Postby GrouseMan » Sat Sep 19, 2015 3:22 pm
My wife started her chemo two years ago on FOLFOX and after two rounds of that added Avastin. After completing the 12 rounds of FOLFOX, she continued on 5-FU, Leucovorin, and Avastin, every other week for 12 weeks, then from then on afterwards its been every three weeks, maintenance therapy. She is stable as far as anyone can tell via CT scan. Monday when she goes in for her Avastin Infusion and get her 5-FU pump she will meet with her oncologist to go over her CT results from Wednesday. We don't expect anything will have changed. Tumors on her liver have calcified, the one on her spleen they can't see anymore, and they suspect the small spots showing on her lungs are not Mets, as they haven't changed in two years.
My wife tolerates this treatment very well, and if you didn't know any better you would not likely even suspect she was fighting Stage IVb cancer. Her oncologist after her last CT scan mentioned, that he was going to talk to the other members of the practice/tumor board, and see what they might think about some possibility of ablation or surgery to further reduce those calcified liver Mets. The jury is still out on that as the liver surgeon and interventional radiologist, will have to review everything. He may have more to say about that Monday.
So - you never know. For my wife, this 5-FU/Avastin is working well long term. Its not debilitating, she works and plays much the same as before, with the exception that she can't really train for trail runs, as the treatment week, results in a back slide for any endurance work. That was too frustrating for her so she has pretty much given up running. Still she works her dogs in the field, rides horses, and judges field trial events.
Hopefully, you can find a formula/Plan that will work for you, and that it can hold things together/at bay until we have more and better options such as immunotherapy, new drugs to keep thing "STABLE". We will take Stable any day of the week, though of course it would be nice to be NED or god forbid, Cured!
Best regards,
GrouseMan
DW 53 dx Jun 2013
CT mets Liver Spleen lung. IVb CEA~110
Jul 2013 Sig Resct
8/13 FolFox,Avastin 12Tx mild sfx, Ongoing 5-FU Avastin every 3 wks.
CEA: good marker
7/7/14 CT Can't see the spleen Mets.
8/16/15 CEA Up, CT new abdominal mets. Iri, 5-FU, Avastin every 2 wks.
1/16 Iri, Erbitux and likely Avastin (Trial) CEA going >.
1/17 CEA up again dropped from Trial, Mets growth 4-6 mm in abdomen
5/2/17 Failed second trial, Hospitalized 15 days 5/11. Home Hospice 5/26, at peace 6/4/2017