jathy1125

Pam-Welcome and sorry you had to find us. I am a CC survivor, I am 2 years cancer free!! There is HOPE. Please read my story at thetelegraph.com under christmas miracle. I share my story to honor my donors and give HOPE. I should not be here, but thanks to God , 2 strangers and Dr. William Chapman I am alive, so I try to pay it forward.
One of my first thoughts after my diagnose, was I was glad my mom didn’t have to go thru this. (She had passed away the year before.) My mom would have been my rock, but I just could not imagine how hard that would be for her. Lauren is very lucky to have you.
Please post more of your story. There is so much information and compassion on this site, you are not alone and your story helps all of us.
Lots of prayers-Cathy

Pepehorse-Welcome and sorry you had to find us. You are at the right place for lots of care and support, this site is so full of love and great advice/info.
Lots of prayers-Cathy

Randi-A port is the easiest part of your journey!! It takes just an hour or so with sedation. I remember going out to dinner when my procedure was over.
Ports make your life easier, they can do all your blood draws usually. I had to have mine removed due to other complications (I had gone septic so all foriegn objects were removed), I was so upset. Chemo was so much easier. My veins are pretty well ruined thanks to chemo, so when I do blood draws now, anything less than 3 sticks is a good draw!!
Lots of prayers-Cathy

Jennifer, Glad your mom has you in her corner!! I also had an amazing daughter helping me thru this, she even took a semester off college to stay home and take care of me.
Kim is an inspirational women, I loved chatting with her on the phone and FB.
I always say that if my regular doctor had not been on vacation, my story would not have had a happy ending. It was just by the grace of God that I was put in Dr. Chapman’s hands. I had my diagnosos and treatment plan with in 5 mins of ERCP discovery, Dr. Guisppe Aliperty knew exactly what he saw, knew it would be a false negative and a transplant was my only hope.
Another intersting person to contact is Wayne Parson (He is on FB). Wayne is an attorney in Hawaii who’s wife was diagnosed with CC and has such an intersting story and so much CC info to share. Valerie, his wife did not make it, but he and I both think Dr. Chapman walks on water!!
Please feel free to contact me on FB (Catherine Sims Dunnagan, my story and another Dr. Chapman success story is posted on my page) or email me. I would love to talk to your mom.
Lots of prayers-Cathy

Julieanne- It is very important that your doctor believes in transplant, most doctors are not on board with it. Wayne Parson was told ” it was illegal, because it was a waste of good a liver, to give it to someone with cancer”. This was said at a major cancer center. I am alive because of two. I was diagnosed with inoperable CC. My tumor involved my portal veins and was in the “fingers” of my bile duct. My one saving grace was it hadn’t metasized. I did not qualify for a resection, everything had to go.
My doctor was William Chapman M.D. at Barnes-Jewish Hospita in St. Louis MO. The Mayo Clinic also has the same protocol. Please have it ruled out by a doctor who believes this is and thinks it should be an option. Wayne Parson has posted that his wife would still be alive if she had been referred to Dr. Chapman (he found him on his own), she qualified.
Lots of prayers-Cathy

I also am not sure about which is better. I am a CC survivor due to two liver transplants, both mine were at Barnes-Jewish Hopspital in St. Louis MO. Dr. William Chapman was my transplant doctor, he helped develop the Mayo protocol.
I have a feeling that both locations are both equal, so what you must consider is where you live. If you are with in hours of one that is very important. The wait can be months, which is considered good. There is also a good chance you will have a “fake liver call” (I had 2) so you will need to always be close to your hospital. If you do not have to relocate that is a major plus.
Your place on list depends on MELD score, which gives us extra points for cancer (a silver lining). The longer you are on list the more points your doctor will keep applying for. You are also on the list according to blood type. I was on the Bt list at the top. I got my first call 2 weeks after being listed and actually got my “real” transplant 5 months after being listed. I received my second liver with in 14 hours after being listed because I was put on national list. Another interesting fact is both transplants and one fake call were all holiday weekends.
Good luck and if I can help or you would like to talk please feel free to call (618-567-3247) or email.
Lots of prayers- Cathy

Faith-I am a CC survivor and alive because of not one but two liver transplants. A transplant is our best hope. My miracle worker was Dr. William Chapman at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The one thing me and Dr. Chapman discussed last month, that if you are or are not a candidate for a transplant let it be decided by a doctor who believes in them!!
Please read my story at thetelegraph.com under christmas miracle. You can also go to my FB page (Catherine Sims Dunnagan) and read my story and another CC survivor story thanks to a transplant and Dr. Chapman. MD Anderson believes in transplants so good luck. You might want to contact Dr. Chapman he is one of the top doctors in CC care.
There is HOPE!
Lotsof prayers-Cathy

Danny-Welcome and sorry you had to find us. I am a CC survivor. I was stageIV and inoperable, but my saving grace was it had not metasized. I am alive because of Dr. William Chapman at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis MO.
Lainy was right on the money saying get another opinion. Our cancer is very rare and real requires a specialist. Dr. Chapman and Barnes falls in that category. You should be able to contact any doctor/hosptial and have all medical test info faxed or sent.
Please feel free to contact me if I can help. There is HOPE!!
Lots of prayers-Cathy