My brother inlaw has been diagnosed with liver cancer , he is one of us and been clean for 20 something years. He's a Hep C carrier also just had a treatment about 2 years ago that cleared up the very active C and now this 80% of the liver is filled with cancer and it's going to take a miracle and good medicine to get him some time.
Him and my Sister had a baby girl about 2 years ago and he's the best damn Dad and husband and is a brother to me we are all so sad in this family right now .
So if you can just say a hopeful prayer and have a good thought passed his way I would really appreciate the positive energy going his way, we love him so much this is just devastating.
Prayers said BigV. That hits close to home. My 20 is just around corner and I've known about my hep C since year 1. I've been very fortunate that my disease is mostly inactive (no symptoms) and I've not treated it because the treatment is worse than my disease. I've been waiting for an easier treatment that has a higher success rate. I so sorry about your brother. Is he on a transplant waiting list?
This came as a total surprise and shock he's not on a list . HE started feeling bad a few weeks ago thought he was having a heart attach but it was his swollen fatty liver then they ran more test then a biopsy a few days ago and that's when they found it, so I am thinking that it can be silently growing . I haven't been checked out in about 4 years never had a biospy but this might be a good time.
So we'll see he has this program to rely on and he has a LOT of friends in the program that are going to be right there for him and our family we all love him we'll see him through.
My Prayers for health and well being to your brother in law Vin,,, this hep.c is a disease that strikes many addicts, me included. Im not suyre where mine came from but last year id got a shock to learn it was in my system. Ive been offered a six month treatment, with an injection a week plus tablets eveyday.
You say the treatment is worse than the diseae Dean,, what does that mean , can i ask ?
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Raman an addict clean and serene just for today in NA Worldwide ; live to love and love to live the NA Way !!!
hey Raman, It's chemotherapy. What they offered you is peckelated interferron (the injections) and ribovirian pills. These kill the virus but also kill your liver in the process. You liver regenerates but in during the treatment you feel very sick. It's better than it used to be. People on that treatment were on it for a year and took shots daily. Now you take the shots on friday and are sick for 3 days (the weekend). I've heard that it feels like the flu with all the symptoms of advanced hepetitis like abdominal pain, pain in the joints, fatigue, headaches....
I was involved in a study at NIH in '92 when they were testing ribovirian. I took the pills for 9 months and got the above symptoms. I didn't have stomach pain but I did have lethargy, apathy, irritability, dizzyness, and headaches. I had a hard time working building decks, and I was taking care of my father at that time who'd had a severe stroke.
I'm sure that everyone responds differently to the drugs and it's doable. If your form of disease is agressive and you are experiencing symptoms, then you should consider doing it. Last that I heard 50% of those that did the treatment were cured.
-- Edited by DeanC on Friday 19th of June 2009 05:39:31 AM
Things are just to slow his doctor isn't even returning emails or phone calls in the last few days to my sister I am trying to get her some other leads for help the oncologist who is to start his chemo is on vacation wont be back till 29th I can't even believe this every day wasted doing nothing is a day this will spread taking away maybe months of life .....
Prayers and more prayers, Vin. Glad chemo is offered and hope you can light a fire under the health care providers involved...the waiting must be excruciating. Care delayed is care denied unless there is a medically sound reason offered as to why the 29th is soon enough...but someone certainly should be responsive to your sister NOW.
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From dying and surviving to living and thriving. LeeU
Leaving tomorrow for a few days to visit them today they got bad news 3 weeks, yesterday they saw another doctor who gave them some hope and a prescription for a pill that is helping 40% of the people , its $300 a pill and his insurance doesn't cover it and the doc today said that it could have an adverse reaction and speed things up even more if he takes it, at a loss here, he isn't well very sick can't hold down food our hearts are breaking.
Life on life's terms is a $itch at times.
Keep praying every one , thanks you
-- Edited by BigV on Friday 26th of June 2009 11:11:03 PM
Restless night sleeping much to much rolling through my head, worry and fear for my family members.
Had to look up some things to know what to expect and the stages of progress, my sister will have to get hospice to come help her and him , very soon I feel.
