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Can Vitamin C Infusions Be Used Along With Chemotherapy ?
Question: An vitamin c infussions b used with chemotherpay ?
Brief Answer:
Sometimes
Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for your question.
Vitamin C infusions are being currently studies when used in combination with several chemotherapies to see if this combination can help increase the response of the chemotherapy agents to treating cancers and to reducing side effects. Vitamin C is an antioxidant and this may be helpful to patients undergoing stressful therapies like chemotherapy. It has been studied since the 1970s for treating various forms of cancer. Benefits of vitamin C in patients undergoing chemotherapy have been show to improve quality of life and decease side effects in some patients.
Here is a link where you can read more about this.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/highdosevitaminc/patient
Please feel free to contact me directly in future at
http://doctor.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-kathy-robinson/69109
Regards,
K.Robinson MD
Sometimes
Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for your question.
Vitamin C infusions are being currently studies when used in combination with several chemotherapies to see if this combination can help increase the response of the chemotherapy agents to treating cancers and to reducing side effects. Vitamin C is an antioxidant and this may be helpful to patients undergoing stressful therapies like chemotherapy. It has been studied since the 1970s for treating various forms of cancer. Benefits of vitamin C in patients undergoing chemotherapy have been show to improve quality of life and decease side effects in some patients.
Here is a link where you can read more about this.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/highdosevitaminc/patient
Please feel free to contact me directly in future at
http://doctor.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-kathy-robinson/69109
Regards,
K.Robinson MD
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thx the thing is my dad had stage 3 colon cancer .2013 surgery was done n tumor removed but then metastses appeared .
He has liver mets and some small petioneal ones . Irinotean failed as the mets still grew.
He started a new one - oxyplatin and raltitrexed
His cea was 65 before start of it
Cea jumped to 80 after round 1
Cea 55 after round 2
What can this mean . If the First chemo failed then this one may not too right
He has liver mets and some small petioneal ones . Irinotean failed as the mets still grew.
He started a new one - oxyplatin and raltitrexed
His cea was 65 before start of it
Cea jumped to 80 after round 1
Cea 55 after round 2
What can this mean . If the First chemo failed then this one may not too right
Brief Answer:
difficult to tell
Detailed Answer:
Hello and thanks for the follow up.
I am very sorry that your father is going through this.
Chemotherapy is an attempt to kill off the cancer cells without harming the rest of the body to any great extent. The oncologists know what chemotherapies tend to work for particular cancers, but responses are different for each person. If one chemotherapy fails then another can be tried. The fact that his CEA went down after the second round of the new chemotherapy is a good sign. There is no way to really predict his response. He just has to try the therapy and they can monitor his results. I sincerely hope that he responds to this second round of chem and get a full remission.
K.Robinson MD
difficult to tell
Detailed Answer:
Hello and thanks for the follow up.
I am very sorry that your father is going through this.
Chemotherapy is an attempt to kill off the cancer cells without harming the rest of the body to any great extent. The oncologists know what chemotherapies tend to work for particular cancers, but responses are different for each person. If one chemotherapy fails then another can be tried. The fact that his CEA went down after the second round of the new chemotherapy is a good sign. There is no way to really predict his response. He just has to try the therapy and they can monitor his results. I sincerely hope that he responds to this second round of chem and get a full remission.
K.Robinson MD
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
But with stage 4 can he get remission . He was initially stage 3, so now
Would be 4 right as he has mets ?
Is there any other reason y cea may have dropped by 15 percent ?
Would be 4 right as he has mets ?
Is there any other reason y cea may have dropped by 15 percent ?
Brief Answer:
yes there can be remission
Detailed Answer:
As you are aware, with metastases (stage 4) the chance of full remission is less. But if the chemo is effective then there is still a chance of complete remission. The chemo must be working to some extent. I can think of no other reason for the drop in CEA. It does not mean that it will continue to drop but it is definitely a hopeful sign.
Wishing him the best,
K. Robinson MD
yes there can be remission
Detailed Answer:
As you are aware, with metastases (stage 4) the chance of full remission is less. But if the chemo is effective then there is still a chance of complete remission. The chemo must be working to some extent. I can think of no other reason for the drop in CEA. It does not mean that it will continue to drop but it is definitely a hopeful sign.
Wishing him the best,
K. Robinson MD
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
If chemo was effective what is survival length like ?
Brief Answer:
depends
Detailed Answer:
If he goes into complete remission then then the next step is making sure there is no recurrence. If he has 5 and then 10 year survival without a recurrence then he will likely not have a recurrence. This is hard to predict, especially with aggressive cancers that have failed one chemotherapy treatment. These things are always hard to predict also because each patient is different and responds differently to chemotherapies. Some patients will go into remission but have a recurrence in a few years and other will go into remission and stay there until they eventually die of some other, unrelated cause.
Remember also that since colon cancer does run in families, it will be necessary for close family members to be screened with colonoscopies as advised by their doctors.
