Different Opinions Re: Resectability
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I have been told that it is not good to resect if you have it in more than one location since if you resect one area, the other area will still be there. I had the same dilemma and decided not to have surgery. Chemo and radiation have shrunk the liver tumor but I also have in my abdominal lining.
Hello,
I don’t want to discourage you from a resection if that can help, but in our case it wasn’t wise. We were told by the Mayo Clinic that a resection could not be done – for all the reasons you gave (there were lymph nodes affected in my Husband’s case, however – at least one lymph node). We continued on and the surgery was performed on Jul 15 at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. A tumor that we belived to be 8 CC was 17 CC in the right lobe at the time of the operation, and showed up in the left lobe a month or two later. My husband was 66, and never recovered from the surgery – he had three serious infections, etc. He passed away in early October. Now – this is not to say that your Mom should NOT have the resection, just to say the decision should be very carefully made. The U. Of Pittsburgh knows livers well – liver transplants started there – as well as does the Mayo Clinic, so we made the decision to move ahead – it is my believe that the surgery “grew” the cancer, as well as the regeneration of the liver. I hope this will help you, and wish you the best as you make this very difficult desicion.Joyce C.
Hello and welcome to our site. You are bringing up an interesting question one that my family had to find answers for, also. We had solicited several opinions and consequently ruled out those physicians with the least amount of experience regarding a resection due to Cholangiocarcinoma. You might want to gather all medical records including, scans, blood tests, physicians
I was told that I could not have surgery if they could not get it all. That once you have surgery, your body starts to regenerate the liver at a fast pace and that includes cancer cells.
Kris
My mom was diagnosed with cc about two weeks ago. She is 62 years old and in good health. She has a large tumor (17cm) located in the right lobe of her liver and a few other small tumors. She was told by two liver surgeons at her local hospital that they could perform the surgery even though they suspected the cancer had spread slightly into the left lobe as well. We were subsequently told by MDAnderson that the tumor was not resectable due to it being in both lobes and possibly involving some blood vessels. It does not appear that the cancer has spread beyond her liver. They are recommending chemo to try to shrink the tumor, then consider resection or radiation. Needless to say, or family is torn with this decision of whether to go with the recommendation of the the highly acclaimed MDA or take a chance at resection with a surgeon willing to do the surgery.
Anyone faced this decision or have any thoughts based on your experience?
Thanks.
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