henriettasunshine

Hi Matt: Your journey with this disease has been similar to my brother Paul’s. He was diagnosed in late 2012, was able to receive resection of bile duct surgery, where about 45% of his liver was removed as well as the gallbladder. We also went to Mayo (Jacksonville, FL) and had 2nd opinion at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Chicago. The surgery was done at Mayo in Feb. 2013. He did have chemo after the surgery and after recovering from all has been feeling great. Has had a lot of the “feelings” of things going on inside his body that he never felt before, but his doctor at Mayo was wonderful and was always willing to talk with him to try an aleve his concerns. Now he is at yet another crossroads as you are. Cancer has recurred and it is a tied to the original CC, where he had to have his appendix removed this past December and did another round of chemo after, but now has something growing around the abdominal cavity. Paul did well with the chemo, fatigue and appetite loss were his biggest demons. We are now talking to a hospital here in Charleston, SC that is doing a clinical trial for those that have had a recurrence of this cancer and did do chemo but it failed. If you would decide to go with a clinical trial, the ones that I found regarding this type of cancer, wanted to the patients to be off of the chemo regime for at least 3 weeks prior to starting the trial.

You have a great attitude, which is really important, and also a will to continue on. Don’t give up, pray (it helps!!), stay as healthy as possible. Sounds like you had good health prior to your diagnosis also, as was the case of my brother, which is a definite asset for you.

Please continue to keep us posted. You’re doing a great job. You have to be your own advocate in these situations, I have found, questioning and searching for what is best for you.

Blessings to you and your family!

Amy Speziale