What were the symptoms?
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My dad itched for a long time too. He tried topical cream and pills prescribed by his doctor. His feet did not itch. He had little scars on his chest and stomach from scratching. He said itching can drive you crazy! He mostly itched at night while in bed when his body became warmer. He was anemic and had scopes (stomach and colon) to try and find internal bleeding. Nothing was found. He also had elevated liver emyemes and stopped lipitor. Stopping lipitor did not help. The year before diagnosis my dad thought he had the flu twice in one season. He also slept a lot which really wasn’t that unusual. Nothing was found until he became jaundice. My dad was seeing three different doctors at this time.
I had zero symptoms when investigations began, triggered by a routine liver function test that had very slightly elevated enzyme levels that my sharp eyed cardiologist saw. She immediately had me cease the statin I was taking and had the same test repeated a month later with the same results. I was then pointed to a gastroenterologist who first ordered an abdominal echo, followed by a CT scan. Then it was on to an ERCP and around that time the glowing yellow and itching began, along with dark colored urine. A week or so after the ERCP, the itching stopped since three stents were placed during the ERCP, color returned to normal. The ERCP confirmed CC and surgery, followed by chemo happened. In my case, if investigation began when the symptoms began, I likely would have been history, the the left hepatic lobe resection took 50% of the liver.
One of the reasons CC is so malicious is often by the time noticeable symptoms appear, it’s too late.
Good luck to you Cathy.
We had returned from a trip to Europe including visiting my family in Germany. In retrospect all the signs of the disease had surfaced for some time but, who would have ever thought of this cancer?
A particular lilac soap my grandmother placed between her linens (while stored in the closet) appealed to my husband, and he started using it. Of course, that had to be the reason for the extreme itching. We switched soaps, but to no avail, his itching increased.. The rest of the story blends in with everyone elseThis is really interesting….my husband Tom has NEVER had any itching anywhere even when his bilirubin level was 24,600 (24.6) and even when he was extremely yellow. The first indication that there was anything wrong was during his routine blood test when the liver function test came back 10x elevated. Since he was on a cholesterol lowering drug he had blood work every three months. Thank heavens for those blood tests. He was able to have a liver resection three months later and was ‘cancer free’ for about 18 months and then in Nov. ’09 he started turning yellow. Another tumor this one in operable. But he is still here, fighting hard, living in the moment and looking forward to all his tomorrows.
I know that the fact that he never got itchy is a blessing from God cause I’ve heard that it can be horrible. Even his doc’s are amazed that with high bilirubin levels he does not experience the itching!
Go with God and KEEP KICKIN’ THAT cancer.
Margaret
So funny to hear about itchy feet, just thinking about that now is like nails on a chalk board!! I remember wondering if I had chiggers, I had so many sores from itching myself raw. I had 8 ERCPS while waiting for transplant and knew when they were clogged because my feet would be the first to itch. The amazing my part my doctors always listenned. The only reason blood work was done because I casually mentioned I got nauseas a lot. A nurse practioner told me to put ice on my whole body, it is amazing any of us get diagnosed! -Cathy
wow, wow wow… I am shocked at not only the world is unaware of CC, but the doctors in this country also. I wonder how many people are walking around with this disease and do not even know it.
At that time, I was working 80-90 hours a week and I thought that I was wearing socks to many of hours of the day so after a few months with no change I started wearing flip flops to work, to let my feet breathe. And within a month, it started getting cold and no change in the feet…. and then months later, jaundice. Thank goodness for jaundice and the internet.
I too had the itching (without a rash) and just felt tired. Went to the doctor twice about the itching and was put on steroids each time, which did help until I was done taking them. I even asked the doctor if it could be a liver problem or lymphoma as I had read itching can be a sign of those things (found that info on the internet). She said it would be very unlikely and would not even take a blood test as I just had blood work done less than a month earlier during my yearly physical and was declared 100% healthy. The doctor then was going to refer me to an allergist for testing. I went to a different doctor who did blood work right away and that was the beginning of this journey.
Definitely NOT stupid. In the beginning I itched all over for weeks! Doctor thought it was contact dermatitis…and I began to do the change soap…detergent, diet etc…until I turned completely yellow did they figure I might be sick. I was also barely able to stay awake for long because I was so tired. Thankfully 4 years later I am doing very well…no serious issues, clear scans etc
Wishing you the best! debCathy, you were not stupid. Teddy itched all over for 2 weeks before I suggested he get LAB work. We thought it was new allergies to something he was eating. Since he was Sicilian I was upset to think it could be tomato. How I wish it was. I have never heard of the bottoms of the feet itching like that. Wow.
I woke up with jaundice but after being diagnosed I read the symptoms and realized that I had other signs but ignored them. This past summer I had, what I thought was athletes feet and put every powder that was made to get rid of it and I thought how strange that it was both feet and only on the bottom. How stupid was I?
After the stint was put in to relieve the jaundice, my feet were never itchy again.
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