Surviving against the odds

My name is Susan and I was diagnosed 18 months ago. I had had colon cancer nine years ago and due to complications from scar tissue in my colon, frequently had to go to the ER with bowel obstructions where the obstruction would usually resolve within a couple of days after having an Nasal Gastic tube inserted. In November of 2010, I went in and after they inserted the NG tube I was sent for an X-ray to confirm that the tube was all the way down into my stomach. The X-ray reveal dilated blood vessels in my liver. Further testing confirmed a tumor in the crux of the portal vein. I had surgery where the right lobe was removed entirely but they were unable to get clear margins because it was lodged against the portal vein and they couldn’t compromise the blood supply to the remaining left lobe. Following surgery I had four months of chemotherapy; gemcitibine and cisplatin. After chemo, I had six weeks of chemo-radiation; 5 days a week and wore a portable chemo pump with 5 FU. I tolerated everything very well; no hair loss, minimal nausea, etc. I am happy to report that my 6 month post treatment CT was clear and I am feeling 100%, back to doing all the things I love to do; gardening, tennis, and raising my three beautiful children. Just wanted to share this happy story to give any newly diagnosed patients hope.