My mother just diagnosed with CC
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Some doctors dont like to do radiation on the liver. My doctor said something about it makes the liver swell and then that causes other complications. Apparently you have to have a stent in place before they consider radiation. Dr said it is difficult, but not impossible. You might want to push for it.
I dont want to alarm you….but I did not get chemo after my surgery. The oncologist i had said it was not helpful (now recent studies say it is), then when I finally got another dr to agree, it was past the 3 month mark. The oncologist said that it they dont give chemo after 3 months have passed since surgery since it would be too late. Now, I am not sure if this is correct. This nugget was given to me by the same oncologist who denied me chemo to begin with so I am not sure 1)she was being honest or 2) that she knew what was what. But you might want to check it. Like I said, she could be completley full of hot air. I so distrust her that I made my new surgeon promise that whatever happened I would never have to see, speak, or have any contact with her again! But I thought I might pass that 3 month info along and you could ask your dr. if this is correct and maybe bring up the chemo date a bit if it is.
Oh, and welcome to the site! I am sure there will be others along with the scoop on gemcitabine and what to expect. I truly am sorry that this blasted cancer touched another family and you had to find us.
Kris
I am so glad to have found this site just days after my 71 year old mom was diagnosed. I have already learned so much. My mom has been suffering for two years with bile duct obstruction and in that time had 17 ERCP procedures for stent placement. In that time they took numerous scrapings, 3 CT scans, 1 MRI and numerous bloodcounts. They were baffled as to how many times she needed the stents replaced. Just before Christmas they did the last stent replacement and she was told that the next time they became obstructed that she would go in for bile duct reconstruction surgery. In January when she became sick again and went in to the hospital they scheduled her for the major surgery. Once inside, they found the cancer in the bile ducts and spots that had spread to both lobes of her liver. They removed some spots on her right side of liver but realized they could not remove them all. She was in the hospital for four weeks as she had some complications after the surgery with her heart and blood pressure and also ended up with an infection and drains coming out of her cut. She is finally home and this week we went to the cancer clinic where we were given the prognosis that she could have only 8-12 months to live. They want to start her on gemcitabine but only after she has recovered for 2 months from this surgery. So the timeline is that in two months she will go in for a CT scan so they can have proper markers and then start her on the chemo with once a week for seven weeks and then 3 weeks thereafter. There has been no talk of radiation and after reading some of the posts here I wonder why? Also two months seems a little long to wait for things to start. My mom is terrified of the chemo side effects but they said that it was gentle and she would have little side effects. Any input would be greatly appreciated and I will be on reading up more on everyones experiences and learning all I can. Thanks , Michelle
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