Hi, there.  I'm brand new to the forum.  My 63 year old dad was diagnosed with colon cancer last October.  He had the tumour removed in December.  After they did the biopsy, they said it was a rare and aggressive form of cancer and they highly recommended he have surgery to remove a portion of his colon as they saw some abnormalities in the lymph nodes as well.  So, he went in for the surgery in January.  They didn't go through with the surgery though as, when they opened him up, they saw that both lobes of his liver were completely covered.  The surgeon said it could not be removed and indicated the oncologist likely wouldn't treat it either.  He said he likely only had a few months to live.  He still felt great though.  According to him, he felt better than he had in decades.

About a two weeks later, we met with the oncologist.  I barely recognized my dad.  I had seen him the week before and he looked fine, but that day he could barely walk or talk and looked extremely fragile.  He also looked like he had dropped at least 30lbs.  I honestly thought he wouldn't last the week.  Anyway, the oncologist decided to try for seven rounds of chemo and said if it worked, he may have around six months to live.  I don't remember what it was called, but it had us in the clinic for eight hours every three weeks.  I picked him up for the first session less than a week after he looked to be on death's door and he looked great again.  He had energy, he was carrying on conversations.  He really looked like his old self aside from the weight loss.  

He actually ended up going through eight rounds of chemo and didn't really have any side effects through it at all.  The cancer was stable and his blood tests were good.  After the eighth, he met with a different oncologist as his was off that week.  This guy cancelled the next round and said they'd consider what to do next when his original oncologist returned.  It ended up being over a month before he saw him.  I saw my dad the week before the appointment and he looked good.  The day of the appointment he could barely walk, he wasn't even aware of what month it was and his skin was yellow.  The oncologist confirmed that the cancer was spreading and growing again.  He also indicated, as I expected, that my dad's liver was shutting down and listed off a large amount of things I've never even heard of that were out of balance on the blood tests.  He suggested a strictly oral form of chemotherapy, but he was very clear that it had almost no chance of working.  He suggested that my dad try the pills, but immediately stop if he felt sick from them.  He also said my dad had weeks to live.  If the new chemo treatment actually worked, he said he might have up to two months.

Within days after he started treatment, he was looking a bit better.  He was still somewhat confused and very weak.  I had to help him up from the couch sometimes and he didn't seem to be able to stay awake for more than an hour at a time.  He even took a fall getting out of bed which led to a nasty cut and bruise on his nose and mouth.  That went on for three weeks.  Then, I saw him last weekend and he looked great.  His skin wasn't yellow, he was wide awake and looked strong and there was no apparent confusion.  He was walking a bit gingerly though, so I asked him about it.  He said that he was just a bit stiff because he was doing kitchen renovations the day before in addition to cleaning his whole house and mowing the front and back lawns.  The man that could barely get out of his chair and only had weeks to live had more energy and looked better than I do!

I talked to him again yesterday and he sounded a bit weak, but still very aware.  I'll be seeing him tomorrow for the results of four weeks worth of blood tests.  I'm finding myself being somewhat hopeful for the first time in a long time.  I know the chances of him actually getting a significant amount of time are likely astronomical, but he just seems to be doing so well.  He says that he feels better than he has in several months too.

So, now that I've given all the background, I'd like to ask a question.  Has anyone out there been through this or had a family member or friend in a similar situation?  In all the internet "research" I've done, I can't find any cases of people having such large swings in such short periods of time.  I also can't find anything regarding someone given so little time to all of a sudden get a huge amount of energy.  He said the only thing bothering him now is his legs.  He says they're pretty sore, but I'm assuming that' s due to all the work he's done this week.  I'm just at a complete loss.  I'm very happy that he's feeling so good now, but I don't know what to expect anymore.  Is this something that happens right before a quick decline?  Is this indicative of someone who's starting to win the fight?  Any answers or stories would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.

Paul