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by gfpiv
Thu Oct 17, 2019 7:27 pm
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: Rising CEA - What would you do?
Replies: 30
Views: 6219

Re: Rising CEA - What would you do?

I was lucky in that I already knew that CEA was a good indicator for me. So when mine edged up to 7.0 (again, this varies for everyone) I asked my onc to order a PET. They did, and it showed one active spot in my liver that wasn't killed in first 50 or so rounds of chemo. So they did a SBRT laser gu...
by gfpiv
Tue Oct 30, 2018 7:10 pm
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: Hospitals that install HAI pump?
Replies: 73
Views: 17759

Re: Hospitals that install HAI pump?

Mike, for what it's worth, I think you're doing exactly the right thing to give yourself the best fighting chance to beat this thing, despite the huge inconvenience and cost. And I'm incredibly frustrated on your behalf about the discontinuation of the Codman pump...IMHO it should be borderline ille...
by gfpiv
Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:48 pm
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: Stage 4 to NED- Please tell us
Replies: 54
Views: 14443

Re: Stage 4 to NED- Please tell us

Someone has to beat the odds, why not you? Glad to see many other survivors piping in. I was dx'd Stage IV with over half my liver cancerous at age 39 in 2010. Thanks to great response to chemo, HAI at Sloan (which probably saved my life), some other things I tried (especially exercise!), good luck ...
by gfpiv
Mon Mar 19, 2018 4:00 pm
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: Update Pete
Replies: 9
Views: 2412

Re: Update Pete

That's awesome news, congrats to you and Pete! And continued wishes for good luck.

-Chip
by gfpiv
Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:56 pm
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: Systematic chemotherapy + HAI?
Replies: 16
Views: 6336

Re: Systematic chemotherapy + HAI?

NJF, glad to hear you didn't just take your first oncologist's opinion as gospel, and decided to better educate yourself on options. Honestly, even if a patient turns out not to be a candidate for HAI...Sloan Kettering is either the #1 or #2 cancer center in the U.S., so you can't go wrong by gettin...
by gfpiv
Sun Mar 11, 2018 2:11 am
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: Systematic chemotherapy + HAI?
Replies: 16
Views: 6336

Re: Systematic chemotherapy + HAI?

Plain and simple, HAI at Sloan Kettering saved my life. It's not always a possibility with lung mets, but sometimes it is. More than half my liver was cancerous 8 years ago, yet I now have no evidence of it in my body. And frankly, it has always bothered me - and continues to bother me - that so few...
by gfpiv
Thu Feb 22, 2018 1:01 pm
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: Any Stage IV currently in NEDville? Please share any advice or tips? P
Replies: 72
Views: 24281

Re: Any Stage IV currently in NEDville? Please share any advice or tips? P

Hi there. I'm also an HAI patient, it worked miracles for me (still here, and technically NED 8 years after stage IV dx with massive tumor load). Intense chemo did a job on my liver and bile ducts, but I can't complain. Technically I think I had a recurrence after I stopped HAI...but frankly they ne...
by gfpiv
Sat Dec 09, 2017 2:17 pm
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: Mass in cecum / liver mets
Replies: 22
Views: 4619

Re: Mass in cecum / liver mets

You may want to consider looking into HAI / hepatic pump, especially if your met(s) is/are liver-limited. It can really have dramatic results, and it's the main reason I'm still here today. Most oncs that don't know much about HAI will discourage looking into it, voicing doubts on effectiveness. How...
by gfpiv
Sat Dec 09, 2017 2:16 pm
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: CT Scan Just came in Liver Met (one)
Replies: 62
Views: 9893

Re: CT Scan Just came in Liver Met (one)

You may want to consider looking into HAI / hepatic pump, especially if your met(s) is/are liver-limited. It can really have dramatic results, and it's the main reason I'm still here today. Most oncs that don't know much about HAI will discourage looking into it, voicing doubts on effectiveness. How...
by gfpiv
Mon Sep 25, 2017 7:53 pm
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: Too many tumors to count... newbie here
Replies: 15
Views: 3717

Re: Too many tumors to count... newbie here

You are right not to give up...certainly not after just one opinion. Upon dx I had metastasis to my liver...also too many spots to count - as well as my hepatic portal lymph nodes. Thanks to the miracle workers at Sloan Kettering in NYC (and HAI hepatic pump treatment), I am still here - with no evi...
by gfpiv
Fri Sep 01, 2017 11:46 pm
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: UPDATE: New here -- questions about HAI pump
Replies: 20
Views: 4592

Re: New here -- questions about HAI pump

Hi, just responding to a comment from Mariane...I have no idea if Dr. Kemeny is or isn't taking new patients right now; I was assigned to the very capable care of Dr. R seven(!) years ago, and I never even asked about Dr. K. Just wanted to make clear that the docs at MSK all work well together as a ...
by gfpiv
Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:10 pm
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: UPDATE: New here -- questions about HAI pump
Replies: 20
Views: 4592

Re: New here -- questions about HAI pump

I traveled from Central Mass once a month for 2.5 years during HAI treatment (and for occasional follow-up care afterward). My advice in a nutshell - just do it! I was able to get my pump drained and refilled with saline every other week at my local hospital, and they also gave me my bi-weekly syste...
by gfpiv
Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:20 pm
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: I need a little hope
Replies: 44
Views: 14179

Re: I need a little hope

Sorry you had to join the club. I got my stage IV (with over half my liver cancerous) "terminal" diagnosis seven years ago. Not long thereafter, I found this and other CRC discussion boards, heard about HAI (hepatic arterial infusion), and got a third opinion from Memorial Sloan Kettering ...
by gfpiv
Tue Mar 28, 2017 8:49 pm
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: liver, colon, HAI, what to expect
Replies: 5
Views: 2020

Re: liver, colon, HAI, what to expect

Congrats Mike, glad things look promising for you with MSK/Kemeny/HAI. Just a few quick responses: 1 - once you start HAI chemo (maybe about a month after install), you'll get FUDR (essentially 5-FU) in the pump for a 2-week slow-drip. Likely you will do systemic (in your case, maybe FOLFIRI, with o...
by gfpiv
Fri Mar 17, 2017 9:21 pm
Forum: Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum
Topic: NIH / Trump Budget Proposal
Replies: 2
Views: 1220

Re: NIH / Trump Budget Proposal

Hi Maddie, always good to see you active on the board and (presumably) doing well! I certainly agree with your concern regarding proposed reduction in NIH and cancer research funding. I'll try to leave politics out of this, but I must say this negates much of the optimism I felt when VP Biden briefl...

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