Chemo is probably over...what now?

Cassiel240 · Regular Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 12

My mom was on gemcitabine and tarceva for about 6 weeks, with good results. In May, however, she presented with liver abscesses, and could not continue the chemo. They tried to clear the abscesses with antibiotics, but could not intervene surgically for various reasons. She was in the hospital again this week because the antibiotics didn't clear the infection and it progressed. She's home today, on new antibiotics, but the doctors seem very doubtful they will clear the infection (in fact they said she'd be on the antbiotics "forever"), which means no chemo. So, what do you project we can expect now? She was diagnosed with stage IV adenocarcinoma on Dec. 7, 2006.
_________________
There's a crack in everything - that's how the light gets in. - Leonard Cohen

pooh · New User Joined: 15 Jul 2007 Posts: 7

Cassie,
Sorry to hear about moms infection.If they
are not able to do chemo,then I think your going to be sending alot of prayers to your mom.My mom only had 2 runs with chemo & we had to get her off of it.She was getting too sick& with liver,lung & pancreatic cancer,I don't think there i s much hope.She is angry & madder than hell, because she feels like life shortchanged her.I am angry too,she is my best friend.Hospice has been there for us& they are wonderful,although I think some people are not crazy about them because I think it makes them feel like ther is no hope left & the end is near.I know that is probably the case with my mom,but I'm ok with letting her go just so she can have peace.Goodluck &your in my prayers. Jennifer(pooh)

Wunderchu · Regular Joined: 21 Feb 2007 Posts: 29

For those of you deciding to not take chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, I don't blame you. In general, chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer seems not nearly as effective as chemotherapy for most other types of cancer. However, I have been searching on the internet for anything which may help my mom who has pancreatic cancer, and if you would like to try something else, if anything sort of as a last ditch effort, I would recommend some of these alternatives. The nice thing about these alternatives is that for the most part they may be administered at home, and they only cost a few hundred dollars a month at most, which is cheaper than chemotherapy if one does not have health insurance. Also, from what I have read, usually the side effects of these alternatives are not nearly as strongly negative as side effects from chemotherapy. The following are the most promising alternative pancreatic cancer fighting substances I could find for pancreatic cancer specifically. I am not affiliated with any of the producers of these products, nor do I work in the field of naturopathic medicine, so I don't stand to gain anything from people choosing to use any of these products, except for the satisfaction that I may have done God’s work and may have helped at least one person fight cancer. I believe God has guided me to these alternatives to chemotherapy:

I have now read from multiple sources that "Glycomannan" may help against pancreatic cancer:
http://www.topix.net/forum/health/pancreatic-cancer/T6AVST55P1E2KFQG3

http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,3491,2.htm

http://www.distance-healer.com/18.html

also, the "Budwig diet" and a certain tea seem to have some potential;
http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,808,4.htm
http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,3593,0.htm

http://www.beating-cancer-gently.com/nl107.html

and Capsaicin seems to have some potential as well:
http://www.pancreasweb.com/pancreas.asp?ak=Detail&zaehler=3615

[quote][b]Dr. Rowen Prescribes Capsaicin
****************************[/b]

Most of you know I like Dr. Robert Ray Rowen's "Second Opinion" newsletter. He had an interesting article in the May, 2007 issue. It was called "The Only Safe Way to Burn Cancer Out of Your Body." Here are some excerpts and information on how to get the product he is touting:

"For years, doctors and medical science believed the only way to effectively burn cancer out of your body was with radiation. Of course, they still hold to that dogma. But you don't have to. There's another way to burn cancer out of your body. And this method is completely safe to the surrounding tissues and the rest of your body....

Researchers in two separate studies have found a way to burn cancer cells with capsaicin rather than radiation. Capsaicin is the very hot extract of red peppers....

A British study led by Dr. Timothy Bates has found that capsaicin directly attacks the mitochondria (energy furnaces) of cancer cells. But it leaves the mitochondria of normal cells untouched. The team found that lung and pancreatic cancer cells incubated with the hot extract died from the direct assault on their energy furnaces. Pancreatic cancer cells are particularly hard to kill, so this is great news.

Study after study is showing the incredible healing power of spices and herbs such as red pepper and turmeric....So I have asked Farmacopia (800-896-1484) to carry a dried extract [of the capsaicin] in capsules (40,000 heat units each). I suggest you take seven capsules three times a day, but only for three days a week. If you find this dose is too uncomfortable for you, please contact Farmacopia and let them know."

