searching for answers to metastatic breast cancer

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  • cats_love_me
    cats_love_me Member Posts: 109
    edited January 2008

    As a try for alternative therapy, can you try acupuncture?  I don't know if its offered in india?    My mom has BC.  I have used accupuncture for back pain after a car accident, besides helping w/ pain its great for relaxing, and de-stressing. 

    Haven't been able to get mom to the accupuncturist since she lives 3 hours away, and doesn't travel.

    Keep fighting!!

    Connie

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  • fouzia
    fouzia Member Posts: 10
    edited February 2008

    HI everybody,

    I have some bad news and good news. 2 weeks after my LP injections i developed a weakness in my right eye lid and slowly it just closed down. NOw i am not able to lift the lid. I have sight if I can lift it manually, but otherwise it remains closed. My oncologist did a ct scan and found that my earlier brain  changes have increased and he wants me to start xeloda. Meanwhile I got an infection in my left eye and could not open it also. I became very depressed and upset. THen my herbal doctor came to see me and he gave me some steam inhalations and herbs mixed with mothers milk to be applied in the eye. Now my left eye is fully ok and my right eyelid has started moving a bit. He is quite confident he can make me ok. So as of now I have decided not to start xeloda. I have been on chemo and radition continiulsy for the past one and half years and i think i need to take a break. I have confiedence in this man and after 6 months of living on pain killers 3 times a day,now for the past one month i have been living wihout any pain killers. And health wise i feel much better. I have lost all my edema i had with the steroids. Looking much better and except for my eye feeling better.Please pray for me and pray that i have made the right decision. My daughter is coming down on monday to take care of me. She still hopes to take me back with her when she goes to singapore. May be If God wills.  

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  • Maya1
    Maya1 Member Posts: 390
    edited February 2008

    Hi Fouzia,

    I respect your decision to take a chemo break and continue with the herbal treatments.  But Xeloda is not like the IV chemos.  I found that it was not as hard on my system.  My WBCs were always good, chemo was never postponed and there was no nausea.  My hands and feet got red and dry but overall the side effects were tolerable. 

    I will pray for you and wish you well with your decision. 

    Bernice

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2008

    This was spam...

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2008

    This was spam...

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2008

    This was spam...

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  • Rebecca
    Rebecca Member Posts: 971
    edited February 2008

    Anybody looking for legitimate answers regarding treatment should avoid these posts.  This is a TROLL.

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  • luckywife
    luckywife Member Posts: 427
    edited February 2008

    Hi Fouzia,

    It is good to hear from you again. I always look for your posts as I too have the same diagnosis and have gone through 8 biweekly treatments of methotextrate via omaya port (instead of LP). The last two were harder but seem to have survived okay. My hearing is very bad now and one eye seems to not close (opposite of what is happening to you I think) unless I manually close it. I have to tape it shut with ointment in it so it doesn't dry out. My leg seems to be getting a bit stronger but not much noticable yet.

    I too am getting tired as I am also having a lot of pain in my back and can't seem to find any position (particularly lying on the back) comfortable for more than 15 minutes. I will have some scans MRI done next week to see how successful the treatment has been but in my mind I am thinking what good is a paper result if my symptoms don't reverse to give me my hearing, eyesight, walking back. Of course it is hard to keep up with the positive thoughts when you are in pain and bed-ridden. I try and pull myself up. This board has been helpful too.

    I see that you are finding some comfort in your herbal doctor's support and medicine. You are also probably finding a lot of excitement in your daughter's arrival. I wish you the best of recovery with all these new things happening. Do keep us posted. I am in particular very interested in keeping in touch as we share such a rare dx and treatment.

    Do take care. I hope that eye infection is now under control. I too am seeing an optholmologist next Monday.

    -luckywife

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  • fjmtdm
    fjmtdm Member Posts: 10
    edited May 2008

    OMG I am so sorry that you are going through all of this Fouzia.......I initially came on this site because I found out one of my aunts has breast cancer.  I did a search and somehow came to Fouzias story.  I lost my 5 year old son in 2004 to a brain tumor.  I was quite differen't for me since he was diagnosed one day and 2 days later had brain surgery was in a medicated coma for 3 weeks and his little body couldn't handle all this and we lost him almost 4 weeks later.  So I didn't get the chance to understand chemo or radiation or any of that.  I guess in a way I am thankful he didn't have to go through all of this pain, but I can't help that selfish part of me missing him everyday!!!!!  Fouzia please stay strong!!!  Your family needs you!! You are so right about prayers helping more than chemo.  Pray pray pray, god is with you everywhere you go and he knows what's best, no one and I mean no one can heal you if god wants you with him, and no one can take your life away if god wants you here, no one is stronger than him!!!!!  Put all your trust and love in him and what needs to be done will be done.  I will pray for you, and you must keep your head up high for you are one of the strongest ladies I know!!!! God bless you!!  (HUGS)

    Joelle

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  • CTNlaw
    CTNlaw Member Posts: 3
    edited July 2008

    Dear LuAnn and Luckywife:

    Thank you both for your responses and advice.  My cousin just underwent another bout of treatment at Emory and she is back home but feeling very weak and apparently the symptoms this time are swelling on the left side or perhaps bloatiness.  I was informed by her sister who has been caring for her that they have increased her dosages of pain medication which is a concern.  She appeared to be getting a little stronger and eating better before this treatment last week.  Each treatment seems to set her back and cause different side affects, such as loss of vision, seizures, etc.  She also has trouble walking which we are not certain as to whether that may be caused by metasis or something else. The question now is to determine whether the chemo treatments are helping any?  Or are they hurting?  Also, the need for so many pain medications and the high dosages lead me to believe that the Chemo may not necessarily be eradicating the cancer.  I will definitely check out the cites that you both mentioned and thank you.  Please keep her in your prayers. 

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