My 46 year old husband was diagnosed on 2/17/17 with stage IV colon cancer (signet cell) with peritoneal mets. No mets found anywhere else. My husband got a colonoscopy after having some stomach pain that was persistent but not debilitating; a 4 cm mass was found in the cecum, which was confirmed cancerous. We were of course devastated by the news as we have three young children under the age of 10. Now we have sprung into action and I found this board which has been helping me so much. I'm trying to understand options and would love opinions from those in this community.
Quick bio:
* My husband just finished his second round of Folfax/Avastin and is tolerating it reasonably well.
* We have visited with two local surgeons in Texas and here's what we've been told:
1. Dr. Rebecca Wiatreck (Texas oncology, local option) - 3 months of Folfax/Avastin followed by cytoreductive surgery/HIPEC.
2. Dr. Keith Fournier (M.D. Anderson, local but a few hours drive) - 6 months of Folfax/Avastin, followed by cytoreductive surgery/HIPEC *IF* hubby appears to be a good candidate based on response to chemo
We also reached out to Dr. Paul Sugarbaker (D.C. - a bit of a hike from our home in Texas) and just heard back that he would operate on hubby and wants to schedule a in-office visit in the coming weeks. He also recommends 3 months of Folfax/Avastin followed by cytoreductive surgery/HIPEC.
Here's what I'd like to know:
1. Does anyone have any experience with the surgeons listed above? Feel free to PM me if you don't want to post on the board.
2. Opinions on using a local doctor versus a doctor with more experience?
3. What can we expect from the HIPEC procedures as far as complications?
Thanks all!