Scan results

Brigitte,

First diagnosed late Jan 2014, followed by resection of part of my left lobe…stage T2b…5 cm intrahepatic tumor 2.2 cm clear margin late Feb 2014

Gem/Cis for 6 rounds post resection…kidney damage, hearing damage, neuropathy and memory/function problems (May-August)

First recurrence Nov 2015 …1.5 cm tumor along the first resection line of left lobe…followed by wedge resection of tumor with 1/2 cm clear margin Dec 2015

Second recurrence July 2016…1.1 cm tumor in right lobe followed by ablation August 31.

This last recurrence, there was a lot of pressure for me to do chemo again…a different kind. I pushed back and found out that they had not consulted a surgeon or IR…..and after talking with those people, there was no question with either of them that the ablation was the route to go.

I recovered very well and quickly from the ablation…..and have had two months of feeling pretty good (except for the residuals of some virus crud that caused ear infections and now dizziness…unrelated to the cancer or ablation obviously…..and….also a kidney stone that decided to cause me some trouble). In general, though, I have had two very good months …far easier than recovering even from laproscopic surgery….and waaaaay easier than dealing with chemo. I do not know WHAT the problem was with the oncologists involved, but I sure wasn’t happy that they had not consulted the surgeon. My mantra that I have adopted from another board member here is….”It is surgical, until it isn’t.”

Yes, the point of the ablation is to destroy the tumor completely. I would not hesitate for a moment doing it again if It was necessary and I had the choice/chance.

I go back this next Wed-Thurs for scans which is making me nervous. I’m getting a little gunshy at this point about the possibility of another recurrence. So far, I’ve been lucky enough to have recurrences be in places that could either be resected or ablated. Keeping my fingers crossed that if it shows up again…..I can continue with this local method of treatment instead of systemic treatments like chemo. I did have a biopsy done first of the tumor…..before it was ablated….and had them send it to Foundation ONe for mutation analysis. Again, I had to press for this, but I want that info in my hip pocket in case the situation arises that it comes back where it is not operable.

Julie

Brigitte,

I just had the procedure you mentioned….or very similar. He is likely referring to an ablation procedure. The is RFA (radio frequency ablation) and Microwave Ablation.. both which would be described as zapping or burning the tumors. It is “usually” done by an IR (interventional radiologist), though some surgeons also do it.

It can be done laproscopically, though the way I had it done just recently for a 1.1 cm tumor was by the IR guy. They used CT and MRI to guide a needle device through the skin to the liver and into the tumor. When the needle is in place, they then turn on the device and ablate the tumor which essentially vaporizes it. They usually try to ablate a margin around the tumor, similar to what they would do if operating to resect the tumor to get a clean margin. So, the ablated area is slightly larger than the tumor itself.

I think there are some reasons for doing it laproscopically, but I don’t remember now from the reading I did prior to mine being done. I would ask why it would be done laproscopically instead of percutaneously.

If they had not put a bandaid over the place where the needle went in, I would not have probably been able to find it. There is a possibility of some flu like symptoms 3-5 days after the ablation, which I had, but relatively minor. I didn’t vomit…just felt like of yucky and had a temp for about 3 evenings (only in the evening). After the first 36 hours, I had some ache just below my rib cage area….which hurt some when I coughed, sneezed or moved too much. That only lasted about 24 hours though . I had to stay overnight in the hospital for observation, though some hospitals do not require that. I was also sent home with a 10 day prescription for a strong antibiotic to try to ward off the possibility of an abscess in the liver. It is a complication of the ablation, but has a pretty low complication rate. The smaller the tumor, I think the less chance for complications. The flu like symptoms for several days is probably the most common complication I found. They will fully inform you of any risks/complications though.

I can say, after having two laproscopic resections, this ablation was absolutely simple and once I was past the flu like stuff (which about 20% have), I have felt just fine, like nothing ever happened. Recovery time was really pretty nil.

In my case, I had a tumor appear in the oppositie lobe from the original tumor and the first recurrence. The surgeon said he could resect it, but in this particular case, it made more sense to ablate it because of its size (small…less than 3 cm) and and location. It was toward the center of the left lobe and to resect it, would cause him to have to cut away more good liver tissue to get to it. The ablation would preserve more of the good liver.

If you have any other questions, just ask. I can’t think of anything more to tell you right now.