Stage IV Cancer (skin, doctors, symptoms, vitamins)

[bluedevilz]

Originally Posted by StuckPA

Lets not just blindly dismiss possible alternatives either,to say they don't exist is just plain ignorance. So there was one guy who had an overdose vs how many a day from conventional drugs?

Never did dismiss Selenium as a possible adjunct, studies of selenium in cancer care are promising.

I do dismiss the notion that you seemed to propagate that somehow because Selenium is a nutrient found naturally that it is inherently "safe". It isn't. To state otherwise is blissful ignorance.

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

A member of my immediate family was recently admitted to the hospital with symptoms of a swollen leg, fever and excessive sweating. It seemed to come out of nowhere. At first the doctors thought it could be TB but that test came back negative. He was diagnosed with cancer of the lung, which has spread to his liver and is in Stage IV.

I have been doing a lot of research and realize that this is not a good thing. Stage IV is bad. It seems as if the examples given refer to the elderly, but given that he is young and otherwise healthy, is there a possibility he can successfully fight it? They are going to start Chemo very soon.

What are the next steps that we, as a family, need to take? I never have dealt with cancer before and am unsure how to go about this with a level head. I'm not sure what to expect - and I don't want to be misinformed due to all of the conflicting things I'm reading on various websites. The Doc told us not to read online because so much is inaccurate.

I'm not asking for a prognosis from you guys, rather some words possibly from someone who has experienced a similar situation? Anyone know of any books to keep me informed about what exactly is happening, and what to expect?

Thanks for any help.

1st, I'm so very sorry. I know what it's like to hear a cancer diagnosis, it is the pits.

From what I've read on this post, once it reaches that stage there isn't much that can be done. If the person does choose chemo / treatment it very well could be for nothing and remove any quality of life. The poster's mom did chemo and was gone in less then 2 months, she went downhill quickly. My own dad had leukemia and his diagnosis was for 4 months without treatment, had a 14% chance of surviving but ended up with 8 months after spending 1 month in the hospital being very sick from treatment, then he was in for 2 weeks at a time due to infection and out for a few weeks. Did he have a quality of life? Not really as he was tired a lot and pretty down on himself, feeling useless.

My dad did not have a will so he was driven to get one made. In between he'd moved in his new house, we had a few birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas / new years. He did not make Valentines or my birthday which were his next 2 goals. While those holidays were hard due to the cancer, he was still with us. Christmas night when we were leaving he told me that Thanksgiving, Christmas and a special lunch I planned with his rescue squad / police friends meant the world to him. He said they were the best holidays he's had. It also brought he & I closer, as I was always there for him, every day that he was in the hospital.

Had my dad not gotten chemo and at least tried, I wouldn't have had him as long as I did. I am thankful he gave us those 8 months.

I have 2 posts that might be of help to you, you can find them here. In addition to those posts, my advice to you is to find a major cancer center, not some rinky dink "cancer center" in a local hospital. The outcome of your loved on depends on the quality of treatment. I know people that have gone to the local place, none made it. With my dad, he went to a cancer institute here in NJ, where they delt with only cancer. If you want to compare it, the name was Cancer Institute of NJ

When you are diagnosed with something like this, some times the only hope is what is called a clinical trial. That was what my dad did for a month when he was 1st diagnosed, and while it was crappy to say the least, had he not done it, he would have been gone.

In my 1st post, I left links, cure magazine, national cancer institute, american cancer society. You can use the links to find cancer centers near you.

Do you have an exact diagnosis?
Have you asked the docs what the treatment plan would be and what the prognosis is with and without treatment?
From dealing with it myself, you have to ask specific questions or the doctors won't just come out and say it.

btw, google planet cancer.

Good luck.

[Roselvr]

Going to leave you more links. While I agree some-what with the doctors telling you not to go online, you do have to know what you are dealing with, you can't not know what to expect. I think that if you use the main sites, you will get the same information and will better be able to prepare.

As I said, I know what it is like to get news like this. I'm sure that your heart is sinking with each thing that you read. It is very hard to deal with knowing a loved one probably has a fatal illness, and not knowing exactly how much time they have left. There is major shock. Someone needs to keep a level head through this whole thing, and the patient should make sure that they authorize someone to make decisions for them.

