Does anyone dare answer this question. Honestly? Sensitive Question.

You are asking the same questions I have wanted to know, but didn’t have the spunk like you do

So a couple of people said there surgeries were aborted, was this when they got in or before the procedure even started.

Just a refresher is my husband is scheduled Aug 20th, just trying to know what to expect could possibly happen.

One thing that Dr. Javle told us is he has had patients live for a long time with this cancer. When I ask Dr. Vautheys PA about prognosis he said there isn’t enough data to answer my questions. Which mine was concering after the surgery. It so frustrating but I will never give up with my hubby surgery or not we are going to kick some cc butt!!!

Hi thebombpie4,

I love your honesty. You have asked what I was desperate to when my sister was diagnosed but didn’t have the nerve. I only found this site several weeks after her diagnosis and one week before her (aborted) resection.

Doreen,
While I am not cured, I have been living with this for 2 1/2 years. I have almost never been sick. The only complications I have had are from chemo and/or procedures we tried.
I have been through different chemos, radiation… No chance of surgery. There was a brief time I had a resection scheduled, but the chance got taken away.
BUT I am living with this. I am in a Phase I clinical trial using an inhibitor drug. After 3 cycles, the disease is still stable. No new growth. And no major side effects.
So, while I am not cured, I am not sick, either. And that’s after 2 1/2 years. Stage IV since diagnosis.

Hi Dorien,

I think all doctors have their own way of thinking. Why can some have transplants? Lauren’s doctor said she could never have a transplant. We were told at first that she could never have surgery too. She had one large tumor on one side and a few small ones on the other. They never could tell if she had lymph node involvement for sure. She had a few suspicious ones that were swollen. She had the gamut of chemo which helped her large tumor shrink a lot and Theraspheres, which they didn’t think worked. We later found out that it or chemo had worked on the smaller tumors because they were both dead. Her large tumor had shrunk a bunch and was mostly dead as well. Her surgeon was always hopeful and came to us one day and told us if we wanted to try surgery, now was the window of opportunity. He tried a surgery that had been done in South America and had been successful where they cut the liver in half, left both sides in, which was supposed to make the good side grow faster. She was to have the second surgery 10 days later, but the good side hadn’t grown enough, so he waited for 6 weeks. The surgery went ok, but different things beyond their control happened. (Blood clot and bleeding out.) Her liver was also pretty messed up from almost two years of chemo. He had been to a conference a while before the surgery and talked to some other big name surgeons and the room was pretty much split on if they would do the surgery or not. We knew it might not work, but we were all so hopeful and optimistic because Lauren was very strong and came out of everything else that was thrown at her like a champ. He said he would have never done it on someone older or weaker, but thought Lauren would come through ok. I sometimes wonder if she wouldn’t have had the surgery, would she be ok, but we will never know because she wanted the surgery so badly so she had a shot at a normal life again. Like I said, different surgeons think differently about things. Some are more conservative and some will take a chance. I hope I have answered your question ok.

Love,
-Pam

Hi Dorien,

To answer your question, I don’t know. Anything is possible. I probably wouldn’t say anyone has been completely cured, but with surgery or chemo things can be manageable. I didn’t know what stage Lauren was because she didn’t want to know. She had large tumors in her liver and some in her lymph nodes, so probably stage 4. As you know, she passed away but it wasn’t from the cancer directly. It was from the complications of surgery. But, I will tell you this. I never gave up hope that she would beat cancer until her last breath. She would have thought the same had she been conscious after surgery. Enjoy your time together now. (It seems as though you are.) Keep a positive attitude (easier said than done). Pray a lot and be ready for anything. It is such a crappy hand people with cc are dealt. Some live less time than expected and some do great and live longer. Family was everything to me before all this, but now it means so much more to me than I could ever imagine. I hope you get a good answer. Bless you, your husband and children.

Love,
-Pam