Support resources for families dealing with cancer and other serious illnesses

At my dad’s last checkup at the oncology clinic, they wrote this:

'Per follow-up X-ray, excellent regression of the tumor process in the mediastinum. Continue follow-up with the attending pulmonologist. Follow-up here in four months.'

Can anyone help me make sense of that first sentence? Dad said the results were good, so it made perfect sense to me that 'regression' means the tumor is shrinking. But Mom is insisting it came back. I just don't get why they would write "excellent regression" if it was bad news... and I'm especially confused why they're discharging him from the surgical department if everything is looking up. 😢((

Please, I need help!

brisksurfer said:At my dad's last checkup at the oncology clinic, they wrote this:

'Based on follow-up X-ray, excellent regression of the mediastinal tumor process. Continued monitoring by the attending pulmonologist. Follow-up here in four months.'

Can someone explain that first sentence to me? Dad said the results were good, so it made sense to me that 'regression' means the tumor is shrinking, but Mom thinks it means it came back. I don't get why they would call it an "excellent regression" if it's bad news... and I'm especially confused why they're discharging him from the soft tissue surgery department if things are looking up. 😢((

Please help!

Regression means the tumor is receding—basically, the treatment is actually working.
It sounds like your mom mixed up "regression" with a financial term like a "refund" or "recession." In medicine, it means the disease is pulling back.
A "recurrence" is when the disease comes back, and "progression" is when it spreads.
Have a great day, and take your parents out for some ice cream somewhere nice.👍

brisksurfer, I’m honestly just feeling so incredibly relieved about this recent bit of good news 🙂
just try to hang in there and stay steady 🙂

Good evening, everyone,

I’m reaching out because I could really use some advice. My dad has been fighting stomach cancer for a few years now, and things are getting tough. His current oncologist doesn't have an opening to see him until this summer, but his markers are rising again and he’s just not feeling well at all. To make matters worse, the doctor hasn't ordered any follow-up tests or scans yet. We can't just sit around waiting while he suffers—we really want to get a second opinion as soon as possible. Does anyone know a great private specialist who focuses on abdominal diseases?

Thanks so much!

@Angela Wright/">@@Angela Wright, @Kimberly Wright/">@@Kimberly Wright, @Diana: thank you all so much for the support!
I was honestly relieved when @Angela Wright/">@@Angela Wright told me his test results looked fine, but things took a turn for the worse yesterday. He was choking on mucus so badly I had to call 911, and they rushed him off to a small town, USA. It turns out @Diana was right all along...😠😠😠
Even though the labs from February 4th (back in Des Moines) and the radiation session on the 19th were great—with the tumor being practically invisible—yesterday proved the cancer has spread aggressively. They said the situation is grim, and Dad is drifting in and out of consciousness because he's struggling so hard to breathe.

Every single medical technician there insisted he needed an aspirator to clear the mucus, yet the doctor wouldn't even look at him, let alone prescribe suction. We actually had to step in, call for it ourselves, and tell the doctor it would make him more comfortable, only then did he agree. 😲

By the time we got everything sorted, it was already 10 PM, so they sent us home.

I want nothing more than to get Dad back home, but Idon't have any clue how we're supposed to get oxygen tanks and an aspirator. Can anyone please give me some advice? The paramedics were acting surprised that we didn't have oxygen on hand yesterday. 🤷

The doctor won't tell us anything straight. He barely managed to mutter yesterday that things aren't looking good, and he said it with a tone so cold, it was like he was talking about someone's pet canary. 😢😢😢

I just pray he doesn't have to suffer this much. 🙂

I just managed to secure oxygen and a suction machine through the American Hospice Friends Association. They can even write prescriptions for those meds that help reduce secretions. Honestly, what else is there to say besides an endless thank you to these wonderful people? 🙏🙏🙏

I’m honestly not sure if I’m even the right person to be giving advice, but my mother-in-law went through a really rough battle with breast cancer. She did the whole routine—chemo, radiation, you name it—and everything seemed fine for a while. The only weird thing was this wound that just wouldn't heal; it kept draining and we couldn't get it clean no matter what we tried. Then, during her one-year checkup back in February, her markers suddenly spiked like crazy. We got the results back and it turns out the cancer had spread to her lungs, kidneys, and bones. We were absolutely devastated. It felt like the rug was pulled right out from under us. In total desperation, we started her on some Aloe Arborescans, and it actually made a massive difference in her blood work. We're heading in this Friday to get her markers checked again, and we are praying to God they come back within the normal range so she can avoid more chemo!
If anyone is looking for where to get the real deal at a decent price—something authentic that actually works—feel free to reach out to me!
Just a heads up though, I definitely recommend getting blood work and checking those markers first. Try it for a month, then go back and re-test the results to see how things are moving!
I feel for everyone going through this. Out of pure panic, we ended up paying about $1100 for that Aloe Arborescans, but now we've found a way to get it much, much cheaper!
It breaks my heart to think about people profiting off of someone else's misery and making huge sums of money that way. That's why I wanted to share this. We were honestly at the point where we would have sold our house just to make Mom feel better...

