What are the BEST liver directed treatments for stage 4 CC?

[ronswife]

Hello Again All,

I am worried because it seems my hubby Ron's onc has NOT even considered liver directed treatments for him!

How many of you have had these and what has worked BEST for you? Were any of you able to have successful liver resection surgery AFTER these treatments?

Thank you SO much! Trying very hard to keep it together over here!!

[Lee]

Because your husband is a stage 4, I highly recommend he get a 2nd opinion at a major cancer treatment center. They tend to be on the leading edge of the newest technology.

I believe Sloan Kittering Memorial Hospital in New York City is suppose to be one of these best place to treat liver mets.

Have your husband"s clots resolved yet?

Lee

[ronswife]

Thanks for the recommendation, but we are financially strapped right now and really can't entertain travel! Plus Ron gets winded so easily so there is no way we could fly to NYC, take cabs, etc. It's just too much right now.

His clots are on the way to getting resolved I believe since he is not getting so short of breath these days and is able to do a bit more. He has been on Lovenox since 4/21, and now is on one injection per day of 120 mg.

[Lee]

Glad to hear about the clots. Check for treatment centers near you. Not sure where you are. Butt here in Arizona, we have a local MD Anderson, Cancer Treatments Centers of America, and the Mayo Clinic. And I believe we also have City of Hope.

All the best,

Lee

[ronswife]

We are in northeast WI, so the nearest big medical center is the University of WI at Madison. We went there when I was being diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2012 and ever since then, my husband HATES Madison because of the screwy streets and heavy traffic! FYI, I have been in complete remission from HL since January 2013!

One other place that's not too far away is the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

If things improve for us financially, I would be more than willing to travel for expert care. I DON'T think we are getting this where my husband is now being treated!

Thanks Again!

[Lee]

One other place that's not too far away is the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

That would be my choice. That is one of the best.

Lee

[ronswife]

I agree Lee! One of my clients who runs a limo service even offered to take us there in a limo at COST! She is such a sweetheart and is praying for Ron too!

[Lee]

I agree Lee! One of my clients who runs a limo service even offered to take us there in a limo at COST! She is such a sweetheart and is praying for Ron too!

Talk about traveling in 1st class. She sounds like a true friend.

Lee

[SuseB]

How far from the Milwaukee area? I,m treating t Froedert and they,re very good. I was told at Aurora surgery not possible and I'm currently awaiting surgery June 8th.

[ronswife]

We are only about 2 hours from Milwaukee, but my hubby just doesn't want to travel elsewhere. He trusts his current onc and staff but I DON'T!! But HE is the patient, not me, so there is little I can do.

I just don't want to get a year down the road and find out there was a LOT more that could have been done, because then I will be extremely upset!!

[so-scared]

I'm from the Milwaukee area too. My husband had the hai pump placed at St Luke's. No doctor in this area has the experience to properly treat the liver this way though. They can place it but regulating the treatment through it is a whole other ball game. My husband's doctor was willing to work with Sloan to get this treatment though. If this is something that you are considering then there is really only one place to go. Another thing, this is not a treatment that you wait to do. This should be the approach as early as possible. I sure wish that my husband hadn't of waited.

You may want to look at free flights etc. Scott used to fly out early in the morning and return that evening. It worked for us anyway. Hopefully, once your husbands clots resolve he would be up for travel. I'm not sure how his underlying medical conditions would affect his being a candidate for the hai pump though.

[ronswife]

Thanks SO much soscared! I will look into free flights and try to get Ron to Sloan in NYC ASAP after his clots resolve!!

I guess this is what we GET for living in "cow fart" land!!

[j'swife]

As our family's own guide through early decisions, friend and all-around earth angel So-scared wrote you, the team at Memorial Sloan Kettering "MSK", led by oncologist Nancy Kemeny is the only center with the experience and high volume case load of "unresectable" patients who became candidates for surgery after treatment with the "HAI" pump.

Your first post asked for examples or counts of survivors with pre-treatment. I hope your husband is not immune to evidence, because, If you search this forum for the terms "Kemeny"and "HAI" and "Dr. K", you will find dozens of such people who were originally told their liver tumors were too many to remove and who now credit their lives to the MSK team.
I will send you links to some of that team's peer-reviewed journal articles by private message. That will happen after I go eat the dinner cooked up by my (mostly healthy ) DH whose own expiration date was set at December 2013 before we learned about this option from SoScared and other helpful members of this life-restoring forum..

[ronswife]

Thank you SO much j's wife! I will do the searches that you suggested and I very much look forward to the links you will so kindly send to me!

[hart2hart]

We totally concur with so-scared. DON'T Wait. If Hai is something you are interested in.
Get on the phone Monday and Call Sloan. I just responded to your PM - Check your email.



Hugs,


Julie and Pete
Stamford, CT