OT. Cancer treatment...

[BBrown]

my best friend has been battling cancer for 3+ years. Started out as colon cancer then moved to lymphnodes then to liver now they've detected 2 small spots on his lungs.
Went through chemo once and worked for awhile but came back which resulted in 2 liver surgeries more chemo and targeted radiation. They are now trying a treatment called Opdivo and I was wondering if anyone has had experience with it or knows someone.
He apparently has a heriditary condition called lynch syndrome.
Thanks

 

[psudukie]

I simply want to wish your friend the very best. He has certainly been through a lot and seems he has to more endure. Prayers sent to him and his family. All the best.

 

[BBrown]

I simply want to wish your friend the very best. He has certainly been through a lot and seems he has to more endure. Prayers sent to him and his family. All the best.

Thanks dukie.
Yea it flat out sucks. The guy just turned 46.
I watched him go from looking like a div.ll college safety to a 150 lb man who is about one size away buying his clothes in the boys department.☹️

 

[swordsman_l]

my best friend has been battling cancer for 3+ years. Started out as colon cancer then moved to lymphnodes then to liver now they've detected 2 small spots on his lungs.
Went through chemo once and worked for awhile but came back which resulted in 2 liver surgeries more chemo and targeted radiation. They are now trying a treatment called Opdivo and I was wondering if anyone has had experience with it or knows someone.
He apparently has a heriditary condition called lynch syndrome.
Thanks

Sorry to hear that.
I would guess that your friend has already received this type of therapy, but patients with lynch syndrome (aka mismatch repair deficiency) respond well to a new class of drugs called PD1 inhibitors.

If he hasn't, ask him to ask his doctor.
Here is an important article on the topic.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1500596?af=R&rss=currentIssue&#t=article

 

[BBrown]

Sorry to hear that.
I would guess that your friend has already received this type of therapy, but patients with lynch syndrome (aka mismatch repair deficiency) respond well to a new class of drugs called PD1 inhibitors.

If he hasn't, ask him to ask his doctor.
Here is an important article on the topic.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1500596?af=R&rss=currentIssue&#t=article

Many thanks swordsman. I will pass this info on to him.

 

[Zaz]

my best friend has been battling cancer for 3+ years. Started out as colon cancer then moved to lymphnodes then to liver now they've detected 2 small spots on his lungs.
Went through chemo once and worked for awhile but came back which resulted in 2 liver surgeries more chemo and targeted radiation. They are now trying a treatment called Opdivo and I was wondering if anyone has had experience with it or knows someone.
He apparently has a heriditary condition called lynch syndrome.
Thanks

I'm a retired Nurse Anesthetist and what I know is this.Opdivo is a drug used for pain relief.It just came out not to long ago.Please let me know how things go.I hope he does OK. My Mom had Cancer of her rt. lung. She died in the nursing home. Cancer is a tough disease.Take care of your friend. We are Penn State-Linda Zaz

 

[bkmtnittany1]

my best friend has been battling cancer for 3+ years. Started out as colon cancer then moved to lymphnodes then to liver now they've detected 2 small spots on his lungs.
Went through chemo once and worked for awhile but came back which resulted in 2 liver surgeries more chemo and targeted radiation. They are now trying a treatment called Opdivo and I was wondering if anyone has had experience with it or knows someone.
He apparently has a heriditary condition called lynch syndrome.
Thanks

Prayers sent...God Speed. What an awful disease....i wish him well.

 

[gregoryj95]

Many thanks swordsman. I will pass this info on to him.

Hey BBrown. Sounds like you're a good friend, and that's what he needs as much as anything. You are doing a great thing by standing by him, as many people unconsciously distance themselves from someone who is as sick as he is. He's got more fighting ahead of him, as he's dealing with a tough mutation that has spread throughout his body. Surgery is not an option, because once these cells get loose in the body they can pretty much set up camp wherever, resulting in a new tumor. That's why you're seeing so many organs affected.