I was at the hospital today and my dad is doing a bit better. They started him on antibiotics because he developed some inflammation in his lungs and bronchial tubes since he just couldn't clear the mucus out. That’s why the poor man was struggling so much and choking on it. They also put him on oxygen, which really helped the situation. He’s actually in better spirits now—he even got angry because we aren't rushing to take him home immediately.🙂

The real issue is the underlying disease (small cell carcinoma). He went through chemo last year and finished radiation on December 28, 2009. Now that the tumor has returned and spread significantly, the doctor is telling me that since he already received the full dosage of chemo and radiation, they’ve exhausted all options. He claims there is absolutely no other therapy available... but frankly, I don't trust doctors anymore, so I want to hear from you. Are there any other medications we can try? Even if they are just in clinical trials—we have nothing left to lose at this point. He initially responded brilliantly to the chemo and radiation... but clearly, this disease is truly malicious if it's already come back like this. I will haunt myself for the rest of my life if we don't try everything.😢

I'm going to dig through more of the Reddit threads + please, I need help as soon as possible!

Thank you all so much in advance!

brisksurfer said:I was at the hospital today, and my dad is doing better. They started him on antibiotics because he developed some inflammation in his lungs and bronchi since he couldn't clear the phlegm. That’s why the poor man was struggling so much to breathe. They also put him on oxygen, which helped significantly. He’s actually in a better mood now, though he’s already getting annoyed because we aren't rushing to bring him home just yet.🙂)

The real issue lies with the underlying disease—small cell carcinoma. He went through chemo last year and finished radiation on December 28, 2009. Given that the tumor has returned and spread quite extensively, the doctor tells me that because he received a full dose of both chemo and radiation, they have exhausted all therapeutic options; apparently, there is absolutely no further treatment available for him. Since I find myself unable to trust the doctors anymore, I wanted to reach out and ask about your experiences. Are there truly no other medications we could attempt? Even if they are merely in clinical trials, we have nothing left to lose. He initially responded beautifully to the chemotherapy and radiation, but clearly, this disease is far more malignant than we hoped if it has returned like this. I will spend the rest of my life blaming myself if we don't try everything possible...😢

I am going to study the association forums further, but please, I am asking for any help you can provide as soon as possible!

Thank you all so much in advance!

brisksurfer,

I am certainly not wise enough to offer you any real advice.
When my father reached his final days, he had to take a staggering amount of medication. Because the cancer had spread to his brain, he suffered from epileptic seizures and was prescribed tablets to manage them.
He eventually lost the ability to swallow properly, so we would crush those pills into powder and try to administer them to him.
The poor man simply couldn't swallow it; the powder would just sit in his mouth, and he wouldn't even let us clean it out afterward.
I don't know; my brother remarked that it might have been kinder for him to pass away from a seizure rather than enduring that bitterness in his mouth.
I can't shake the feeling that we exhausted him, all while our intentions were purely to help.

Thanks for getting back to me. I’m really trying to figure out if there is actually anything out there—any specific protocol or treatment—that can be used to try and stop a tumor from spreading any further.

I’m giving away about half a bottle—roughly 30 capsules—of 500mg Beta 1.3D glucan. It’s still good for another two and a half years.

To be perfectly clear, I’m not stopping the Beta glucan because it didn't work. On the contrary, I was incredibly pleased with it; it actually helped me clear up some persistent gynecological inflammation.
The issue is that ever since I finished my Temozolomide chemotherapy (the capsule form), I can't even look at a capsule without feeling an immediate wave of nausea.

I'm currently in the middle of a massive spring cleaning of my house, so I figured I'd just let go of things I no longer use or simply don't need right now. ☕

Hey everyone, I find myself back on this thread again, unfortunately...
My mom's condition has taken a turn for the worse following her breast cancer surgery, so we're gearing up to head back into round two of chemotherapy.

I'm just feeling so heartbroken about all of this...😢

Oh man, it honestly breaks my heart to hear stuff like this. 😠

I seriously wish nobody ever had to revisit this topic again!!! Hang in there, honey! 😘

brisksurfer said:Thanks for the reply. I'm just wondering if there's anything out there that might help stop a tumor from spreading further...

Some people claim they had success with this http://www.healthandwellness.com/mushroom-therapy&sp=index.

