Hi all,

Some of you have seen my posts before and know a little about my
situation.  For you and anyone else interested, here's a few more
details on my medical history and current status.

I was dx with rectal CA with mets to the liver @ 38 yo.  I had
radiation w/ 5FU/leucovorin prior to surgery to remove the rectal
mass.  After some trouble and a number of weeks in the hospital I came
out with what has turned out to be a permanent colostomy.

After this surgery I started treatment with irinotecan w/
5FU/leucovorin for a while and had good results but eventually
progression of the one largest tumor in the liver.  This tumor has
turned out to be more-or-less a measuring stick of how the treatments
have been working.

This was followed with implant of a liver infusion pump and continuous
IV treatment with FUDR combined with oral Zeloda.  At the time of the
surgery for the pump implant, there was intent to remove some liver
tumors with cryoablation.  As it turned out this was not possible, but
I believe there may have been a surgical attempt to improve the liver
situation as best as possible otherwise.  Again, results were pretty
good with the FUDR/Zeloda but eventually there was progression in the
liver.

Next up was oxaliplatin with 5FU/leucovorin.  This went so-so but
eventually stopped producing a response.  The oxaliplatin, of all the
treatments up to this point, gave me the most trouble, specifically
with neuropathy and sensitivity to cold.  This has cleared up now for
the most part.

I tried for an erbitux trial but was excluded due to testing EGFR
negative.  At about this time a scan was done that showed apparent
mets to a lung.  Hence I started treatment with Iressa.  Surprisingly,
this seemed to hold the _liver_ tumor stable for a few months but
there has now been progression there.  Effect on the lung is not clear
at the moment.

I've just started treatment with Avastin and will have my second dose
of Avastin/third treatment week in a couple of days.  So far there
have been no apparent side effects to speak of except
fatigue/tiredness.  I am continuing with the Iressa for now also.  The
"yardstick" tumor is now at ~10 cm as of end of March.  All things
considered, quality of life at this point (42 yo) is not too shabby.
Next CT scan will probably be end of May to mid-June.

Best wishes and God Bless to all who are dealing with cancer in one
form or another.

Holden