I am afraid my girlfirend is afraid to she is very afraid but I am going to be ok and will help her in that experience we are going together on the train then sis is picking us up.
One thing about my brother in law is his sweetness and gentleness I have seen this in only a few men I have known, he is such the opposite of my sister LOL quiet and unreactive , easy going and soft spoken I don't know how he has put up with my sister HAH.
At least this writing has made me laugh and stop weeping.
I will be back monday to update on our trip and how things went and are going, thanks family for being here.
I spent some time with him this weekend and he was not well extremely jaundiced nearly and orange color, he is very weak and tired and irritable. Not a lot of pain yet just sick he's already so different in charecter becuase he's just not feeling well, understandably.
He is going to get the medication and try it , many things can go wrong and the side effects are a page long, its his only medical chance he has right now so there going to try.
Beyond that theres hope and faith and turning it over to a God.
Hi Big V your brother inlaw sounds like an amazing man and I can tell how much you care for him. So sorry to hear all this going on in your family. I have you all in my prayers. For those of you that mentioned you have Hep C I just had 2 friends that had it in there systems for 20 years neither was really sick just tried easily. They both took the treatments this year and both of them became hep c free.
that's good news but you're not consider "cured" until 5 years afterward. One of these days I may treat mine. It's just being A-symptomatic, the "cure" is worse than the disease. Those chemicals are toxic and do some damage in the process of killing the virus. Not looking forward to 9 months of feeling like crap every weekend. I'm lucky I have a choice today.
Yes going to get looked at with mine soon as I find some place that will help me since i dont have medical insurance I fatigue out real quik these days gets worse every year.
He is deteriorating, edema in his stomach is making him uncomfortable and he will be having it drained soon, BUT he is getting into Stanford University on Monday so we are hopeful.
Welp its worse today had to be taken to ER and given methadone for pain and anti biotics for an infection, hospice will be called to help soon also, turning it over and over and over to God.
Sorry BigV, that's not a pretty sight. But it is what's waiting for us if we don't take care of our diseases, and it might be even if we do. All we can do it the next right thing.
Doctor gave him 2 days maybe to live his kidneys are shutting down I am not sure what to do a lot of family and friends will be there to see him, I want to go give him one last hug may go up tomorrow then we have to face laying him to rest, our heart's are broken i cant stop crying since my sister told me just a few hours ago.
Thanks for praying everyone he's leaving behind a miracle baby and he was a miracle in my sisters life and all of our lives and he beat a long time drug addiction all these years not using and now they have him back on it that's the fukd part the whole damn deal is fukd. He had a miraculous life entertaining others he was in a lot of big screen movies did many plays in the city and recently in the last few years taught acting, he touched many hearts including mine, he's my Hero....
I talked with Louis on the phone a bit ago he is surrounded by family and friends all evening he even got up and took a walk up the hall and back.
He is at peace with this and with his life and I have to tell you all, 27 years ago Louis got clean in NA. He said he would not have had the blessed life that he had without being clean and it was in his words " A GOOD RUN" , he's so damn kewl even up to the last days of living I wish he wasn't going so soon, I wish I had spent more time with him now and gone fishing on the surf and taken him dredging with me so he could find gold, I wish wish wish, but I have many good memory's and told him he will be with us all forever then he cried and I told him not to worry that my sister his wife and my neice his daughter will be watched over by all of us here and we will take care of them for him, that was his only worry about all of this .
Sorry to hear that BigV, It must be tough. Prayers for you and your family. don't sweat the drugs that they are giving him to kill the pain. That's their intended purpose and he needs them. It's a painful way to go, but it sounds like he was spared a lot of it, from what I've heard others go through. Sad.
He has passed away, thank you all for your prayers he is at peace and was at peace at the time, he is now with spirits but will always be here amongst us.
I had a dream last night that I was with Louis, he handed me an empty bottle of pain pills and smiled at me and went to a bed and layed down and I remember thinking to myself should I tell someone and then I was told not to and to let him go peacefully.
-- Edited by BigV on Thursday 9th of July 2009 10:10:16 AM