Others say it did nothing for them, but I haven't heard of anyone actually getting better because of it...

brisksurfer said:Honestly, my heart just breaks whenever I have to read things like this... 😠

I really wish we could all just move past this topic forever, but life happens. Hang in there, dear! 😘

Yeah, I truly wish we could leave this subject behind us too, but here we are...
My mom was admitted to the hospital today. I don't have all the specifics yet since I unfortunately wasn't able to go with her... 😢

I had a question regarding chemotherapy—during her first round of treatment, she received six sessions, but they were done every three weeks at an outpatient clinic, whereas now they're telling her she'll need to stay in the hospital for about five to seven days. Does that imply they're switching her to a more intensive regimen? If anyone has gone through something similar, I'd love to know what we might be looking at...

thanks

So, I was born back in '53, and I recently had to go through surgery for bladder cancer. They ended up doing a procedure where they used part of my bowel to create a new bladder.
I’m really curious—has anyone else here gone through this? What was your recovery process like?

Linda Cox69 said:Look, I really wish we could just drop this subject entirely, but here we are...
My mom was admitted to the hospital today. I don't have all the specifics yet since I couldn't head down there with her right away..😢

I have a question about her chemo regimen—during her first round, she did six sessions every three weeks at an outpatient clinic, but now they’re telling us she’ll be staying in the hospital for 5 to 7 days. Does this mean they're switching her to a more aggressive treatment? Has anyone dealt with this before? What should we be bracing ourselves for..

Thanks

Some treatment protocols require continuous IV infusion for three days straight. Because of the potential side effects and how a patient might react, they have to keep her under constant medical supervision.

brisksurfer said:@Angela Wright/">@@Angela Wright, Kimberly Wright, Grace Stewart6: thank you guys so much for the support!
Even though I was so relieved when Angela told me his tests looked fine, things took a turn for the worse yesterday. He was struggling so much to breathe through all the congestion that I had to call 911, and they rushed him over to Springfield Hospital. Grace Stewart6 was right, unfortunately...😠😠😠
Even though the results from February 4th (Springfield) and February 19th (during radiation) were great and the tumor was barely visible, it turns out it has spread significantly. They told us his condition is critical, and Dad is drifting in and out of consciousness because he's been coughing so hard...

All the medical techs were saying he needed an aspirator to clear out the mucus, but the doctor wouldn't even look at him or order the suction. In the end, we had to be the ones to step up and tell him it would be easier if they did it, and then he finally agreed. 😲

If it’s just a buildup of secretions, there's quite a bit you can do with certain physical therapy techniques—things like postural drainage, specific coughing exercises, or careful positioning. If those don't work, doctors use endotracheal suctioning (especially when a patient isn't fully conscious). It's something a technician, nurse, or therapist can handle in a minute without needing a special formal order every single time (depending on the hospital's protocol; where I trained, it's done based on clinical need). Doing that kind of thing at home is incredibly difficult.

I am so incredibly sorry you're going through this...

Arthur Wells97 said:I am also looking 😢 for any kind of information or insight...

Basically, my mother fell ill about three years ago and ended up in emergency surgery where they discovered colon cancer. She underwent two surgeries and completed chemotherapy, which she fought through successfully at the time. A year later, she had a PET scan that revealed metastases in seven different locations—including her ovaries, bones, lungs, and intestines. During subsequent exams, it was determined there was only one tumor on an ovary (though the PET scan actually misidentified which ovary it was), so they removed both the ovary and the uterus because it was a metastasis. She went through chemotherapy once again after that. We have been monitoring her blood work regularly, and her markers began to climb rapidly; they were at 27 one month, then jumped to 163 the next! When she received the results from her latest PET scan, it was a total shock: tumors were marked on her bones (specifically the vertebrae), a 39mm mass in her lungs (where they are questioning if the primary cancer has returned), and one in her liver.

She actually started a new round of chemo today (Avastin, FOLFOX, and platinum) and is feeling a bit better, considering she couldn't even stand up a few days ago. She is taking Tramadol for the pain and seems slightly more stable. The current medical plan is to prioritize chemo for the bone issues first, followed by surgery for the lung and liver masses. However, yesterday's blood tests showed her liver enzymes are perfectly normal—which feels completely nonsensical given the presence of metastases—and her other blood levels look as healthy as a newborn's.

Does anyone here have experience with something similar? I realize how grave this situation is, but I am searching for any glimmer of hope regarding recovery. Our whole family is devastated, and we would appreciate any guidance you can offer.

Please... Mom has already finished two rounds of chemo involving Avastin and platinum and is feeling improved, but I am desperate for shared experiences or advice.

Also, has anyone heard anything about the Budwig Clinic in Spain?