My Dad

Hi there – I’m Mac from Ireland. I’m glad to have found this community and hope I will find some support & comfort here. I will tell my Dad’s story as best as I can and I’m writing this on 29th December whilst waiting for my registration to come through. Communication has been strained with so much worry , fear & emotion around. My information is also second hand and I wasn’t a good Biology student at school so please excuse any glaring errors.

o My Dad has been borderline Diabetic for a number of years and fought it more than he should have.
o In September he began to lose a lot of weight for no reason.
o He ended up at his Doctor who urged him to take his blood sugar level serious and was advised he risked slipping into a coma or having a stroke.
o He was admitted to hospital the week of Monday 7th December and did not respond to insulin/meds as expected with his blood sugar level showing inconsistent readings.
o He was also advised that two of his liver functions had failed and that they found something of concern in his bloods.
o Dad had a couple of ultrasounds , a MRI and a CT and from this we were told he had a polyp in his gall bladder , had some fatty liver and based on the CT scan on the 16th December my Dad was told he had a cancerous biomass beside/in his bile duct. This was devastating news but news I thought we couldn’t receive based on the tests done to date ; I was a lone voice in the family though.
o On the 22nd December my Dad had an ERCP and a biopsy done on the polyp & biomass. The guys performing this advised that it looked cancerous to them but needed to wait for the biopsy. He also had a stent inserted. They also said they had good access to the biomass which was 1.27cm-1.91cm.
o My Dad was discharged for Christmas on the 24th and we had Christmas and his 70th birthday the next day without the ‘Happy’.
o Since the ERCP he has seemed a little weaker , suffers from cold at times especially his feet/legs , has spells of hiccups and his memory/concentration levels appear affected. These things could be symptoms of many things but I’m fearing the worst.
o As of today (the 29th December) we are waiting for news of the staging and treatment/care. The Medical profession has ground to a halt for the holidays which seems crazy to me when we are dealing with such important matters. My business which deals in much less important things closed down for one day……….
I have read so much information online in the last two weeks that my head is spinning. When my partner’s Dad had bowel cancer I was the one encouraging her to be positive but when you are the one in this position it’s hard.
Everything here points to Cholangiocarcinoma from what the Doctors have said , to the symptoms and the stent. And my heart and fears are pointing to it not being resectable as I’ve read that when the bile duct gets blocked we are the later stages and the stent is only used for advanced cancer.
Apparently my Dad was ok in May according to the Doctors. Hard to believe that this thing can move so fast. I’m struggling with the harsh reality of life and the apparent unfairness ; my Dad had just retired and was about to enjoy his precious time with my Mum.
I’m conscious we are one family of many throughout the world and my thoughts and prayers are with you all.
I will update you on how my Dad gets on and will use this excellent Foundation in the coming days & weeks.