cleverlyvoid
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Dear Sara:
Don’t get ahead of yourself. Why ask why? My mother had other organs removed in her youth; you can’t ask this question. Choliangiocarcinoma is somewhat rare. You cannot second-guess Life. If you are worried about yourself, you need to get yourself checked out. But if the gall bladder is gone, you have one less organ to worry about.
Don’t worry.
I hope you’re husband is much better now… is he? If he’s home then I’ll assume he’s much better off than in hospital. I hope so…
My name is Beverly. My mother had what I/ we thought was stomach flu. She was vomiting and had some pain in her stomach. After a lengthy hospital stay and many tests, (X-ray,sonogram, MRI, CAT scan, bone scan) the doctors thought she had a gall bladder obstruction. Easy surgery, that. Then when the surgery was done, she had to be opened up fully to remove the gall bladder and much of the surrounding tissue, including some of her small intestine. And the word cholangiocarcinoma was bandied about. Of course I looked it up on the internet and thought, ‘well, if it’s operable…’
It’s inoperable. It’s advanced. She’ll start chemo and radiation in about six weeks to slow it down. That’s all the doctors can do.
She wasn’t jaundiced, she had no real obvious symptoms, other than the pain in her lower right side.
And of course, this is a rare type of cancer— no ordinary type of cancer for my mom!
What you need to remember is no doctor has any real time-line for what your mom is going through. Your mom may live six months, she may live a year, she may live five years… the doctors don’t know. And your mom and her strength have alot to do with this. It’s the same with my mom. And it also harkens to the strength that we have as caregivers. I’m going to give my mother all the support I can to get her through her treatments. But I know I’ll need help, just as you will. Family can be supportive, but look into local support groups that not only can give you friendly support, but also information as well. Because, for me, it’s the unknown that’s maddening.
My thoughts are with you, and your mother. Never give up, Never give in.
You are there for her, but you are human and must also give some time to yourself.
Please remember to give yourself the time to deal with this, as much as you give all of your attention to your mother.EM me if you wish, cleverlyvoid@aol.com.
And keep checking into cholangiocarcinoma.org as often as possible.
take good care,
beverly
