New here. any advice, extra info - dh agressive stage 4, possible liver surgery

[angielada]

Hi all,
My Dh's stage 3 progressed to stage 4 about 6 months after chemo. In October nothing showed on CT - However, January it had spread lots (5-6 in liver, abdomen, rectal area)
Dr said it was very aggressive and not too much they could do - not resectable.
We started aggressive chemo anyway ( folfiri + avastin) plus i'm injecting him with iskador from Germany 3x a week and naturalist doc put him on strict no carbs, no sugar.

CT scan 3 weeks ago shows lots of shrinkage and a couple spots have disappeared! - So, the onc is taking his case to the board of surgeons this coming friday for possible liver resection!

Any advice on extra stuff we can do? What other options? would liver surgery be worth it?
I haven't looked around much on the forum yet, so sorry if this question is redundant.

Any advice, knowledge, what to expect etc would be greatly appreciated! DH doesn't want to know ANYTHING, so Dr is very vague about most things and I'm getting most my info from the internet.

[midlifemom]

First suggestion is not to get info from internet. Every one is different.
If dh doesn't want to know - is he ok with you knowing all?
If yes, he can tell doc to discuss details with you when he leaves the room.

[angielada]

Yes, the doctor knows not to say too much that would scare him and we discuss when he is not around - and that's what he's asked for.
Right now, she believes the folfiri plus avastin is best and she is taking his case to the surgery board to see if liver resection is possible.

[Nik Colon]

As far as surgery. They usually only recommend it for curative intent or to help pain or blockage, etc. You mentioned abdomen, is that still showing or how much involvement?

[jhocno197]

If he is going to have surgery, have him start taking cimetidine(tagamet) a few days before and a few weeks after surgery. It's been shown to reduce mets that result from surgery for some people. You can do a forum search for cimetidine to find out more.

[angielada]

Hi nik. I'm not really sure :/
She originally said liver, abdomen and rectal area.. but was only pointing out the ones in liver this last ct.
I have read that that might make him ineligible for the surgery. ?
I've also read that not many people are considered candidates. Hopefully the board of surgeons will give more info.

[angielada]

@jhocno197 of thanks for the info!
We do have cemetidine! It was prescribed by his nd, but he hasn't been taking it. I will make sure he does if the surgery is possible

[Nik Colon]

Hi nik. I'm not really sure :/
She originally said liver, abdomen and rectal area.. but was only pointing out the ones in liver this last ct.
I have read that that might make him ineligible for the surgery. ?
I've also read that not many people are considered candidates. Hopefully the board of surgeons will give more info.

If there is no abdomen spots showing and the liver ones are recetable, then surgery may be available. Just going from what I know. I had liver and colon surgery done together. It depends on how many, where, etc. I only had 2 spots in my liver and they only had to remove 20% of my liver, but I believe they can take up to 80%, but I'm sure it has to due with location, amount, and other factors. I had a couple small spots in my lungs, but i believe they assumed they were not cancer. They did not grow or shink on chemo. Best wishes

[ebv60]

Angielada: my DW is the same about getting or asking question from the Dr..she wants very little information ...make hard to understand the cancer ..and give almost no update the kids (older out of the house)..I`am thinking of having a meeting with the Dr by myself to ask question??? but really don`t want to go behind her back so to speak ???

[Nik Colon]

Angielada: my DW is the same about getting or asking question from the Dr..she wants very little information ...make hard to understand the cancer ..and give almost no update the kids (older out of the house)..I`am thinking of having a meeting with the Dr by myself to ask question??? but really don`t want to go behind her back so to speak ???

Have you asked your wife if she would be ok with that?
I personally would want to know too. Hell, I am and do, but I'm the one with it. Tbh, it would drive me crazy not knowing, whether it be me or not. That's just me.