Swordsman is spot on. In fact, Opdivo is indeed a PD-1 inhibitor (not a pain med, please understand that no offense is intended Zaz, I know you have been in medicine for a long time and know your stuff). Opdivo is administered via IV infusion and spreads throughout the entire body, helping the immune system to defeat cancer cells with a specific mutation wherever they are to be found. It can make a difference, slow this thing down, give him some time and hopefully comfort. It's tough on the body, and at some point they'll likely take him off of it. But it's a great therapy, and is at the leading edge of approved cancer treatments. It's so good, in fact, that it was approved on an accelerated basis by the FDA, which just doesn't happen a lot - only when a medicine has enough potential benefit that it would be unethical to not give it an accelerated approval and make it available to those who need it.

You stay as close to him as you're able, and please pass on that a whole bunch of folks here care about what he's going through. I recommend that you read Emperor of All Maladies. It's a great resource for anyone in your position.

 

[fairgambit]

My thoughts and prayers go out to your friend. I agree with gregoryj95. You are a good friend and your support is as important as any medicine or treatment. All the best to you both.

 

[Nittany18]

Your friend is probably pretty happy to have buddy like you. Hope and pray the best for him. Cancer, what an awful thing.

 

[Psychedelic_MackDaddy]

my best friend has been battling cancer for 3+ years. Started out as colon cancer then moved to lymphnodes then to liver now they've detected 2 small spots on his lungs.
Went through chemo once and worked for awhile but came back which resulted in 2 liver surgeries more chemo and targeted radiation. They are now trying a treatment called Opdivo and I was wondering if anyone has had experience with it or knows someone.
He apparently has a heriditary condition called lynch syndrome.
Thanks

Laurie Anderson – Strange Angels Lyrics
They say that heaven is like TV
A perfect little world that doesn't really need you
And everything there is made of light
And the days keep going by
Here they come
Here they come
Here they come.

Well it was one of those days larger than life
When your friends came to dinner and they stayed the night
And then they cleaned out the refrigerator
They ate everything in sight
And then they stayed up in the living room
And they cried all night
Strange angels singing just for me
Old stories they're haunting me
This is nothing like I thought it would be.

Well I was out in my four door with the top down.
And I looked up and there they were,
Millions of tiny teardrops just sort of hanging there
And I didn't know whether to laugh or cry
And I said to myself, What next big sky?
Strange angels singing just for me
Their spare change falls on top of me
Rain falling
Falling all over me
All over me
Strange angels singing just for me
Old Stories they're haunting me
Big changes are coming
Here they come
Here they come.

 

[olelion]

Oh man, believe me when I say my thoughts and prayers are with your friend. I'm a recent stage III colon cancer survivor. Went through surgery/chemo. PET-CT scan in January showed no disease present. Thoughts and prayers from family, extended family and friends gave me strength to fight that monster

 

[BBrown]

Hey BBrown. Sounds like you're a good friend, and that's what he needs as much as anything. You are doing a great thing by standing by him, as many people unconsciously distance themselves from someone who is as sick as he is. He's got more fighting ahead of him, as he's dealing with a tough mutation that has spread throughout his body. Surgery is not an option, because once these cells get loose in the body they can pretty much set up camp wherever, resulting in a new tumor. That's why you're seeing so many organs affected.

Swordsman is spot on. In fact, Opdivo is indeed a PD-1 inhibitor (not a pain med, please understand that no offense is intended Zaz, I know you have been in medicine for a long time and know your stuff). Opdivo is administered via IV infusion and spreads throughout the entire body, helping the immune system to defeat cancer cells with a specific mutation wherever they are to be found. It can make a difference, slow this thing down, give him some time and hopefully comfort. It's tough on the body, and at some point they'll likely take him off of it. But it's a great therapy, and is at the leading edge of approved cancer treatments. It's so good, in fact, that it was approved on an accelerated basis by the FDA, which just doesn't happen a lot - only when a medicine has enough potential benefit that it would be unethical to not give it an accelerated approval and make it available to those who need it.

