Hello - 04-27-2007 11:12 PM
Hello,
My name is Michelle and my Dad has stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the pharynx with lymph node involvement. I am ..... sad. I am hopeful.... I am scared.
He was diagnosed at the end of January. He has received three courses of "TPF Treatment". As I understand it, this is a relatively new combination of chemotherapy drugs developed at Dana Farber that has shown promising results. He is scheduled for his fourth and final round of the TPF treatment in about a week and a half. The treatments have been administered by IV every 21 days and last for 6 days each. My dad has experienced some real and significant improvement from the treatments in terms of swallowing and speech. Before the treatment you could hear the obstruction in his throat in his speech. This is no longer so. He has however, suffered from exhaustion and weakness throughout the process. I understand that this is to be expected.
The next step is radiation in conjunction with chemotherapy. To date my Dad has undertaken his therapy with a very positive attitude, which is great. He does, however, seem fairly leary of the radiation.
I was at an appointment with him and his oncologist recently. The doctor said that my dad's cancer is advanced and agressive and that he is treating him to control rather than cure the cancer. This was the first time that I had heard this information. We requested a CAT scan to gauge how effective the treatment has been. The doctor agreed to give him a CAT scan after the forth round of chemo but he asked "What if the scan shows little or no impovement or if it shows metastesis?" I was pretty floored. I had assumed that this "new and aggressive" treatment would promise some definitive results. I know each individual is different, but....
I have been reading posts here for the last few months and have found them very helpful. I guess I am looking to find out if anyone else is familiar with the treatment my dad is getting or if anyone else has had a similar diagnosis and course of treatment. Any advice?
Thank you,
Michelle
My name is Michelle and my Dad has stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the pharynx with lymph node involvement. I am ..... sad. I am hopeful.... I am scared.
He was diagnosed at the end of January. He has received three courses of "TPF Treatment". As I understand it, this is a relatively new combination of chemotherapy drugs developed at Dana Farber that has shown promising results. He is scheduled for his fourth and final round of the TPF treatment in about a week and a half. The treatments have been administered by IV every 21 days and last for 6 days each. My dad has experienced some real and significant improvement from the treatments in terms of swallowing and speech. Before the treatment you could hear the obstruction in his throat in his speech. This is no longer so. He has however, suffered from exhaustion and weakness throughout the process. I understand that this is to be expected.
The next step is radiation in conjunction with chemotherapy. To date my Dad has undertaken his therapy with a very positive attitude, which is great. He does, however, seem fairly leary of the radiation.
I was at an appointment with him and his oncologist recently. The doctor said that my dad's cancer is advanced and agressive and that he is treating him to control rather than cure the cancer. This was the first time that I had heard this information. We requested a CAT scan to gauge how effective the treatment has been. The doctor agreed to give him a CAT scan after the forth round of chemo but he asked "What if the scan shows little or no impovement or if it shows metastesis?" I was pretty floored. I had assumed that this "new and aggressive" treatment would promise some definitive results. I know each individual is different, but....
I have been reading posts here for the last few months and have found them very helpful. I guess I am looking to find out if anyone else is familiar with the treatment my dad is getting or if anyone else has had a similar diagnosis and course of treatment. Any advice?
Thank you,
Michelle