Try to help him stay as healthy as possible through this process by eating healthy foods, taking a multivitamin daily as well as extra vitamin C and fish oil and exercising as tolerated. Drinking plenty of water is also helpful to help flush out the toxins.
Regards,
Dr. Robinson
depends
Detailed Answer:
If he goes into complete remission then then the next step is making sure there is no recurrence. If he has 5 and then 10 year survival without a recurrence then he will likely not have a recurrence. This is hard to predict, especially with aggressive cancers that have failed one chemotherapy treatment. These things are always hard to predict also because each patient is different and responds differently to chemotherapies. Some patients will go into remission but have a recurrence in a few years and other will go into remission and stay there until they eventually die of some other, unrelated cause.
Remember also that since colon cancer does run in families, it will be necessary for close family members to be screened with colonoscopies as advised by their doctors.
Try to help him stay as healthy as possible through this process by eating healthy foods, taking a multivitamin daily as well as extra vitamin C and fish oil and exercising as tolerated. Drinking plenty of water is also helpful to help flush out the toxins.
Regards,
Dr. Robinson
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Ok great . Yes he does not drink water Much and appetite is poor since chemo .
So u think a drop of 10 points is little ?
Also on his third infussion this week he had bad arm pain during infusion so they didn't complete the full dose ( they left the remainder half hour which was left ) so may it not work this time ?
So u think a drop of 10 points is little ?
Also on his third infussion this week he had bad arm pain during infusion so they didn't complete the full dose ( they left the remainder half hour which was left ) so may it not work this time ?
Brief Answer:
any drop of CEA is a good sign
Detailed Answer:
Any decrease in the CEA is a really good sign. With metastases you would expect a rapid increase in the CEA so a drop is great. Yes, it is very encouraging and hopefully with each treatment he will get a better response.
Occasionally they do have to stop an infusion due to arm pain or some other cause. This does not mean it will not work in the future. They just have to be cautious not to damage the veins. Sometimes they have to install a central line for chemo if this problem recurs.
I know that this is hard, but be patient and try to remain hopeful. There is always hope of complete remission
Encourage him to drink more water and when he does eat make sure it is healthy food and not junk food.
Regards,
K Robinson MD
any drop of CEA is a good sign
Detailed Answer:
Any decrease in the CEA is a really good sign. With metastases you would expect a rapid increase in the CEA so a drop is great. Yes, it is very encouraging and hopefully with each treatment he will get a better response.
Occasionally they do have to stop an infusion due to arm pain or some other cause. This does not mean it will not work in the future. They just have to be cautious not to damage the veins. Sometimes they have to install a central line for chemo if this problem recurs.
I know that this is hard, but be patient and try to remain hopeful. There is always hope of complete remission
Encourage him to drink more water and when he does eat make sure it is healthy food and not junk food.
Regards,
K Robinson MD
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Ur right the cea was 12 in December and in march it was 65.
During that time there was no chemo .
But why after 1 round did it go to 80?
During that time there was no chemo .
But why after 1 round did it go to 80?
Brief Answer:
first round slowed it down
Detailed Answer:
It is likely that the first round of chemo just slowed down the rapid growth but did not stop it completely. After that it hopefully will keep getting lower.
Regards,
K. Robinson
first round slowed it down
Detailed Answer:
It is likely that the first round of chemo just slowed down the rapid growth but did not stop it completely. After that it hopefully will keep getting lower.
Regards,
K. Robinson
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Ok I see
But the decrease from
65 to 55 is not much is it?
I suppose you would not count it from 80 to 55 right ?
But the decrease from
65 to 55 is not much is it?
I suppose you would not count it from 80 to 55 right ?
Brief Answer:
Trends are important
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
The actual numbers are not as important as the trends. That is why it is important even when there is a rise that the rate of rise slows down. It is good that he has had a decrease in the number. We just all need to hope the numbers continued to decrease over time and with the treatments. It is really more about trends over time than analyzing individual numbers. Try not to get sidetracked by analyzing the numbers, just be hopeful that the numbers continue to do decrease over time and with his treatments.
Wishing you the best
Dr. Robinson
Trends are important
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
The actual numbers are not as important as the trends. That is why it is important even when there is a rise that the rate of rise slows down. It is good that he has had a decrease in the number. We just all need to hope the numbers continued to decrease over time and with the treatments. It is really more about trends over time than analyzing individual numbers. Try not to get sidetracked by analyzing the numbers, just be hopeful that the numbers continue to do decrease over time and with his treatments.
Wishing you the best
Dr. Robinson
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thx for ur advice . If it did work then could survival b few years ?
Brief Answer:
yes
Detailed Answer:
If chemo works then survival for at least a few years can be expected
Regards,
Dr. Robinson
yes
Detailed Answer:
If chemo works then survival for at least a few years can be expected
Regards,
Dr. Robinson
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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