Radiation, following a complete resection
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Marions, my husband Tom had about an 80% resection of his liver, the entire left lobe and over 1/2 of the right lobe. If I remember correctly, his doctor said between 75 – 80%.
Margaret
I had radiation (and chemo – Xeloda) in fall 2007 after a successful resection of the liver and the lymph nodes that were enlarged (Sloan-Kettering). Neither the radiation nor the chemo were a problem.
However, only about a third of the liver was resected, so it doesn’t fit your case.
I had a recurrence in ovaries in 2008 (removed the ovaries surgically – easy) and lymph nodes and lung at the end of the year. I’ve been on Xeloda again for a year, which worked excellently (reduced the lymph nodes), and with minor side effects. But now my blood tests don’t look good, so I’m back on Gemzar as of yesterday. Relevant point to this thread: no recurrence in liver as of yet.
No matter what, these treatments have given me outstanding quality of life for 2.5 years (not counting the sugeries, etc.). I couldn’t ask for more, and I’m grateful for every day.
It’s lucky you were able to have a resection. All best as you continue on this hard road!
Beth…..I suppose, this is one of those situations where even the experts will differ with their opinions. In fact, I don’t recall anyone in particular who underwent an 80% resection, on this board. Here are the names of a few physicians I would contact. I don’t know whether they will respond to you directly or, whether they would consult with Dave’s physicians. But, you could start with:
Dr. J.F. Geschwind
Vascular and Interventional Radiology
John Hopkins,Dr. Mike Chote
John HopkinsDr. Roger Jenkins
Lahey Clinic
BostonI would assume that your physicians may also consult with collegues.
Best of luck,
and tons of good wishes,
MarionLadyBug:
My husband Tom had a resection in June, 2008. No radiation and no chemo afterwards….because his ‘margins’ were clear. In hindsight, we are now wishing that he’d had at least chemo becuase on Thanksgiving day, he started turning Jaundiced. He has a 2.5 cm tumor in the right remaining lobe of the liver. All the doc’s here say that he should have gotten chemo EVEN with clean margins. Don’t stop researching, and don’t stop asking questions. I would at least opt for chemo at this point. Radiation would only be helpful IF they see another tumor, else what would they radiate? Remember that no one has an expiration date stamped on the bottom of their feet.Go with God and KEEP KICKIN THAT CC!
Margaret
Hi,
I had radiation after my second, failed surgery, and it worked so well that I really wish I had pushed for it after my first surgery.
In 2004 I had surgery for a Klatskin tumor and they told me they “got it all.” They removed 1/2 my liver, my gallbladder, and other bits and piecess. No lymph node involvement, and when they said I didn’t need any chemo or radiation, I was only too glad to hear it. 2 1/2 years later, I had a recurrence nearby, but the surgery failed because the tumors were stuck onto blood vessels. This time I had 7 weeks of radiation with Xeloda. It shrank the tumors (though they didn’t disappear) and there has been no real disease progression since then.
I can’t help thinking that if I had had radiation the first time, I might not have had the recurrence. The purpose is to kill any cancer that might remain that’s too small to show up on scans. RAdiation treatment is much easier than chemo for most people. My only side effects were fatigue (that got worse as treatment went on), heartburn (Mylanta took care of it), and a weird burnt taste in my mouth (eating pickles would get rid of that for a while.) The side effects started getting better immediately after treatment ended, and I felt pretty much back to normal after 2-3 weeks.
Radiation worked very well for me, and I think you should seriously consider it. For me, the benefits were worth a thousand times more than the few problems.
Best wishes,
Kristin
Hello all!!
Happy New Year!
I wanted to update all on Dave and the latest. We have one more cycle of chemo, which is just Gemzar, two more treatments. On the lat treatment, which is the 27th, we are to meet with the Radiologist to discuss starting radiation. Our Onc thought that since we were so very close to the surgical margin and the cancer had invaded two lymph nodes that we should go ahead with radiation. My question is: Our surgeon had mixed emotions about the radiation. He told us he took out 80% of Dave’s liver, and the place that the radiation will be given is right on the new liver. I have tried to search on the site, and never really found any recent radiaiton news about this situation. So, Is radiation safe after a successful resection? What is the purpose of the radiation if the cancer is gone? Is it worth going through it? What are the side effects??
Thanks everyone for your thoughts!
Hugs!!!
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