I see you are in CT. Is there any way your loved one can go to sloan kettering in NY? Sloan-Kettering lung cancer

National cancer institute lung cancer - what you need to know, there is a list of doctor questions as well as questions related to treatment. - navigate lung cancer on the left

Mayo clinic - lung cancer

You basically know it is stage 4 lung cancer, which means it has spread to other organs. What testing have they done so that they know how much it has spread?

Types of Lung Cancer

The pathologist checks the sputum, pleural fluid, tissue, or other samples for cancer cells. If cancer is found, the pathologist reports the type. The types of lung cancer are treated differently. The most common types are named for how the lung cancer cells look under a microscope:

Small cell lung cancer: About 13 percent of lung cancers are small cell lung cancers. This type tends to spread quickly.

Non-small cell lung cancer: Most lung cancers (about 87 percent) are non-small cell lung cancers. This type spreads more slowly than small cell lung cancer.

how to find a doctor

One thing I can tell you from experience, you want to make sure the loved one sits up and walks around as much as possible. In the end with my dad he didn't want to even sit up. The only way he would was if I was there telling him to do it. His doctors used to tell me that if I wasn't there, he'd be gone a long time ago. They knew that my support made a difference with my dad and that his face lit up when I was there. If they do not sit up they will get fluid in their lungs and removal is very painful. They have to do a lung tap to drain it. If the cancer spreads to other areas say bone/blood they may not be able to do the lung tap due to bleeding or they won't do the lung tap because the cancer is fatal and won't really matter.

Mayo clinic complications page - Death. Unfortunately, survival rates haven't improved for people diagnosed with lung cancer. In most cases, the disease is fatal. Almost 60 percent, or three out of every five people, diagnosed with lung cancer die within a year. Keep in mind, however, that this number includes people diagnosed with all types of lung cancer at all stages of the disease. People diagnosed at the earliest stages have the greatest chances for a cure. Your doctor can discuss more relevant statistics about your chances for survival with you.

Hospice - you want to find the local hospice center and get started with signing them up. The one by us offers all sorts of different programs. When we signed up, they were going to come to the house to sit with my dad while my "mother" had her own doctor appointment. This made it easier on the caregiver as they would give them a chance to run errands or what ever. It also got the patient familiar with the hospice system so that when there were no more treatment options they already knew the people that would come in.

Hospice for us was very helpful. My dad got very weak, very fast so we called. Hospice came out & confirmed his organs were shutting down and got started with oxygen & morphine. I am thankful my dad went quick, we called on a Friday, he was gone by Monday night.

The best advice I can give is to speak to the loved one, get everything taken care of asap. If they need a will written, get that out of the way asap. You also need to know various things like how much treatment they want as well as when to stop. If they become unable to speak, you need to know what their wishes are. The cancer institute had something called 5 wishes where it gives scenarios and allows the patient to fill in the blanks. A copy of 5 wishes is here. I had my dad help me with his obituary as I did not want to leave anything out. I wanted it to come from him. I also called a funeral home and started the paperwork. My dad & I spoke a lot about that, he did not want a viewing, but after speaking to him allowed us to do it. He did not believe in spending tons of cash for it.

Connecticut living wills This looks like a great site, everything they will need is there. There is state law on living wills as well as forms for Living Will, living will - Advance Directives Combined and Appointment of Health Care Representative

[stone-ground]

Sorry to hear the sad news also.

I agree, spend time together. The more you can do for that person, the more help it will be.

If and when the chemo starts, chances are he may not be feeling well and no energy. You can help by purchasing food items, washing and prepping healthy snacks such as radishes, carrot and celery sticks, etc., to have at hand.

If he wanted to do the juicing thing, again .. takes time and energy to first off, bring in the goods, wash and prep, juice and then clean-up.

Make some soups and things that he may feel like eating. Make extra for the freezer.
If he's not feeling well, sometimes bland things appeal more .. such as a cucumber sandwich on nice fresh bread and a broth of some sort .. miso or something.

Smoothies are also good. Easy to make, nutricious, and fairly easy to drink.

Go over and make meals .. again something he may feel like, and share meals together.

Spend time hanging out, watching TV or movies. If he feels like it, go for a scenic drive, sit in a park in the sunshine and listen to the birds sing, go to the market and people watch .. do things that make him feel alive.

Help with the housework, laundry, walk the dog, bring in the groceries, .. just whatever helps him at the time, when he needs it most.

That in itself, is probably the best you can do. Hoping for the best.

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by stone-ground

If and when the chemo starts, chances are he may not be feeling well and no energy. You can help by purchasing food items, washing and prepping healthy snacks such as radishes, carrot and celery sticks, etc., to have at hand.

