jclegg
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Belle,
It does break my heart to read this about your sister. We are with you in spirit. I do hope that God wraps his loving arms around your family and holds you tight.Joyce C
Irene,
I second the other Joyce – Butch has intraheptic bile duct cancer – no symtoms (well – he had started having slight abdominal pain). The jaundice, blockage, I believe – comes with extrahepetic. But – the darn stuff is there, and wreaking damage.
Joyce
I third the opinion that another opinion (at least) is neccessary! My husband got a big “no” to surgery from the Mayo Clinic in April. We leave Tuesday for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center – for surgery – a liver resection – so – you never know until you try.
Joyce
Sophie,
I am so sorry that the resection didn’t work out for you, and that you have had all this bad news. I was heartened, and hope you are too, to read Mary’s note – that is very encouraging, isn’t it? We are all here for you – keep the faith.Joyce
I’m sure that many of us have horror stories about how the news was delivered. When we left the Mayo Clinic, We were despondent – they aborted the resection and told my husband that he had weeks to months to live, no treatment possible except chemo, and that chemo would probably not work – would give him only 2 extra months to live. Fortunately, Butch and I have a wonderful support system, consisting of friends and family, along with a very strong faith that God is in charge. All of this encouraged us to continue to search for treatment and be hopeful through the depression that set in upon hearing this terrible news. Well – the few chemo treatments that he had did help the numbers, and – he is to be resected next Tuesday at UPMC, so – they were wrong at Mayo. No-one should take away our hope – these Doctors should offer encouragement. At least they should mention that if the chemo DOES work, the tumors may shrink enough to reconsider surgery, etc. After all – new treatments are coming out all the time, and – each person IS different, so – hope is in the air for all of us, I believe.
Joyce
Dear Holly,
So Sorry to hear the sad news about the outcome of today’s surgery – it must have been very difficult for you to write us with this. I just want to say that you should not give up hope, however. Many people are given 1st opinions as to what can be done that are very dire, and subsequently find a Doctor who will offer a more hopeful treatment plan. Ny husband was turned down at Mayo for a resection and given a VERY bad prognosis. he is to get his resection at the University of Pittsburgh next Tuesday – the 15th, so, you see, 2nd opinions are very valuable. We will keep Sophie, and her daughter, in our thoughts and prayers.Joyce
Thank you Anne – we are praying for your husband’s surgery – that it go well, and gets all the bad stuff.
Joyce
Dear Lisal,
Deepest sympathy to you upon the loss of your beloved Mother. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this sad time.Joyce
My husband Butch is a Vietnam War veteran – 1963-64. He had colitus while he was there, and has had schlerosing cholingity for several years now, which also is a risK factor for bile duct cancer. He was stationed near Saigon and also Vinh Long.
Joyce
Wabals,
Yes – God is good, and I want to wish you and your husband the best as he goes through his surgery. We will pray for him.Joyce
Hello Irene,
Welcome to the site. I know it is scary, but you are very fortunate to be able to have surgery. My Husband Butch has intrahepetic CC, and he has NO symtoms – other than a very low-grade pain in his right abdomen (a “1” on a scale of 1 to 10). It is hard to accept the diagnosis of so serious an illness when there are no symtoms, isn’t it? It doesn’t even seem real. He will have a liver resection on July 15 ot UPMC, and we are so happy – Mayo Clinic turned us down 1st. SO – we did get a 2nd opinion, but – it was for treatment, not confirmation of the diagnosis, really. It turns out that not having symtoms is the way this type of cancer sneaks up on you. I know at first I thought someone MUST have made a terrible mistake in diagnosing Butch this way when he wasn;t even sick (actually – he was sick from the pulmonary embolism he had, caused by the blood clot in his leg that became a thrombosis). NOW we learn that that is common when you have a tumor on your liver! Wow – the things we have learned! Anyway, good luck to you.Joyce
Theresa,
Sorry to hear about your bad news, but – hopefully the chemo will take care of it for you. We will be following your postings here, and hope to hear good things.Joyce
Hello Sophie,
Best of luck with your surgery – I am happy for you. My husband Butch will be resected on July 15th, at the University of Pittsburgh – his tumor is 8.2 centimeters, and we are also very grateful. We will pray for your success.Joyce
Hi Iris,
My husband Butch and I – and many, many others on this board – are very interested in nutrition as a means of curing cancer. We have been using Patrick Quillin’s book – “Beating Cancer with Nutrituin”. Since March, when he was diagnosed. Between the time we were diagnosed and we went to Mayo (about 3 weeks), the tumor grew – about a centimeter. The prediction was dire from Mayo. We went to Pittsburgh last week (6 weeks later), and the tumor has grown only a tiny little bit. He had 3 weeks of chemo in there, but – how much was attributable to the change in eating habits? We don’t know, but – I am going to get the book you mentioned also – I have to believe that our eating patterns make a difference. Thanks for the info.Joyce
Theresa,
It is now the 2nd. We have temporarily returned from UPMC. I LOVE Dr. Gamblin – you are right, he is terrific. He is going to operate on the 15th of July – liver resection, removing the right lobe of Butch’s liver, and cut out those lymph nodes in the diapraghm which have the “metanasties”. He will come home and have chemo – don’t know about radiation yet. We feel like we have a new lease on life – a shot at success. The tumor is 8.2 centimeters, so – it is not small, and there is metatasis, so this is really scary, but – God is good, and we are going to go for it. We attribute the fact that the tumor was growing at a REALLY fast clip, and didn’t grow (only 1 centimeter) betrween Mayo and UPMC to the change in dietary habits that we have made (LOTS of changes), and the 3 weeks of chemo – gemzar and xeloda – that Butch had.To all the other people who are struggling on this board – I say – press on – there IS hope.
Joyce
