kris00j

Hi all:
Many of you know my story, but here is my response. YES, after chemo it IS possible to be resectable.
I was diagnosed in March 2011 with a fairly small unresectable tumor in my liver. CC had gone into a few of the lymph nodes which made it Stage 4. The tumor was unresectable because, although it was less than 7cm, it had wrapped itself around my vena cava. Any attempts at resection would have killed me.
I underwent gallbladder surgery/lymph node clean out in April 2011 plus had a hepatic infusion pump inserted into my abdomen. After a number of rounds of Gemzar/Oxaliplatin and a few rounds of FUDR chemo thru the pump, I am now resectable. My resection is scheduled for April 4.
God willing I will be posting April 7th or so in the good news section telling you how wonderful I feel!!!!

Jose:
Your sister is so lucky to have family members there for her. It’s really good that you are asking so many questions on her behalf.
All I can say is she needs you so stay strong for her, but don’t forget to worry about yourselves. You can’t help her if you get sick.
Good luck.

Jose:
I got a prescription for Ativan when I was first diagnosed but it didn’t really help. It made me cry more. I just live with the attacks. I don’t have full fledged panic attacks… usually I just get an anxiety attack: I get depressed all of a sudden and start crying. I’m almost always alone when it happens so it isn’t bad or embarrassing. And if my boyfriend is here he holds me until I’m done. I try ureally hard to not let it get me down for more than 10-15 minutes.
It’s getting harder now, though, since my resection is scheduled for 2 weeks away and I’m getting scared.
Compared to most of the other people on this site, I am pretty healthy except for this darned tumor. I’ve been in and out of the hospital quite a few times this past year; mostly for blood infections or “unknown” reasons. But except for a few bouts of pneumonia and some other side effects, I’ve been able to keep a little active and visit with friends. I’m currently fighting pneumonia again so I’m housebound and getting depressed about it.

Oh, and all my drugs are tylenol based, which means harder on the liver. But I have a hepatic infusion pump so I can’t take blood thinners. So I take tylenol based products. And I do take Ambien CR when I’m not on other drugs to help me sleep.

I hope this helped.

Jose:
My personal experience: I used to sleep in total darkness with no light or noise. Since my diagnosis I need the TV on. I leave the sound on really low but when I wake up during the night I find it comforting to have the tv as a companion.
I don’t know if your sister can sleep all night, but I only get 2 or 3 hours at a time between waking up.
As for the medical problems, I wish I could help you. I hope you and your sister find a doctor that can help her.

I hope it’s nothing: just the by product of the drainage tube. Sorry I can’t help you.

I did that, and didn’t see anything. But I tried to post the earlier comment and it errored on me. Guess cc.org and my computer were fighting.
I’ll look now. Thanks, Marion

I met my surgeon first. But I did meet my oncologist thru him before my initial surgery. I think it’s okay depending on the surgery and outcome.
I would fight for a center that deals with bile duct cancer. Even some of the “best” cancer centers don’t deal with this. Or get an oncologist that is willing to talk to someone at MD Anderson, Sloan Kettering, NY Presbyterian Mayo, etc….
Good luck to your stepmum I wish her all the best.