Being a care giver

[jess7knowles]

Hi there,

My husband is 35 years old and was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer three years ago. He has since developed mets to his liver and lungs. He has been so positive about all of this but since his last scan, he won't leave the house except for doctors visits and has been in the worst mood ever. I don't know what to do or how to get him out. All he does is watch tv. He says he's too tired to go out. Any suggestions? Also, I was wondering if anyone had any good stories about alternative treatment that have had good results. We've tried all the chemo drugs and are now just revisiting and clumping them all together. There has to be something else.

[sean]

My understanding is that there are a whole lot of treatments available out there beyond standard chemo drugs. For the liver spheres, alcohol ablation (I think this is what its called), radio frequency ablation, hepatic pump. I'm not familiar with what is done for the lung mets. I would suggest that you look into one of the major cancer centers at this point where you can find the colon cancer experts.

Hopefully some stage IV members can post with suggestions for the best cancer centers & treatments they've done for mets to the liver & lungs and maybe they can offer some insight on your husbands general mood. I think depression would be a natural reponse to becoming stage IV, but not having walked in those shoes I can't offer much more. I can only say that cancer itself has far reaching psychological effects.

The centers I've heard of (east coast) are Fox Chase (Phila) and Sloan-Kettering (NYC).

Good luck.

[Guest]

It depend on how many mets there are, but cyberknife and RF ablation can take care of mets to liver and lung (I've used both, but not for lung mets) Chemo has a better chance with microscopic cells. here is a link to cyberknife help line http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/

[mca]

Hi there. I'm sorry to hear that your husband is in a bad mood these days. I know that it's a lot to go through being in advanced stage CC but there are a lot of encouraging stories on this board. Can you get him to join us and read some of the stage IV survivors' stories here? People, even in advanced stage, do beat this cancer everyday. Please remember Never Never give up fighting. He may be in a depressed phase right now, which a lot of us went through, hopefully it'll pass soon. As far as you being a care giver, please try your best to listen to his concerns and be sensitive to his feelings. Honestly, there really isn't a lot one can do in this situation. Just let him know that you love him and be there for him always. Is he in any support group right now? Is he talking to you about his CC at all? I find it very helpful to talk to others about my illness and the fear and concerns associated with it. I always feel so much better afterwards. Hope this can help. Good luck.


Channie