Seeking advice on cancer treatment

In time of needs, you turn to your friends and families. Now, I need suggestions and/or advices from you all, even sharing your experience shall be nice.
Yesterday, I got a call from my sis, telling me that my cousin fell in the bathroom, breaking three backbones, couldn't move a limb for 3 months! After three months, she was taken to hospital for surgery and turned out she had bone concer.. ..To make matters worse, she had 2 daughters to feed who certainly need their mom around (age 2 and 4).

I have lost a good high school friend (leukemia) and a colleague (breast cancer). Both underwent chemotherapy, my colleague went for the treatment for 2 years before she finally gave up. Turns out the success rate of the treatment isn't that high after all.

If you have any info on cancer treatment, please let me know. Thank you so much folks.

masak_aer said:

...If you have any info on cancer treatment, please let me know. Thank you so much folks.

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Dear masak_aer,



I’m truly sorry to hear about your cousin. Here's my experience.

A friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer. By the time they caught it, the cancer had already spread. She was given a 2% chance of survival.

After chemotherapy, she was sicker than ever and bald. So her sister and I did some research. And here is what we made her do.

1. Change her diet. Eat mostly organic veggies. No white sugar. No white flour. Think organic.

2. Juice. We got her a juicer and gave her organic vegetable and fruit juice at least 2 times a day.

3. No junk food. No soda. No fast food.

4. Reduce the amount of meat.

5. Breathe. Got her an air purifier and made her do breathing exercises 2x a day.

6. Made her sit in the sun for 1 hr per day.

7. When she was strong enough, we made her go for walks.



After about a month of doing ALL these things, she started feeling better and getting stronger.

I’m not saying this will definitely work for your cousin, but it really helped my friend.

She’s alive. She’s healthy. It’s been about 3 years, and she hasn’t had any recurrences.

These are just my experiences. YMMV.


I hope this helps.

Enjoy,
Panther

Thank you very much Panther, I did pass on your message to her parents. She just underwent a surgery yesterday to remove her fractured bones.

Of the people I work with (Medical field), most seem to think radiation is the better treatment to receive.

Masak_aer:

Since I see you are in the VA area (at least that's what your signature says) find a doctor ASAP that participates with cancer trials and research with NIH and/ or Johns Hopkins. I currently have a friend who is doing this now.

I was a contractor for NIH for many years and you would be supprised with some of the stuff the do. A lot of it is experimental but hey, if it works, why not. Most of NIH's patients are handled through building 10 which is their hospital. John's Hopkins is based out of Baltimore and NIH main branch is Bethesda across from the Naval Hospital.

The hardest part, but most important, is mentaly stay positive. I know this is extremely difficult at this period but mind over matter does help.

Good luck and prayers.

Bryguy

If 3 vertebrae broke that easily, it sounds like your cousin already has extensive disease in her bones. That can't be good. It is critical to get a diagnosis as soon as possible. Your cousin will be hospitalized after the surgery, so travel won't be possible for some time. If the docs doing the surgery can't identify what she has, you should lean on them HARD to call the nearest medical school or big cancer center to get help with the diagnosis. Time may be critical here. I agree with the previous poster who suggested Johns Hopkins or NIH. When in doubt, skip the locals, and go straight to the pros. It is vitally important for patients to have confidence in their doctors.

Considering that qualified MDs would never give medical advice over the internet, I think the best we can tell you is to get some good medical advice fast.

A very good website, http://www.cancer.gov/, is run by the National Cancer Institute. You can get a lot of correct basic info here. Once you know the diagnosis, you can follow the links and read all about it. You can also find what standard therapies exist or what clinical trials of experimental therapies are available in your area.

We all wish your cousin good luck!

Thank you all for the support. The problem right now is she isn't in the U.S. She is in SouthEast Asia. It might be hard for her to travel that far here to the East Coast, not to mention she can't sit or sleep normally. She crushed 2 backbones and fracture the third when she feel in the bathroom. Thanks Dan & Bry. It still is one of her options to come here though if no other cancer treatment facilities in the nearby area are available.

Localized targeted radation (using a seed) does amazing things. My Father in law was diag with cancer a few years back and it didint look good at all. My wife and I even went down to the Hospital to say our last good byes and that was 6 years ago. Luckly we live in the NE so there are a ton of great Hospitals. Dont let a little travle stop you from getting the best care $$ can buy..

Best of luck!!

Where in southeast Asia is she? I know of these places where there are US trained cancer docs who seem to know their stuff:

Johns Hopkins-Singapore International Medical Centre
11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng
Singapore 308433

National University Hospital
5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119074

Chinese University of Hong Kong
Department of Clinical Oncology
Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong

The Phillipines and Australia may also be an option, although I don't know names of any places.

I would still check out the National Cancer Institutes (division of NIH) info and speak with local oncologists that participate with them. The reason I say this is that NIH is actually global working through major universities throughout the world. They also work along side with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

On another note, check into the University of Pittsburgh medical division. This is where most of your top cancer doctors come from.

Fortunately, nowaday's you can do all the research yourself on a personal computer. Ten and Twenty years ago this wasn't possible.

Bryguy

Swerd said:

Where in southeast Asia is she? I know of these places where there are US trained cancer docs who seem to know their stuff:

Johns Hopkins-Singapore International Medical Centre
11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng
Singapore 308433

National University Hospital
5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119074

Chinese University of Hong Kong
Department of Clinical Oncology
Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong

The Phillipines and Australia may also be an option, although I don't know names of any places.

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She is now treated in Malaysia. Singapore is the closest one, IMHO, to get a better cancer treatment care based on your info and several others. Your info of the places with their addresses is extremely valuable for us. Thank you very much. I think I have gathered enough info for now. We have to wait a week to get the specific type of bone cancer she has, then i can focus on getting more info of it.
Thank you all very much.

