Stage 4 cancer…Cholangiocarcninoma….My heart broke.
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I too know how you feel… My husband passed away on May 13 only one week after his diagnosis… They told him he had 4-6 months with chemo.. He had one treatment on Friday and by Sunday was in liver failure.. Only symptoms he had were severe pain in abdomen. His cancer had already spread to his bone marrow and lymph nodes when they figured it out. He was 46.. Two weeks before this all started he was working…
Yes, Carrie, your father is always with you and watching over you. If you are a believer as I and many other are I would be happy to send you the signs that a loved one is all around you. Seeing signs is just simply awesome. Let me know if you would like me to repost the signs.
Maggie-
I totally feel your pain and frustration with this monster of a disease. Your father’s story is very similar to mine. As like yours, my father went into the ER on Sept. 16th with terrible side pains. He had gone to his general practitioner a week earlier with the pain and they gave him some medicine for acid relief hoping that would help. At first all the nurses just assumed my dad’s pain was due to gallstones but after a CT scan was done they could see a mass on his liver. He showed no other signs or symptoms. On Sept. 18th 2014, he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and by the next week we had him in MD Anderson seeking treatment. They put him on a 6 cycle treatment of chemo hoping it would shrink the mass small enough to perform surgery. My dad got through 4 cycles before things all went down hill. On Dec. 18th 2014 we were told the cancer cells had spread to his lungs and nothing could be done. The doctor said he had less than 6 months. He was taking home and put into hospice care. In the early morning of Dec. 20th my hero, my father passed away.
I never in a million years thought I would lose my father like that and that fast, he was healthy as could be a few months earlier! This disease is just an evil aggressive monster, that shows no discrimination to anyone.
Since then my mother and I have read and reread his doctor reports/notes, we have scoured the internet looking for info. We have so many questions that I feel we just will never get answers too.
But I do feel some peace knowing my dad is always with me, just like your dad will always be with you.Carrie
Maggie,
I know exactly how you feel because it mirrors my experience with my mother who also had Cholangiocarcinoma. She passed away on May 3rd 2015, after only being diagnosed in mid April. She had some pains since February and she was in and out of the hospital for most of April. I just wanted my Mom back and the doctors just didn’t seem to be “really” helping. They kept going back and forth with putting stints in or attaching a drainage bag, nothing really seemed like a good plan. Communication was another area where they failed I went all that time of course knowing it was cancer but thought she could be helped. All she wanted was to come home, she was my best friend and the way she was treated was inexcusable in my mind. I kept advocating and pleading with the doctors do do something tangieble and spent days and nights researching possible studies and treatments.
Then on April 30th I was with my mother in the hospital preparing her to come home, that’s when the doctors came in a blurted out “a few months”, “nothing we can do” and “hospice”. My mind was swirling, how could she go from getting help to get better to a blunt death sentence. She came home on May 1st and passed on the 3rd. So not only did we not get the help to cure her we didn’t even get those “final months”. My heart broke I went from my dear mother who I laughed with weeks before to nothing. It just seemed to fast, how could something ravage someone so fast! I can relate to you perfectly.
~ Katie Keener
Also on the Quest for Answers
My Mother
~ Ida Keener August 6th 1960 – May 3rd 2015Dear Maggie,
I am so sorry for the loss of your father. What an emotional roller coaster, and not a lot of time to process anything. There are such differences in all of us who bear the burden of this crazy and insane cancer. There is more and more research being done to try and find out more information that may cause Cholangiocarcinoma. I would strongly encourage you and your family to participate in the study GWAS action alert found on the homepage…..for some reason I am unable to copy the link for you.
Please accept my condolences and know that I am sending prayers for peace, comfort and strength for you and your family.
Sincerely,
Melinda BachiniOn April 14th 2015, My father went to the ER for stomach pains. He had been having on/off again pains in his stomach for about 2 months. But, the pain seemed to be a lot worse this day. He was putting up a fence on Sunday and having a hard time…which if you knew my dad, he could do ANYTHING! Monday he went to work, and came home not feeling well. Tuesday, it was to the ER. They told him that he looked yellow and if he had any liver problems….We said NO. He just had his liver Bilirubin testing in Feb for his diabetes and it was perfect! There was no way something was wrong w/ his liver. Wednesday, we found out that he was in acute liver failure…Wait what? That they saw something on the CT scan. 2 shadows. Dumb…It could be anything. Thursday, a biopsy of the liver. Cancer. What kind? Is it bad? What do we do? No answers. Until Friday April 17th 2015 6:05pm. The Dr. walked in. I was with my son and my mother (his wife) She asked my son (10 years to leave the room) and then she says Stage 4 Cancer. Cholangiocarcinoma. There was nothing we could do. It has metastasized his liver. No transplant, no treatment could cure him. I was daddy’s little girl losing her dad-her superman-her hero-words can not express what it felt like to hear-“we can not do anything” “hospice” I was so confused how I could have a strong dad putting up a fence 5 days ago and planning a fishing trip memorial weekend, to hearing he has 6 months. Saturday April 18th. He was going to come home to die. Hospice was getting his meds together. But, he was in to much pain. He wanted to come home more than anything. Sunday April 19th. All the kids-sister/brothers-his dad were all there at that hospital. He was cutting up laughing-making all the nurses laugh-even on his death bed he was making sure we were all ok, that we laughed with him-NOT CRYING. April 20th 2015. 6 days after being admitted My dad-My hero-My superman went with our lord at 3:30pm.
What happened to 6 months? What happened? How can this cancer that I have never heard of take my dad this fast? I have studied and studied this since he was diagnosed. I keep thinking maybe it was a medication he was on…He took Lipitor for 6 years…could this be the cause? I know I am reaching….but this is all I can do now. Is study more and see if I can help in anyway. I have read a lot of the symptoms of people diagnosed…he really didn’t have ANY-until the last couple of months, and even then it was bearable. He was never even nauseated! So many questions-and really I still have no answers. Just missing him so.
I know in my heart this is God’s Time.
Maggie Lollar-Looking for answers
Thomas S. Reynolds 52 Jan 8 1963-April 2oth 2015
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