The Colon Club

Has anyone regretted going this route??? my DH is a candidate for this with sigmoid resection but because his tumors have become chemo resistant he is having a difficult time deciding if he wants to go through with it , he's concerned it "wont be worth it " has anyone had this done after exhausting all chemo ?? whats the colon resection & port placement recovery like ? is it true you cannot lift more than 10 lbs with the pump?? please offer any advice, and encouragement .. thank you

There was one active member here whose husband did it, and had a bad experience and I know she regretted it. I cannot recall her name however.

I’m curious why they think the HAI pump would work if he’s grown resistant to chemo. Are they planning to use a different type?

Once it’s installed, it’s not a particularly difficult thing to live with, just requires filling or flushing every 2-3 weeks. I live life pretty normally, don’t have weight lift restrictions or anything else. I think strenuous exercise isn’t recommended but even then if your husband is active they can do the placement with that in mind.

Thank you for replying, when we met with the colon surgeon he explained about the chemo resistance... my dh's tumors have also mutated from kras wild to kras .. this was of concern to the surgeon.. the HAI pump onc said the chemo is different because its stronger and directed to the tumors..

My liver tumors were all over my liver after I had what appeared to be a great response to chemo (the really large tumors in my liver shrunk greatly) but when they went in to resect what was left of the large tumors they found dozens and dozens of tiny tumors throughout my entire liver. The MDA surgeon said that there was nothing more that he could do and that it was unlikely that the chemo would ever eliminate all of this cancer as the tumors did not respond to all of the chemo I had undergone. Dr. Kemeny at MSK said she thought she could help me. I had the HAI pump implanted and my colon resected at the same time. Within one year, I was undergoing a second liver resection and found all of those tiny tumors were gone and that the tumor that remained was completely dead. That occurred in 2014 and I have not had any cancer in my liver since. (I have dealt with lung mets...but I am still here 10 years after my initial diagnosis where I was told that I had 12 months to live with the most aggressive treatment. The HAI pump saved my life.

My husband had the HAI (codman version) placed in Dec 2015. Like Cynthia above, DH was told he had extensive liver involvement. MDA wouldn't even consider treating him in hopes of getting a liver surgery (that is how extensive and large they were). We were basically told to go home, do chemo till it doesn't work anymore. At MSK they said they thought they could get him to a liver resection. And they did, 5 months later. He has had 2 recurrences, but with far less tumors. He's currently having IMRT on those (has had radiation before on the liver and it kept it gone for 4 years). He has also had 2 lung resections, and SBRT on a pancreatic node and an adrenal met (tried RFA on that sucker and he had a hypertensive crisis and a heart attack!). Not sure where your DH would get his pump, but we have nothing but good things to say about MSK. Every part of the team to keep my husband alive has been top notch. As for restrictions, were weren't told anything about lifting anything. He was told not to run (not a problem!) or go downhill skiing. I think someone else here was a runner and their surgeon put a few extra stiches in place to keep that catheter safe.

WOW !! Thank you all for your replies, I admittedly am ashamed that we are having so much trouble deciding this, as I know surgery is the ultimate way to get more time after this awful diagnosis. I haven't updated my signature in a long time, back in 11-2019 after the referrals from many people on various forums, we went to MSK and had met with Dr. Kemeny, my husband at that point had what appears to be 2 nodules in his lungs that are perceived to be mets, at the time his local onc had suggested starting Folfiri & Vectibix, Dr. Kemeny felt as though that was a good plan and that the lung mets likely made the HAI therapy a non option,, so he did the regimen for 8 months and it was looking promising, his cea had dropped to 7.5 (at dx it was over 3000) then one month it went up to 10, they did a scan and he had a new nodule... his onc wated to do a couple more rounds to see if it continued.. and it did..she finally did a liquid biopsy and learned he was no longer kras and braf wild. he mutated to kras and braf.. he has only 2 drugs left to use, so we reached out to Kemeny again... even though the lung mets are still there an a bit bigger they say they are stable so this visit she had more of a why not you have exhausted all systemic chemo that will have any real effect.. she referred to colon surgeon , who we met with, he was very informative and explained alot, said the sigmoid resection is straightforward ...we informed him of our reluctance which he completely understood, actally has us waiting until Oct so my husband can get the pump that goes one month between fills..., we understand no one knows how things will go .. so we're trying to understand what the efficacy of this will be when the outcome is really unknown... he explained the chemo resistance and that my husbands cancer has mutated etc.. he said the chemo is the same as what hes already had... I inquired about that with Dr Kemeny, she was quite abruptly said no it isn't .. its MUCH stronger... My husband has never has any surgery , only port a cath placement he's very nervous and quite reluctant so i'm trying to make sure we make a completely informed decision with realistic expectations, we have no doubt about the care at MSK is has already seemed outstanding compared to the local treatment , and feel beyond blessed we have the abiltiy to have Dr. Kemeny & Dr. Paty, if he agrees to this does anyone have any advice for me as to where I can stay in NY will hes in the hospital?? we live 4 hours from there but I dont want to drive back and forth... thank you soo much again

Hi:

My DH was just determined to be candidate for HAI at MSK and he's doing it, but our decision was much less complicated than yours. He has not had any growth in his remaining liver tumors and only one has shrunk slightly over his last couple of scans. They are also doing a colon resection as well as removing his spleen and gallbladder. We are going to stay at the Helmsley Medical Tower, it is very close to MSK. Good luck!!

I work with MSK and had a liver resection there. My advice is go there, try it, you just never know. My doctors there are very kind and if they are willing to do the surgery and the Hai pump that is saying something because they say no to a lot of people too.
Wishing you success if you move forward with it all.
Take good care