CancerCompass message board discussion started by charlkyl on 3/30/2008 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,22500,0.htm Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ 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 charlkyl Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT Charlotte -Thanks for sharing.  My mom was diagnosed at Stage 4 and they basically gave her no time.  She managed with tubes and Chemo (Gemzar) and lived 8 months.  It was very hard on her but I kept asking her if she wanted to give up and she never did.  She basically had no appetitie but kept down soup for all those months.  She would still be here today but became ceptic, took a long break from the Chemo and the cancer spread.  Miracles do happen, she lated longer than expected but I think more can be done!  Don't give up!Sherry Smlev Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT Glad to hear things are moving in a positive direction.I have a question regarding the Gemzar - How long did it take to notice a the tumor is shrinking?  I am currently on GEMZAR and received 7 treatments so far. I get another treatment and then a CT to assess effectiveness.  My first CT after 4 treatments showed the tumor had grown only a small amount. If the second CT shows similar results I'll wonder if I should stick with the GEMZAR or seek other options. Thanks,Glenn   GlennG Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT Glenn,Dad was on Gemzar for 3 months before anything was noted.  Once the MD saw that the tumors were beginning to shrink, he added on Mitomycin.  Dad's treatments were once a week for 2 weeks and then 1 week off and started the cycle again.  I hope and pray that it works for you, if it doesn't I pray that the best drug for you is found quickly.  The hardest suggestion I can give you is  you have to eat!!!!!!!!!  Dad's cancer was responding better than anyone anticipated but he had become so weak from not eating or drinking that he basically was too tired and weak to go on, so he went to his heavenly home.  May GOD bless you and may you find the best drug for you.  Remember to live every day to the fullest - you may not go that way again.Charlotte charlkyl Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT Take a look at the clinical trials underway for gallbladder cancer and you'll see that a number of drugs taken together (called a cocktail) may provide the best treament. The standard drugs are chemo (chemical) and the addition of a  target drug (like Erbitux or Avastin) act together but in different ways. The additional advantage to using a target drug is that once the cancer is stable, it can be used alone as a maintenance treatment.I learned all of this too late for a family member so don't hesitate. Get going.Art   Zorba Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT