Liver Infusion Pump?

After a number of weeks of trying to get the body to cooperate so I can use the liver infusion pump, we decided to start systemic chemo. Because the cancer had spread to the surrounding lymph nodes, and another surgery would mean postponing the fight another 2 or 3 weeks, I totally agreed with my oncologist. So we started me on Gemzar and Oxaliplatin. After 1 chemo treatment, I am getting a port. Veins weren’t built for that kind of abuse.
Side effects were minimal compared to what could happen. So I am very happy to have started fighting. Maybe eventually we will feel able to stop the chemo for a few weeks so I can have the surgery to try to get the pump working. It’s still frustrating that I have this weight in my left abdominal cavity that isn’t doing a darned thing, but at least treatment has begun.
I have 2 oncologists: the one at Sloane Kettering (Dr. Kemeny) and another closer one in Princeton, NJ named Dr. Lee. I’ve seen Dr. Lee the past 2 weeks, and he is hopeful that since my side effects were not too bad they shouldn’t get too much worse. There are 2 side effects I will eventually have to deal with: hair loss and neuropathy. I have LOTS of hair so am hoping I only lose some, but if need be, I’m preparing myself to have some fun with wigs. The neuropathy will occur when the Oxaliplatin is becoming too much for my system.
White blood and platelet counts already dropped considerably after 1 treatment. That makes me a little nervous for future treatments. But I keep thinking I’m young and they will bounce back before my next treatment.

Friday didn’t work again. Suggestion from the radiologist is that the original surgeon has to go back in to block off a couple of arteries or veins that are too large for her. But the artery they are using to feed the catheter into the liver seems to be narrow. Don’t know if he picked a bad choice for this? I don’t like not knowing I don’t know when this next surgery will be, I don’t know if it will work, I don’t know if this pump will EVER work, and I don’t know if I will EVER get chemo started. I wonder how large the tumor is now.
I just really need some answers and for thie breatment to begin. I am getting so frustrated.

Thanks Lainy. Maybe I’ll even be able to try the cyber knife in the future!

Tuesday is my surgery. Dr. Fong will be surgically implanting the hepatic liver infusion pump into my abdomen so I can have chemo directly pumped into my liver and the tumor. The hope is that the tumor will shrink away from my Vena Cava so we can operate. Failing that, Dr. Fong has suggested other alternatives after the tumor shrinks enough. We might try cryogenics or another form of confusing, killing or disrupting the tumor. There are so many options out there.
I will have 4-6 weeks of recovery time… my chemo will start 4 weeks in. Dr. Fong is hopeful that within 4 months we will see improvement. My hope WAS that I would be better by my birthday in June (that was before I found out what cc was all about). My hope now is to be clean by my NEXT birthday!
I hope and pray every night that I have made the right decision by going a different route than everyone else seems to do. But my tumor was caught fairly early, so I’m hoping these other options are still options for me. I would LOVE to post this under good news in about 4 months! Look for me there!
Kris

Thanks Gavin
I have the info from the one that you sent me, and, like you, was unable to find much information online about the pump. I know Mem Sloan Kettering is big on new developments, so hopefully that’s why I can’t find much. I just pray every day that I made the right decision. I know we all do: no matter which decision you make there’s always that thought that “maybe” there was another option.
Kris