-
Any hope for extensive liver and peritoneum mets??
Hi there,
I’m new to this forum. My dad (75) was first diagnosed with bladder cancer in ’94, for which he received BCG. His cancer returned in 2001, and he went through another round of BCG. In late 2010, he learned that the cancer had returned and it was muscle invasive. He went through a cystectomy in April 2011. There were no lymph nodes affected, but the surgery had complications, that led him to have a temporary colostomy put in. He removed he colostomy last year and had clear scans in July. Since July, he’s had two episodes of intestinal blockage that resulted in hospitalizations. During this last episode, right after he had recovered from a UTI caused by KPC, a MRI showed multiple lesions in his liver and peritoneum. One of the lesions is very large, above 5 cm.
I’m very afraid right now and concerned that he may not have much time left. He’s still at the hospital and I’m here with him typing this away while he sleeps. He’s been sleeping a lot and is very fatigued, without much energy to even walk more than a couple of laps around the hospital floor. He has a fever at the same time every day, but the fever goes away with medication. His veins are shot so we’re now waiting for a port to be inserted so he can start chemo next week. The plan is to give him gemcitabine and carboplatin. I’m afraid that he’s already weak and will have a hard time tolerating chemo.
I’m no stranger to cancer myself, as I’m an almost 4-year survivor of stage 3 breast cancer (not sure if there’s a genetic predisposition in our family, but it seems likely). I’m trying to remain positive for my dad, but it’s tough to watch him deteriorate so fast. He’s worried about leaving my mom behind.
Those of you that have taken this chemo, or are currently taking it, can you please share your experience with me? In particular, I’m looking for hopeful stories as much as possible. I want him here for his 76th birthday in March, I want him here to see the grandkids play soccer in the summer, I want him here for at least another year. Is that too much to ask for given his type and aggressiveness of mets?
Thanks so much for your support,
Marcia