Would I try this? Absolutely! I trust Dr. Rowen. He is one of the really knowledgeable holistic M.D.'s around. The red pepper extract cannot harm you. If it makes you uncomfortable, just cut the dose or stop. This would certainly be an option I would consider if the standard regimen I recommend in my book doesn't seem to be working for you.

If you'd like to subscribe to Dr. Rowen's newsletter, you can do so by calling his Business Office in Atlanta at (800) 728-2288 or (770) 399-5617. The cost is $49 a year for 12 issues.[/quote][source: http://www.beating-cancer-gently.com/nl107.html ]

also, "graviola" and "paw paw" seem promising: http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=graviola+%22pancreatic+cancer%22&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=%22paw+paw%22+%22pancreatic+cancer%22&btnG=Search&meta=

finally, triphala seems to hold some potential, too;
http://www.cancerfocus.net/node/390

May God Bless all cancer patients their families and their caregivers.

pooh · New User Joined: 15 Jul 2007 Posts: 7

Cassie,
Just wondering how you and your mom are doing ?Haven't spoken for awhile. Pooh

Cassiel240 · Regular Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 12

Hi pooh, thanks for asking!
We started hospice today, and she's doing ok. The ascites is worse than it's ever been and she's pretty uncomfortable because of it. I'm really beginning to wonder how long she has. This last weekend she was really out of it because of the level of ammonia in her blood (liver beginning to fail), so there's that to consider, too - I wonder how much we will lose her before we "lose" her, you know? Until this last week, she was also really active, but she's really cut way back on all activity now.
How is your mom doing?
_________________
There's a crack in everything - that's how the light gets in. - Leonard Cohen

pooh · New User Joined: 15 Jul 2007 Posts: 7

Cassie,
Hospice will really help you out.Mom was diagnosed 7 weeks ago(Mem. Day)We were suppose to go to Cape Cod today.I planned the trip 3 weeks ago, when she was still walking ,talking ,eating etc.....All I can tell you is this be prepared the best you can.1 week ago she really started to decline, she no longer eats,can't walk anymore,can barely speak& sleeps pretty much 24-7 now.She finally stpped vomiting,but only takes little sips of water now.She has a catheter And although she has not had a bm in weeks(pain Med does that, hospice has suggested diapers just in case,she is lucid ,although she does have recolection of waht is going on, very liitle though.She has nightmares,& no longer has the will to live,I can't say I blame her,She asked me just the other night Why GOD was punishing her this way,& that she wants to go now .But only if I,m there.I,ve made the funeral arrangements & have all her affairs in ordre.Hospice says it will be any day now.I,m at peace with this knwing she will not suffer anymore.I love her more than life itself,but this is slowly killing me as well.I think if it weren.t for my husband & kids ,I would be going with her. God-bless,Take care, Pooh

Big Sister · Experienced user Joined: 02 Nov 2006 Posts: 67

Hello, Pooh & Cassie -- I am reading your posts and keeping up with both of you. Know that I and many others are thinking of you this week as you prepare yourselves - and your family - for transitions to come.

If you think it helpful, reread my post "The End -- Thoughts on a Loved One's Dying." It was written for all of us.

Last week a friend, aged 68, also died of pancreatic cancer after just 4 weeks. No symptoms until the diagnosis. He lived a rich life until then. He was undisturbed, however - no surgery, no chemo, no poking around by well-meaning surgeons - and the shower of clots thrown off by the dying pancreas stopped his heart sooner than the cancer could overtake him. His life partner was grateful for the painless speed, if such a feeling can be written down in this way. The autopsy said cardiac arrest complicated by pancreatic cancer. Just six words to describe a fine man's passing.

I am also thinking of Brave Freeio. How goes it, Marty? Perhaps Monica will let us know if there's anything we can offer you these days. Please know that you are in my mind and heart. You have been a patient guide to all of us.

Pat

pooh · New User Joined: 15 Jul 2007 Posts: 7

Chemo is probably over .........what now?

