{"id":2231,"date":"2017-08-02T00:51:34","date_gmt":"2017-08-02T00:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cancerhopenetwork.org\/?p=2231"},"modified":"2023-11-16T16:20:54","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T21:20:54","slug":"tips-from-a-stage-iv-survivor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/tips-from-a-stage-iv-survivor\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips from a Stage IV survivor","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

For more than 40 years, Cancer Hope Network has been connecting cancer survivors with patients facing their own diagnosis. While our Support Volunteers will never recommend a specific doctor or treatment, they will share their personal experiences. Our volunteers’ knowledge, earned in infusion and recovery rooms across the nation, can provide helpful tips for patients and caregivers dealing with cancer. (Request a free and confidential peer match<\/a>.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today, we’re pleased to share Phil’s suggestions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Five years after he lost his beloved wife to colon cancer, Phil got a diagnosis of his own.
Stage IV colon cancer.<\/p>\n

After his diagnosis, Phil called Cancer Hope Network and was matched with Norm. \u201cIt was encouraging just to know that Norm is also a survivor. After chemotherapy alone failed for him, he and his doctor added a second drug, a combination that worked. Knowing his treatment story gave me the information to speak to my doctor about options for my own treatment and we elected to begin my treatments using ‘both’ from the beginning of chemo treatment.”<\/p>\n

Always a healthy person, Phil\u2019s diagnosis was a call to arms, where he\u2019s focused on preventive measures and getting to\/staying in remission long enough for researchers to make the new strides in immunotherapy.<\/p>\n

Today, at 73, he was recently declared in remission.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a tendency to want to fix the world,\u201d he admits. \u201cI spent 12 years as a quality officer, looking for the root causes of problems and how to fix them. Simultaneous occurrence of multiple defects causes disaster. It\u2019s not just one thing going wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Request a peer support match<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

After a low white blood count delayed his treatment, he began applying his quality strategy to the fight with colon cancer. He has the missionary zeal of a patient who\u2019s found a treatment that works for him and detailed plans any engineer would be proud to call their own.<\/p>\n

He plays tennis three times a week, takes walks on the beach with his fianc\u00e9 and takes the occasional bike ride. Despite seven cycles of chemotherapy, his white blood cell count is the highest it\u2019s ever been \u2013 something he credits to a dietitian provided by a local cancer screening company.<\/p>\n

NOTE: Cancer Hope Network does not recommend treatments or physicians. We share Phil\u2019s suggestions for your information and to encourage conversation with your care team. You should always speak your doctor before making dietary or exercise changes.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Phil\u2019s Patient Tips from a Stage 4 Cancer Patient In Remission.<\/strong>
Surgery and Chemo are medical treatments for stage 4 cancer, but patients must also do everything they can do win their cancer fight.\u00a0 My \u201cPatient Goal\u201d is to do what is necessary to avoid delays in treatment and avoid anything that could interfere with treatment.\u00a0\u00a0 Here are tips that have helped me meet that goal.<\/p>\n

White Blood Count (WBC)<\/u><\/strong>
It is key to keep WBC up to avoid infection and to avoid delayed chemo treatments.
Protein requirement\u00a0 \u2013 1 gram protein for every kilogram of weight, + 20 grams while undergoing Chemo.<\/p>\n

For me, a 185 lb man, I require about 100 grams of protein per day while on Chemo; but I was only getting about 30 grams per day. After failing my first white blood count test and having my chemo treatment delayed, I had to significantly change my diet \u2013 see below for my high protein diet.\u00a0 While on this diet I did not fail another white blood count test and was able to get chemo treatments on schedule.
WBC can be \u201creduced\u201d by:<\/u><\/p>\n