perfect labs 3 months ago
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My husband’s Tom’s ‘numbers’ were all excellent in Jan ’08, in March ’08’ his alk phposphate levels were 10 x’s elevated. That was the first clue that there was something wrong. He has been through the mill, from erct’s, ctscans, mri’s, tests upon more tests, surgery where they removed 3/4’s of his liver. No chemo/radiation after surgery. 18 months later he presented w/jaundice and they found a new tumor in the rifht remaining lobe of his liver. Surgery is not an option. He underwent radiation and then oral chemo, then iv chemo. He was given 6 months to live by one oncologist….and he is still here 20 months later.
Go with God and KEEP KICKIN’ THAT cancer
MargaretMy father was a heart bypass patient and had a complete lab panel & thallium heart test 2 days before his diagnosis. All were normal, including his heart functioning. Because he had been complaining of shortness of breath, his PCP ordered a chest xray that showed multiple tumors in both lungs, which is what led to his cancer diagnosis & eventually his death. When his PCP called, he told my mother repeatedly, “I just can’t believe this, all of his labwork is normal. I just can’t believe this.” His Drs were attributing his complaints about his symptoms to his heart condition and since his labworks had been repeatedly normal, they were basically brushing him off for months & when he was finally diagnosed, it was already too late. Dad’s cancer was already stage 4, metastasized to liver, pancreas, both lungs, heart, esophagus & all lymph nodes, but his labwork was still normal.
devastated wrote:He DID have a complete hepatic panel. Bili, alk phosphate, alt & ast were all perfect.Mine were considered fine by all but one of four doctors who noted very slight elevation in the liver enzymes and immediately suspected something amiss. I must add, that she had the benefit of a number of years of quarterly tests. She is considered one of the top cardiac diagnosticians in the country, and Dr. Sun Hi Lee is my heroine. I consider her to be one of the best doctors I have seen during my lifetime.
In any case, cc is very hard to diagnose early without a CT or MRI in most cases. I wish you well in getting treatment for your dear husband.
Joann,
I was first diagnosed locally with an “undiagnosed liver disease” in July 09. Local biopsy was negative. My insurance allowed me to go to UIHC where they obtained the official diagnosis. Upon learning they only see a couple of of bile duct cancer patients a year, I requested and obtained a referral to Mayo Rochester where I have been treated. Klatskin tumor.
First came radiation and 5-FU 24/7 chemo with a pic line – Sept and Oct. of 09. No shrinkage of tumor but all stayed stable. Next I had gems/cits starting in May 10 and ending in Oct10. I was feeling great but made the decision to do chemo to ward off new tumors and keep my original tumor stable. We just don’t know what the best treatment is. I have been relying on God to open up treatments and block treatments I should not have. He has me in His hands.
My June MRI revealed that now I have a tumor on my liver and I have decided to go with a phase I clinical trial which should start in two weeks
Still feeling good, but I felt terrible those first few months. I was hospitalized twice during those months with infections. At the time I did not have much hope of ever feeling good again. But it can and does happen. I honestly do not do sick well. I’ve always been very healthy.
I had a plastic stent for the first 6 months. Then a metal stent wrapped in plastic replaced it and it has been there for a year and a half now.
Take care.
God bless.I would always ask how many patients with bile duct cancer they see and treat per year. A doctor can be wonderful and smart and have the best bed-side manner; but experience is what you need, in my opinion.
devastated…..unfortunately this is the case. There is no detection mechanism in place for early detection of this cancer. Symptoms may mimic those of other ailments such as irritated bowel syndrome including indigestion, acid reflux, right quadrant pain, etc. Bilirubin buildup occurs when a blockage is present and ERCP, CT scans and/or MIRI will lead to the diagnoses of cholangiocarcinoma. PSC patients are watched closely and yet it is believed that up to 40% of these patients may, at one time, contract this disease.
The likelihood is rare for a general practitioner to encounter this cancer within his/her patient group. Occasionally though, detection may occur due to testing ordered for the clarification or treatment of other ailments.
The good news in all of it is that better treatment options are available then, letCC is very sneaky. In most cases (and mine), there are often no obvious outward symptoms when the disease is quite advanced. In my case, the early diagnosis came as the result of a routine liver function test because of cardiac meds I was taking and a very alert cardiologist who immediately smelled a rat (cc). I had zero symptoms until not long before surgery, then the jaundice and all over itching happened. These symptoms were relieved by stents placed during an ERCP to confirm the diagnosis. I suspect in your husband’s case, the disease was present silently for a long time, just no symptoms and the blood tests typically done during a physical would not detect it. Probably good reason for adding a hepatic function test to the routine physical tests.
More opinions is always good, unless you are very confident in the diagnosis and treatment plan. Good luck.
KathyB,
Wow, your case sounds similar to my husband’s. Maybe it was a bactrim reaction??? More confused. May I ask what are you doing for treatments? It sounds like you got a couple of opinions. We have one scheduled for next week at Dana Faber in Boston. My husband is still in the hospital. Most of his labs are coming down, but bili is a little slower. Everyone is by mouth now, no iv’s and pain is pretty well controlled.
We just need him home
JoannHi,
First thank you Kathyb to pray for me while I am in the hospital.
For devastated , I do not think physical exam can provide a thorough picture of a person’s health except when the disease state is so obvious that the symptoms such as an increase size of part of the organ(ie; the prostate ; seeing curving objects; prolong color change of the skin as well as the reflex of the nerve system etc. can be seen by the doctor); I will request the doctor at the physical exam next time to include at least an ultrasound of the abdomen or much better a Cat Scan with contrast of the chest,abdomen and pelvis.In that way along with a CBC and BMP and lipid profile labs ( just ask the doctor for these)will provide a much better exam of you with regard to your internal organ’s health as well as the systemic functional health of daily balance of electrolytes and hemetological (blood cells) health.. You may need to get your GP to agree with you on a reason to prescribe a CT scan for you. Call or wait for a CAT SCAN special from your local hospital and take advange of it. This is especially useful for people over the age of 50. Colonoscopy , EGD and other test will follow if they find abnormality .
I hope the info helps.
God bless.I had my yearly physical just two weeks before I started itching all over without a rash. Jaundice started in a couple more weeks. My labs were great at the time of of the physical.
One group of doctors told me I probably had the tumor for 1-2 years. The other group of doctors told me the tumor was probably there a year.
Inoperable bile duct cancer stage IV.
My husband who is diagnosed with stage 4 cc after an ER admission with an allergic reaction from bactrim. He was very diligent to see his pcp every year for physicals and his last physical was 3 months ago. I just got the blood results from his physical and ALL of his blood work was perfect, even better than perfect! Does this disease wreck havoc in 3 short months???
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