Big Sister,
I haven't had the opportunity to talk to yet,But I certainly did read your beautiful piece on a loved ones death,I will re-read it over & over if I have to.Thanks for keeping up with Casssie & I ,this road is getting tougher every day,I just hope I can get through the potholes.Take care.Jennifer(pooh)

Cassiel240 · Regular Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 12

My thoughts are with you guys. Things are going ok here so far. My mom is much less active than she was and sleeps a lot, but her pain seems to be well-controlled (seems being the key word - her stoicism makes it tough to tell, even as a stoic myself) and she seems even relatively cheerful. She has always been a true realist, but an optimistic one. She's taking part with my dad in the planning of her funeral and is thinking about who she wants her treasures to go to after she is gone. She seems very interested in my work at school (I'm getting my MA in English literature right now) and listens to my ramblings about books and research at length, asking questions as intelligent as ever. It amazes me that she can be in such incredibly good condition while her health is declining so rapidly. We feel very blessed, though we wonder how long this will last, knowing how severely something like that blood-ammonia level or jaundice can affect her ability to think and communicate - and her ability simply to be herself. We know we will lose her fairly soon, but wonder just how much sooner we will lose [i]her[/i], if you know what I mean. How long will she be herself with us? I guess no one can know, so we value every minute we have.

Big Sister, your short essay "The End" was really comforting to read. Thank you so much for writing it. I wonder if there is somewhere you could have it published where it might reach more people like us who are facing this frontier for the first time? There is so much clinical information available, but it was very hard to find such first-hand reflections on this experience, and I felt fortunate to find one as sensitive and accurate as yours.
_________________
There's a crack in everything - that's how the light gets in. - Leonard Cohen

motherschild · New User Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 4

I lost my beautiful, courageous mother, January 14, 2007. We were making meatloaf the night before in her kitchen. She was only 82 lbs but she still had her will to live. She had gone into the living room to rest while I finished preparing dinner. When I brought her plate to her, she said she couldn't eat it and that her stomach was hurting her. Although I was somewhat alarmed, I called her hospice nurse who questioned her then advised us to wait and see if it worsened. My Dad asked me to sleep in their bed with her and I refused. I thought that he needed to be with her and I slept just a few feet away on the couch. At 4am she wanted to go to the hospital. She was scared and thought this might be another problem like we had last August where they had to remove part of her colon. My Dad and I rushed her to the hospital where they did an x-ray of her stomach. The Doctor called me in and gave me the news, there were tumors blocking her intestines and it wasn't survivable. I then had to break the news to my Dad. He asked me to tell my mother because he could not. I will never in my life forget the look in her eyes, more surprise than anything and also relief. This disease is so horrific in that it takes life quickly and in most, painfully. She asked only that she not be allowed to suffer. The Doctor explained that he would give her Morphine for the pain and also a medication to make her sleep. She asked him to allow her to let him know when to give her this "sleep medicine" because she wanted to make sure the rest of her children would have time to get there. They had to put a NG tube in, which she didn't want but her wonderful nurse used a child size since she hadn't eaten. The nurse explained that it would also relieve the terrible pain she was having from all of the blood in her stomach. She was hemorrhaging and would ultimately bleed to death. She never knew this because the Doctor administered the medication she would need to sleep and leave us painlessly. He knew if she waited that she would suffer the pain she feared the most. I cannot say enough for the medical staff there. My brother and sister arrived and were able to see her and tell her goodbye before she took her last breath. It was peaceful and quiet, no terrible last moments.
It has been almost 7 months and I still ache for her. We were so close and she was my closest friend as well as my mom.
I guess what I want to convey is that she lived for two years. More than most people that I have heard from. She took Chemo the entire time even resorting to clinical trials. She took radiation but I honestly believe that it did more harm than good. The radiation created the problem with her colon that almost took her life last August. I asked her one morning, near the end, why she wanted to continue treatment because it made her so sick and weak. She looked at me, brushed my hair away from my face and said; "As long as I can still enjoy my family, I want to live. I wake up each morning and thank God that I have a wonderful husband, beautiful home and children that love me."
That hit home for me, she wasn't dying from PC, but living with it until it took her life.
This forum sustained me when I needed it the most and helped me through some really trying times.
Thank you all for sharing your stories and your lives.

Motherschild

Cassiel240 · Regular Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 12

To all who have been so kind and patient about answering questions and sharing experiences, thank you. Our mom passed away at 9:15 this morning quite peacefully. It was everything we could have asked for. I hope everyone suffering with this disease is fortunate enough someday to beat it, or to come to its resolution as gently as our mother did.
Thank you again,
Cassiel
_________________
There's a crack in everything - that's how the light gets in. - Leonard Cohen

brainman

Cassiel, I am so sorry about the death of your mother. I am glad that her death was peaceful. That probably doesn't mean as much to you now as it will in the future when you look back on your mother's life and death. I know that is true about my mother's death.

May you and your family find comfort in the days ahead.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

Big Sister · Experienced user Joined: 02 Nov 2006 Posts: 67

Hello, Cassie -- The death of your mom triggered off many memories for me.

