iowagirl

Serena,

My resection was at the end of Feb this year and I’ve had various twinges…ranging from sharp, sudden pains to more subtle “pain” from time to time. It’s generally transient….can’t remember it ever lasting for days…mostly just for a moment and then nothing else for a long time. One time, though, the pains came and went all of one afternoon that sort of freaked me out. I talked to my oncologist about it…and she said too, that it was from the nerve endings being cut. A resection is a very invasive surgery…and they do a lot of manipulation of “stuff” inside of us during the process. My GP said that after she read the surgical report, it was no wonder I hurt….they had done that much and that was just to remove only the left lobe.

Anyway….it sounds to me like both of our oncologists agree that it is likely nerve endings. I haven’t had any of the twinges for quite some time now….maybe 4 months…..and have had all clean CT scans, so my bets are on the nerve endings.

Hugs and more hugs. I’m so sorry to hear of your husband’s passing from CC, but yet you draw comfort in the fact that his passing was peaceful and with those whom he loved and loved him.
Julie T.

Hey Duke…happy birthday. Sounds like you celebrated perfectly. Here’s to next year’s celebration!

Kris….Interesting that you should mention that about the oncologist suggesting that when a primary cancer location can’t be found…that it might mean that the body had fought off the primary cancer, but not before it metatasized. THAT is exactly what my GP told me. She said that the main cancer could also be so small as to not show up on a CT or any other scans…but still be there and metatasized. But, knowing that it was an adenocarcinoma gave them something to go on to fight it even if the primary cancer stayed hidden from diagnosis.

As you know, I was originally diagnosed with cancer of unknown primary…and only the surgery diagnosed what it really was….Intrahepatic CC. A friend of ours was also diagnosed with cancer of unknown primary….the only visible cancer on scans being in her liver. Looking back now, I suspect that they missed the diagnosis of bile duct cancer. She only went to local doctors here….not a big cancer center….or else I think they may have figured it out.

Julie t.

Patty, Your oncologist is absolutely right….you don’t have to have one of the “known” hepatitis viruses to have hepatitis. About 5 years ago, my husband (not a CC patient) had night sweats, which he didn’t tell me about right away. When I found out, I marched him to the doctor for testing. He was negative to all known varieties of Hepatitis, but his liver enzymes were through the roof. They did a lung x-ray and found nodule on his lung. ACK! Did a biopsy…and collapsed his lung in the process….no malignancy there. All tests came back negative…no cancer they could find. Eventually, his GP sent him to an infectious disease doctor who told him that since everything had been eliminated, he had what was an unknown type of viral hepatitis. That is….it wasn’t one of the usual…A, B, C….etc. There is no test to see if it is a hepatitis variety…because it is as of yet, “unknown or labeled.” He told my husband that people get these more frequently than you might expect, but unless they re getting a blood test for some reason that just happens to show the elevated enzymes, most people never know that’s what’s wrong with them. Most cases are fairly mild….my husband just happened to have some stronger symptoms that were very scary. When we looked back….I had had a “mild” illness just before he got sick…and it well my have been the same stuff…it just hit his system harder. This isn’t telling you something else it “could be”, but what they are telling you sounds reasonable to me.

DMiller…sounds like some good news to me….good chemo response….embolization…and even surgery,…..and doctors who use the terms, “long and healthy life,” Happy Dance!!!