My dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer on April 27th - Cancer in the Sigmoid with mets to the liver. He was relieved of the blockage through an ostomy and now just finished 4 cycles of chemo - (IV Oxaliplatin, Avastin and then 7 days of Xeloda pills). After the 4th cycle, the oncologist ordered a new scan and we just received the result. Doctor said the tumors have not grown and have not shrunk either - so it is stable. He asked my Dad about the side effects (which luckily have been very mild - fatigue, weakness and balance issues) and if he was in any pain. Dad said no pain besides the leg weakness. Then he asked if my Dad wanted to continue treatment, Dad said yes and we are signed up for 4 more cycles then a scan. The doctor pressed on Dads stomach and asked if it hurt - the answer was no. The doc almost seemed surprised that Dad is not in pain. The Doctor made us think that there is no hope. My Dad is 80, and he opened up our family store every day (even on April 27th) so he is not one to be sick or take time off. He is not one who gives up either. All of his other organs, bloodwork, heart, brain etc are all in great shape.
For those of you who have gone through this or are going through it, is it a bad sign of no shrinkage of the tumors after 4 cycles? The obvious question is - is there hope? I know that is not something that can be answered here but we could use a little insight from someone who is going thru this or has gone thru this.