You stay as close to him as you're able, and please pass on that a whole bunch of folks here care about what he's going through. I recommend that you read Emperor of All Maladies. It's a great resource for anyone in your position.

WOW, thank you so much. gregoryj95. We continue to hope. He's way too young and way too good of a guy to deserve this, but then all cancer patients are.
It is nice to hear a glimmer of hope and I will surely pass on all the good will.
Thank you all.

 

[flinter]

Just wanted to send my best for both your friend and you. The Opdivo has shown some definite promise. Never underestimate the power of strong relationships and supportive faith/hope in these situations. Take care.

 

[T J]

my best friend has been battling cancer for 3+ years. Started out as colon cancer then moved to lymphnodes then to liver now they've detected 2 small spots on his lungs.
Went through chemo once and worked for awhile but came back which resulted in 2 liver surgeries more chemo and targeted radiation. They are now trying a treatment called Opdivo and I was wondering if anyone has had experience with it or knows someone.
He apparently has a heriditary condition called lynch syndrome.
Thanks

Vitally important book on the history of Cancer Treatment offers new hope, by finally addressing the fundamental nature of the disease...

Tripping over the Truth: How the Metabolic Theory of Cancer Is Overturning One of Medicine's Most Entrenched Paradigms

1st Edition
ISBN-13: 978-1603587297, ISBN-10: 1603587292

Important for those with cancer, their doctors and for researchers.

Explains why decades of past research was focused upon effects of cancers instead of the cause.

By documenting the extraordinarily large amount of recent DNA research that does not support previous genetic theories, it frees up potentially more effective options, now and in the future.

New approaches and combinations offer promise for a new era of much more broadly comprehensive and effective prevention and treatment strategies.

Good luck!

​

 

[T J]

Vitally important book on the history of Cancer Treatment offers new hope, by finally addressing the fundamental nature of the disease...

Tripping over the Truth: How the Metabolic Theory of Cancer Is Overturning One of Medicine's Most Entrenched Paradigms

1st Edition
ISBN-13: 978-1603587297, ISBN-10: 1603587292

Important for those with cancer, their doctors and for researchers.

Explains why decades of past research was focused upon effects of cancers instead of the cause.

By documenting the extraordinarily large amount of recent DNA research that does not support previous genetic theories, it frees up options for more effective options, now and in the future.

New combinations offer promise for a new era of much more broadly comprehensive and effective prevention and treatment strategies.

Good luck!

​

Review

"Travis Christofferson provides a compelling historical account of how cancer has been misunderstood as a genetic disease when, in fact, it is a type of metabolic disease.

Unlike normal cells, which obtain their energy from respiration, cancer cells have damaged respiration and obtain much of their energy from the primitive process of fermentation. Travis

describes how the mutations in tumors arise as an effect of respiratory damage and cannot be the cause or drivers of cancer.

The information presented in Tripping over the Truth will have profound consequences for how cancer is managed and prevented.

Metabolic therapies will be more effective and less toxic than the current gene- or immune-based therapies and have the potential to significantly improve quality of life and long-term survival for millions of cancer patients worldwide.”--Thomas N. Seyfried, PhD, author of Cancer as a Metabolic Disease

======

“I absolutely loved Dr. Seyfried’s book, Cancer as a Metabolic Disease, and Dr. Mukherjee’s book, The Emperor of all Maladies, but it was difficult to get my patients to read these two books to understand the history of cancer and the cancer industry, not to mention the movement from the somatic to the metabolic theory of cancer, both intimidating subjects.

Then, along came Travis Christofferson’s brilliant, timely, and expertly consolidated book.

It reads like a novel and is easy to comprehend for everyone interested in the new conversation around cancer and cancer care.

I recommend it to patients, family, friends, and colleagues and refer back to it often.”--Dr. Nasha Winters, ND, coauthor of The Metabolic Approach to Cancer

​