Bryguy said:

Fortunately, nowaday's you can do all the research yourself on a personal computer. Ten and Twenty years ago this wasn't possible.

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I just want to stress what Bryguy & Swerd have brought up; patients come in all the time with great info printed off the net. Of course there's a lot of bunk medical advice websites on the net, but if you filter through those, you can find wonderful resources for both medical and emotional support. Swerd's link for cancer.gov is a great place for both.

You say you have to wait a week to learn the specific diagnosis, so I'm assuming they had to send the pathology slides off to be read elsewhere or something, but any specific info you have may help us find resources for you & your cousin. How old is your cousin? What specifically did her doctors find in the way of bone cancer?

No one best treatment type for cancer exists; it totally depends on the specific cancer type. Some you can use radiation for, some you can't; some respond to chemotherapy, others don't, so the specific diagnosis will have to be known before her doctors can decide on specific therapy options.
I'll keep your cousin & family in my thoughts.
Brad

b_panther_g said:

Dear masak_aer,



I’m truly sorry to hear about your cousin. Here's my experience.

A friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer. By the time they caught it, the cancer had already spread. She was given a 2% chance of survival.

After chemotherapy, she was sicker than ever and bald. So her sister and I did some research. And here is what we made her do.

1. Change her diet. Eat mostly organic veggies. No white sugar. No white flour. Think organic.

2. Juice. We got her a juicer and gave her organic vegetable and fruit juice at least 2 times a day.

3. No junk food. No soda. No fast food.

4. Reduce the amount of meat.

5. Breathe. Got her an air purifier and made her do breathing exercises 2x a day.

6. Made her sit in the sun for 1 hr per day.

7. When she was strong enough, we made her go for walks.



After about a month of doing ALL these things, she started feeling better and getting stronger.

I’m not saying this will definitely work for your cousin, but it really helped my friend.

She’s alive. She’s healthy. It’s been about 3 years, and she hasn’t had any recurrences.

These are just my experiences. YMMV.


I hope this helps.

Enjoy,
Panther

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Two of my aunts were diagnosed with breast cancer, and both underwent full mastectomies. Both used similar added therapies as listed by Panther, and have been in remission over 15 years. My wife, who is in the health care field, gave a dietary book to both my aunts at the time and they've followed it to a T. For some reason, dark leafy green vegetables keeps popping in my head.

The best of luck to your cousin. A distant cousin of mine (age 43) found out he had a brain tumor a few months ago after seeing his physician for sudden migraines. He didn't last a month. The funeral was a few weeks ago. Lets pray your cousin can shake this.

Who knows what causes these horrific things. Some blame cell phones, the foods we eat, genetics, sedentary lifestyles/obesity, etc... Unless we reduce our stress levels, exercise more, and eat healthier, I think many of us will be in for a surprise. Until then, I think it's important to respect our family and friends as we really don't know when someone's time is up.

What I would have said has already been said: try to stay positive, keep your mind active, and eat as healthy as you can. When my girlfriend was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, she did tons of research on the net, and found info that she needed. Thanks to that, she wasn't terribly worried (even though I was). What was difficult was going through the chemo and radiation therapy. Those are incredibly draining experiences, and she says that it took everything she had to make it through that. Even now, she tells me that she doesn't think she could go through it all again.

Anyway, staying positive, keeping your brain active and eating healthy will help a bit. Best wishes to your cousin; I hope she can kick that cancer right in its *ss and send it packing.

cheers,
supervij

Ok. I have the result back from my sister. Rj. and Dan.i pm you, if that's alright. Thanks a lot.

>Final Diagnosis: consistent with metastatic bronchogenic squamous cell
>carninoma, pooly differentiated L4f laminar, L4 pedicle.

masak_aer said:

Ok. I have the result back from my sister. Rj. and Dan.i pm you, if that's alright. Thanks a lot.

>Final Diagnosis: consistent with metastatic bronchogenic squamous cell
>carninoma, pooly differentiated L4f laminar, L4 pedicle.

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Reply PM sent.

I am a living example that Stage IV squamous cell cancer can be whipped! She is lucky to have you helping, masak_aer. You're getting good advice on this thread, btw, but keep digging. Always remember that good medical care and a positive attitude are the best weapons in her fight.

rjbudz said:

Reply PM sent.

I am a living example that Stage IV squamous cell cancer can be whipped! She is lucky to have you helping, masak_aer. You're getting good advice on this thread, btw, but keep digging. Always remember that good medical care and a positive attitude are the best weapons in her fight.

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Make my father inlaw the another Stage IV squamous cell cancer butt kicker. (rj and I have conversed about this before)
He went through chemo and radiation at the same time, his was in his neck so eating my mouth was impossible due to the radiation burning his throat.

Keeping her energy level up by eating all the right things goes a long way toward the most important thing which is keeping an upbeat positive outlook.

My families best wishes,
SBF1 (Doug)

Thanks to everybody here in the forum. I just want to let you all know that she has refused chemoteraphy and radiotherapy. She is now taking Gefinitib Iressa. She is on the second week of the treatment. I hope and pray that she made the right choice. Thank you for all the support and prayers.

Thank you all for the support

To all of those that have been very supportive, I would like to extend my greatest gratitude and appreciation. You all have been very helpful and i am really glad that many of the folks here are nobles at heart.
My cousin passed away on this Sunday at around 4 am. She was surrounded by her loved ones in her final hours. Her funeral was on the same day at around 3 pm. May God accept her in His grace...RIP..


Thank you all...

My sympathies to the family.