When my mother died almost two years ago from multiple cancers, I was at once relieved and terribly sad. It was hard to know then which emotion was in control as they seemed to shift back and forth, jockeying for control.

In truth, there was no control. We had said our goodbyes so many times before her actual departure that I almost felt I was watching some sort of play, a rerun of some kind. I busied myself with tasks -- this notification, that obituary, this family friend, that funeral home. Because she died in New York, where I live, but was a resident of Pennsylvania, where my dad was buried and where her space waited, there was much legal work to do to tie up her life and transport her remains across state lines.

I welcomed the tasks, frankly. Busyness postpones grief for a time and so I plowed ahead, communicating, stacking, filing, cancelling, lawyering. In my quiet moments I was surprised to find myself weeping uncontrollable tears, crying out loud to her, calling for her as I did when I was a child.

In death there is truth and, truthfully, the relationship between my mother and me was not easy. Throughout her 97 years she made clear that no one could ever measure up to her standards, including her only daughter; no one could be smart enough, rich enough, slim enough, pretty enough. Despite my own personal life successes, she mocked and ridiculed me every chance she got, making certain I understood that I could never be included in her red leather address book of preferred friends. Yet, when she began to fail, she finally realized that all her friends, those in the book and those excluded, had already gone before her. And so I was the one she called and, of course, I took her home.

We are all given gifts that we treasure beyond belief, gifts that will survive fires, floods and years. My mother's presence in my life during her final months was God's gift to me. And, I also believe, to her. The hours we read together, listened to opera together, watched endless replays of "Field of Dreams" together, and prayed for the safe return of my middle son, her grandson, from Mr. Bush's war, were days of great treasure for both of us.

I repeated the process last fall with my brother, whose diagnosis of pancreatic cancer brought me to this forum.

In the months since my mother's death, and that of my brother last December, I have continued to squirrel these treasures away in my personal safety deposit box. More valuable than diamonds, more trustworthy than stocks, this treasure trove of beautiful memories sustains me daily, and I thank God for the gift.

Cassie, forgive me for taking this space for my own reflections but all these memories came flooding back this morning after I read your sad news. I hope the days you had with your mom become gifts to you as well. I hope also that you eventually find peace, knowing you did your best to give her comfort, knowing that you soothed her worries and quieted her fears.

And I hope also that you understand that because of your love and care, she found an peaceful passage to another place.

No one can give any more than you did. Respectfully, Pat

In

I believe Brainman and Bigsister has said it all from me.

Just know I'm thinking of you.

Inica
_________________
Thinking of you Inica

*Administrator*

~Nose Cancer~
~Car Accident- Broken Back, Ribs, Spleen
Sternum~
~Continous Cervical Cancer~

My Story-
http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=6731

Smile

9 Lives and still kicking Smile

pooh · New User Joined: 15 Jul 2007 Posts: 7

Cassie it's Pooh, Iwas wondering where you,ve been,now I understand you see my mom lost her battle with pancreatic, liver & lung cancer just 7 hours after your mom passed.I know how your feeling & I.m sorry.She died exactly 3 months after she was diagnosed.Thank the lord it wasn't too painful for her.She was everything to me & I,ll miss her tremendously.For those of you wondering when the end is near like I wondered & never fully felt like I would know when it will happen, I can only tell you from my experience....Hospice called me at work ,morning of, said skin was starting to mottle ,kind of black&blue of the skin.They told me it would be a day or two,not more than three.The night before as I was siitting with mom silently, she was calling out for her mommy & daddy & my father her speach was not comprehendable.Talking about things I could not undrestand,I felt so helpless.I told her how much I loved her & that it was ok to be with her mommy & daddy now.Fast forward next day after Hospice called.I arrived at Mom's @ approx. 5:30 pm'sat with her ,noticed she would only stare stright ahead.Didn't realize I was in the room.NOt a blink.Just staring. She had that foggy neither here nor there look in her eyes& I could tell her breating was very labored,1 breath to every 5 of ours.Her urine was @ about 100cc ,150cc the day before& 200cc prior to that so really low urine output is another sign.The last week she barely drank a thing .I told my brothers she would not make the night, she died 40 minutes laterwith my brothers at her side&she went peacfully,I.m glad both mom,s went peacefully on the same day .God bless you & your family Cassie. Jennifer(pooh)

	Cancer Forums Forum Index -> Pancreatic Cancer Forum	All times are GMT - 5 Hours Goto page 1, 2 Next
Page 1 of 2

A website for discussions about any type of cancer, including lung cancer, breast cancer, mesothelioma, prostate cancer, laryngeal cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and others