My Mom
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Hi,
I am totally in agreement with Bazel and Marion with regard to your mom’s situation. Remember” quality of life “is also an important part of the equation too.
God bless.Admaria….I agree with Bazel’s statements. Your Mom’s lack of cognitive understanding may very well prevent her from being aggressively treated for this cancer.
In addition too her physical health must be taken in account. This issue had been addressed at one of the symposiums attended by me in that a patient’s age should not be the primary concern for treatment rather, that the overall health should be the defining factor in making a decision.I feel for you. This is a very difficult place to be in. You would want to discuss this with a physician.
All my best wishes,
MarionAdamaria,
My dad passed from CC and my mom has dementia so I have perspective from both sides of the challenge you are facing. This is one persons opinion but I would suggest that you need to really assess the degree to which your mom can make informed decisions about her health care; can she fully comprehend the information being shared by her doctors, does she understand the consequences of the decisions she is making and lastly does she have the cognition to respond appropriately to questions and follow instructions? The answers to these questions may strongly influence the care approach you may have (or want) to take with the CC.
Bz
Jim,
Thank you so much for your encouraging words and for sharing your own experience. It means so much to us. And it helps so much.
Adamaria
Jim Wilde wrote:Adamaria, welcome and sorry you had to find us. You certainly have a difficult situation. The good news is surgery present the only sure ‘cure’. The bad news is the surgery is a big one. I would be inclined to find the best surgeon you can and let him assess the risks and present them to you to decide the next thing to do. I’m no youngster, but survived a 12 hour resection about two years ago with a world class surgeon, Dr Tomoaki Kato, a real overachiever. The surgery was done at NY Presbyterian in NYC.Good luck in your quest.
Hi Adamaria,
Welcoem to the site. Sorry that you had to find us all and I am sorry also to hear about your mum. But I am glad that you have joined us here as you have come to the right place for support and information. Please ask any questions that you have and we will all do what we can to help in answering them.
Where was your mum diagnosed and was she diagnosed by someone who has experience in dealing with patients with CC? This is a tough one. Should your mum decide to explore the possibility of surgery then I would agree with what Jim and Percy say regarding seeking an opinion from someone with experience of this type of surgery. If it was my dad here then I would go with what the surgeon says regarding the risks etc. My dad was not able to have surgery for his CC so I can’t share any personal experiences there, but there are many posts on the site regarding surgery. The search forum function at the top of the page will help you with this, plus we have a resections part of the site as well.
Please let us know how your mum gets on with this. We know what you are going through right now and we care.
My best wishes to you and your mum,
Gavin
Hi,Adamaria,
The choice is always up to the patient him/herself after careful consultation with medical professionals including doctors who specialized in treating CC and social worker or “case manager” who familiar with the patient._It is always a tough decision esp. when the patient has dementia .
There are currently no standardized treatment protocols for treating cholangiocarcinoma;and the outcome of each systemic therapy(chemo) is not certain;surgery as mentioned by Jim above only provide potential cure and is tough for anyone to go thru.(BTW,I had 2 resections done in the last two years,chemo for 14 months and was no picnic.)“Survival statistics can sometimes be useful as a general guide, but they may not accurately represent any one person’s prognosis.A number of other factors,including other tumor characteristics,how the cancer was treated,and a person’s general health and age can also affect outlook.Your doctor is likely to be a good source as to whether these numbers may apply to you…..” from American Cancer society-bile duct cancer info.
2nd opinions are highly recommended .
God bless.Adamaria, welcome and sorry you had to find us. You certainly have a difficult situation. The good news is surgery present the only sure ‘cure’. The bad news is the surgery is a big one. I would be inclined to find the best surgeon you can and let him assess the risks and present them to you to decide the next thing to do. I’m no youngster, but survived a 12 hour resection about two years ago with a world class surgeon, Dr Tomoaki Kato, a real overachiever. The surgery was done at NY Presbyterian in NYC.
Good luck in your quest.
Hello,
I am so glad to have found this site. My dear Mother was diagnosed with bile duct cancer this May 2011. We were told that the cancer is confined to the bile duct and has not spread anywhere else. She wants to have surgery to remove the cancer. My sister and I are really worried about this as our dear Mom is 80 years old, is very weak, and has dementia. The thought of her undergoing surgery and the recovery is so hard. We’ve heard that chemo alone does not work well with this type of cancer. I think that’s why she wants the surgery. Our hearts are breaking – we would appreciate any experiences or thoughts.
Thank you, Adamaria
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