Expert: Claes-Gustaf Nordquist, M.D. - 6/11/2007

Question
QUESTION: My dad was tested all week last week and still we have no answers. He had a colonoscopy on Monday and had several polyps removed along with 2 tumors, one in which the Dr said wasin an  advanced stage. He also said he has several tumors on his liver. What does stage 8 mean and how are the stages classified?

ANSWER: There is no stage 8! The highest (and worst) you can have is stage 4. If indeed he has cancer in his large bowel (colon) and that has in fact spread to his liver then he is a stage 4 because it has spread to another more distant organ (probably via the blood stream) and it has then probably also spread elsewhere even if not detected - perhaps not even detectable - yet. That means that it is in that case not curable any longer but the process can still hopefully be postponed to some extent mainly with chemo therapy maybe also with some surgery. Please do keep me posted!

Thanks! There are a lot of myths surrounding cancer! This is one of them!


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QUESTION:  well its worse than we expected. its liver cancer. they told him he may have 6 weeks or maybe 6 months. i know this isnt good. i have a friend whose grandmother had liver cancer and from the diagnosis to the day she took her last breath was 22 days. What is the best way to keep him comfortable and help him live the highest quality of life to be expected? I know its only a matter of time now, and not much of it

Answer
Is it primary liver cancer or is it colon cancer that has spread to his liver? Important distinction & difference! With a primary liver cancer his survival time will indeed be short - a couple or a few weeks or so. With a colon cancer that has spread it is different. It is still incurable and his survival time will still be short but not THAT short. Probably it can be measured in months. With chemo therapy perhaps even longer.  In both cases however there will be problems both from the illness and perhaps from chemo therapy (side effects). Nausea, vomiting, jaundice etc. can be expected. Difficult to make anyone comfortable with that. Whatever symptoms he develops those have to be countered by symptomatic therapy in cooperation with his dr.!