Clinical Trials

[Loraine llancri@yahoo.com]

PLEASE HELP. My very much loved friend by many people has been battling Stage IV Colon Cancer for 2 years. She has undergone numerous surgeries and chemo treatment. Once again, the cancer has come back to her liver, lungs, and now lymph nodes. The doctors state that her body can no longer tolerate surgeries and chemo and have suggested clinical trials. THEY GIVE HER ONLY 6 MONTHS TO LIVE. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE AND I BEG ALL FOR ANY INFORMATION YOU CAN SHARE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. llancri@yahoo.com

[missjv]

HI,
SORRY ABOUT YOUR FRIEND. GO TO SOME OF THE LARGER CANCER CENTER WEBSITES SUCH AS SLOAN KETTERING AND MD ANDERSON AND SEE IF THEY ARE OFFERING ANY CLINICAL TRIALS. WHAT KINDS OF SURGERY HAS SHE HAD? WAS CANCER VERY ADVANCED DURING DIAGNOSIS?

MISSJV

[Hannah]

Hi Loraine,

I am so sorry about your friend - it is a very tough road. Try to find out more about her situation - if you can give us more information, we may be able to help with some specific advice.

Where is she being treated? What has she already tried? Why do the doctors think she can't withstand any additional treatments? There are several options for both lung and liver mets, but it is true that some of these are only options for "healthy" patients who can tolerate a serious medical procedure. For lymph node mets, it is very possible that she could be treated with radiation.

Meanwhile, emergingmed.com is a great place to find and to "match up" with clinical trials. You can search by disease and get a list of current clinical trials, then look at the details to see what the basic requirements are. Also, clinical trials are not necessarily giving up - patients entering phase III clinical trials will get at least the standard of treatment that they would get normally.

Let us know more. We are thinking about you,
Hannah

[Loraine llancri@yahoo.com]

We definitely hope to have my friend participate with MD Anderson, Sloan Kettering or Dana Farber. Since time is of the essence, what we are hoping for is if anyone can help us speed up the process for her participation in a clinical trial, help us narrow the trials to something most effective for her, and in general exchange any helpful information. Her cancer was at Stage IV (the most advanced stage) when she was diagnosed at the age of 28. This is a basic summary of the surgeries and treatments she has endured.
Stage IV colon cancer with mets to the liver and lungs (and as of 10/06 in lymph nodes near her aorta and kidney).
If it helps you, she has had 6 months of a
> chemo regimen called Folfox (5FU, leucovorin, and
> oxaliplatin) + Avastin and another 6 months of
> CPT-11 (irinotecan) + 5FU pumped directly into her
> liver and systemically. To save time, I'll just list
> the MAJOR MAJOR surgeries she's had:
sigmoid colon resection in 9/04;
75% liver resection in June/05;
Rt lung resection in 4/06
Lft lung resection in > 5/06.
Second liver resection and ablations 8/06 (she suffered sever complications and was fighting for her life from infections--had to be induced into coma to help fight)
She is very jaundiced and is give or take 100lbs.


Her latest PET Scan showed the following tumors back in her lungs, liver, and newly in the lymph nodes of the aorta and kidney:

IMPRESSION:
1. Two new focal areas of mild increased activity in the right lung corresponding to right upper and right lower lobe pulmonary nodules suspicious for pulmonary metastases. Other bilateral pulmonary nodules do not demonstrate increased PET activity.
2. Increasing size of multiple hepatic metastases, some of which are decreased in activity with post-radiofrequency ablation treatment changes.
3. New focal area of increased activity corresponding to an enlarged retroperitoneal lymph node inferior to the aortic bifurcation, consistent for metastatic involvement

[Dot]

Hi Lorraine:

So sorry for what your friend is going through. Bob did not go through any clinical trials, we were told in Boston that he did not qualify because he was already on a treatment. Anyway, scroll back through this site and look for my post to Mali on March 05. There is a vaccine called Trovax which I researched and found it is made in England. But I think that it was being used out in Texas for renal cell carcinoma and pancreatic cancer. I think I found that out on a government web site on clinical trials. It really has my interest because of how vaccines work in helping the body recognizing a foreign invader, hopefully like cancer.

I did contact the drug company in England, but did not get too far other than being put on a mailing list, which I have yet to receive anything.

Good luck, and keep us posted

Dot