New to the Group

Hello. My name is Matt Sanford and I’m 35. I have done some reading on here for a couple days. This is a very informative site. I went to the hospital 2 1/2 weeks ago because I had been having vomiting and diarrhea along with being dizzy and lightheaded when I stood or bent over. I had been having non-stop problems for many months prior. I went to the ER back in May for the same problems and they checked my blood work and gave me fluids for dehydration. They said my liver function test was slightly elevated, but they didn’t do anything else. I finally went in to my regular doctor a month later for the same problems. I have been a diabetic for 13 years so he and I thought gastroparesis and he referred me to a diabetic specialist. Through many different scheduling errors by the doctors office I was referred to I still hadn’t seen the diabetic specialist by September. Getting back to 2 1/2 weeks ago my symptoms were getting worse and I was down to 1 meal a day, if I could even keep that down. I went to the ER again. They started fluids for dehydration and took my blood for blood work. My liver function test was terrible and I was jaundiced and itching severely. They did a CT scan and found a 5 cm mass on my liver. Since I went in on Saturday they couldn’t do a biopsy until that Monday. That Thursday they had the results that I had cancer, but they didn’t know what type so they had to send it to Johns Hopkins for further testing. Last Wednesday I found out it was Cholangiocarcinoma. I have my PET scan today and after that I will be scheduled for a consultation at the University of Chicago to see what the treatment options are. I’m trying to work, but it is getting harder and harder to do so. I have no energy and I am still getting dizzy and lightheaded (from my BP from sitting to standing). Looking forward to gathering helpful information and meeting you all.