Hello all,
I have been lurking here for 3 weeks, soaking up as much information as I can, and feel like it’s time to introduce myself. First, I want to say what a fantastic source of help this site and forum are, thanks to all of you who contribute and take the time to respond and tell us about your own experiences.
I am a 57 year old female, fit and healthy (or so I thought before this year). I have a 6 cm mass in my liver that was first discovered incidentally back in early May of this year. A needle biopsy of the liver mass in July showed negative for malignancy. A followup MRI in Sept. showed that the mass had grown slightly, which prompted us to ask for a referral to a liver specialist, who reviewed my case with his team and performed a laparascopic biopsy 3 weeks ago. This biopsy showed that the mass is cancer, likely Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma, but we are still waiting for the genomic testing results and in the meantime trying to rule out other cancers. The surgeon feels that it is resectable (although will be a complicated surgery due to the location), but wants me to have neoadjuvant chemo treatments first. I get my port implanted tomorrow and on Monday start the first cycle of Folfox (the plan is 12 cycles).
I feel like I am in limbo until I get a definitive diagnosis and staging, but I am glad to be moving forward with a treatment plan after all these months of waiting and uncertainty. Much love to all of you who are dealing with this disease. Please keep sharing your stories, I suspect there are many other lurkers out there like me who are looking to you for information and inspiration.
Lori