Hello

Hi Melissa,

Welcome to our community.  I wish you did not have to find us — but please know we are here for you.  I hope you and your mother have found the patient and caregiver resources available on the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation website.

Our cancer is a challenging one and can be resistant to treatment.  Doctors fortunately have many arrows in their quivers, and it is not uncommon for our patients to move from treatment to treatment.  Radioembolization has brought positive results for some of our patients whose tumors are confined to the liver.  This treatment delivers radioactive materials (e.g., micro-sized beads) to the tumor vía the bloodstream.  The most common form of radioembolization reported on this board is a treatment called Yttrium-90 or Y90 or SIRT.  If you search this treatment on our board, you can find patient stories.  One story to look for came from a caregiver who used the name “middlesister1.”   Her mom had Y90 and was in remission for several years after.

Has your mom had biomarker testing (also called molecular or genomic profiling)?  If not, please take a look at the link below.  Many of our patients’ cancers show genomic defects or mutations for which there are targeted treatments.  Some are available through clinical trials.  This testing can open up additional treatment options.

Please stay in touch and let us know how your mom is doing.   This is a difficult diagnosis but the science and treatment options are getting better every day.

Take care, regards, Mary

Here is the link:

Patients Portal