If he wanted to do the juicing thing, again .. takes time and energy to first off, bring in the goods, wash and prep, juice and then clean-up.

Make some soups and things that he may feel like eating. Make extra for the freezer.
If he's not feeling well, sometimes bland things appeal more .. such as a cucumber sandwich on nice fresh bread and a broth of some sort .. miso or something.

Smoothies are also good. Easy to make, nutricious, and fairly easy to drink.

Go over and make meals .. again something he may feel like, and share meals together.

Spend time hanging out, watching TV or movies. If he feels like it, go for a scenic drive, sit in a park in the sunshine and listen to the birds sing, go to the market and people watch .. do things that make him feel alive.

Help with the housework, laundry, walk the dog, bring in the groceries, .. just whatever helps him at the time, when he needs it most.

That in itself, is probably the best you can do. Hoping for the best.

I want to address the fruits & veggies.
When my dad was doing chemo they said absolutely no fresh fruits or veggies because the chemo kills the immune system and if you remember the ecoli scare from things like spinach, this is why. They say that in order to be sure they will not get stuff that is contaminated, it is best to not include it in the diet. They wouldn't even allow anything we grew as they were concerned with animal droppings contaminating it.

My dad was hospitalized a few times, once he had chicken or egg salad and got an infection because someone didn't wash their hands when they prepared it.

So please consult your doctor before eating anything fresh.

[stone-ground]

I've also heard that vitamin supplements and nutricious foods also can 'feed' the cancer. Especially sugar.

On the other hand, had a friend extend her life by probably three years by being very diligent with her juicer and what she ate .. all fresh and organic, and only male turkey or wild meat .. so she wasn't getting the hormones, etc.

Everyone is different, as are their situations. It's difficult to know what to do or which way to turn sometimes with all the confusing propaganda.

[Mathguy]

I'm sorry to hear this.

The bottom line is that the cancer has spread and is not contained to an area that can be specifically removed. It has also become extensive enough to have impacted their functioning already.

To that point, even though they say it's in his lungs and liver....it is almost certainly in other places but just too small to be noticeable.

There really isn't a cure at this point, they can try various treatments for buying time once it gets this widespread but it's unlikely that they will survive for a lengthy period of time.

My wife had breast cancer that re-emerged as bone cancer and she lived about 17 months after that mainly holding the cancer somewhat at bay until it overcame the available medicines.

An actual doctor will sometimes be loathe to give you a prognosis....its hard to say for sure how they will respond to chemo. Realistically, liver cancer in particular is bad news...I would suspect they don't have a lot of time...perhaps months, maybe a year or more, a lot of variables but who knows....a miracle could occur.

Lastly, stop pushing all the super vitamin BS people. "My cousins brothers friend took badger anus extract and it completely cured him....mail us $300 a month for your supply and we will fix you right up." Bah, my wife was barraged with this crap and some of it was INDEED contra-indicated with her chemo regimine. There is a TON of quackery and easy money to make from scared desperate people so beware.

[StuckPA]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

There really isn't a cure at this point, they can try various treatments for buying time once it gets this widespread but it's unlikely that they will survive for a lengthy period of time.

Lastly, stop pushing all the super vitamin BS people. "My cousins brothers friend took badger anus extract and it completely cured him....mail us $300 a month for your supply and we will fix you right up." Bah, my wife was barraged with this crap and some of it was INDEED contra-indicated with her chemo regimine. There is a TON of quackery and easy money to make from scared desperate people so beware.

That right there is just blatant ignorance. You and others may still be brainwashed by the medical system but that doesn't mean other things don't exist.
I personally know many people who have had their lives turned around by Alternative medicine.

[ShepsMom]

You can also contact good Herbalist for alternatives, not saying for a cure, but there are a lot of options to consider.

[stone-ground]

If I found out I had stage IV lung cancer, I would go the alternative route also.

I don't think I'd opt for chemo, but then I'm not standing in those shoes, so who knows?

Chemo seems to make one so sick and as someone mentioned, weakens the immune system to the point where it's hard to fight back.

I would juice, especially wheatgrass and carrots. And try and stick with a raw diet as much as possible and hope that my body would start fighting back.

But that's just my opinion.

Although the survival rate in lung cancer, stage IV isn't great, there are some that do recover.

Difficult as it must be, it can't hurt to try and keep a positive attitude. You never know. Try not to give up.