agree in this case. I'm also very intuitive, and know my inner voice told me he would do best using as little morphine as possible at that point.  I hadn't uncovered any of this research at that point  That doesn't mean it won't be the totally right choice some other time, or in some other case.  It is clearly an effective choice at times.  Thanks for the info.  tongrenhealer Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT