The First Stage of Bile Duct Cancer

Well, a month ago there weren't any tumors present. After the doctor that gave her the second opinion ordered a endoscopic ultrasound, a tumor is present. He says there is a chance that she will need chemo and/or radiation, but we will discuss that later. My mom is more interested in having the surgery that she's not worried about that. She is having surgery as I type this response.

My mother had her whipple surgery on May 18, 2005. The doctors feel she will not need chemo or radiation because the cancer was contained in the common bile duct. She is doing fairly well, so far. She's sucking on ice chips and drinking water. They have taken her off the oxygen. She is walking to a chair in the room and sitting up at least twice a day - 30 mins to an hour at a time. Dr. Shen has not made a decision on whether or not she will be discharged in our custody for recovery after her hospital stay or send her to an outpatient facility for recovery. What should we expect her to leave the hospital with ---the drain tubes, feeding tube, IV and etc. We are so happy we decided to bring my mom to Baptist Hospital (affiliated with Wake Forest)in Winston Salem, NC. Everybody here is so compassinate. Dr. Shen is wonderful, but I am wondering are there any surprises that we should be watching for? My mom has alot of people praying for her, and I know that GOD is good and he has the last say so, but .............. Everything is going too smooth. Am I worrying for nothing?

Sounds like everyhting went well. Take it one day at a time. I came home free of any tubes, etc. Good Luck!

Philmar

My mother is recovering well from her surgery, except for her constipation. Nothing over the counter seems to be working --Milk of Magnesia, Dulcolax, Suppositories. I suggested to my mom that she increase her water intake and fiber in her diet, but nothing is doing it. I believe the pain meds are causing her problem. Can anyone offer any advice? She needs some relief!

June 19th will make it one month to the day my mother had her surgery. We went to the doctor today for them to remeove the feeding tube. While we were there, the doctor informed us that 4 of the 10 lymph nodes removed during surgery came back cancerous. Although the cancer was contained in the bile duct, she will need a round of chemo and radiation (4 to 6 weeks). Her wounds will have to heal more before they will start any for of treatment. We will return to the doctors office in two weeks to discuss forms of treatment.

Were you completely healed before they started treatment? When did you start chemo and radiation? How often did you have to go in for treatment? Can you just tell me exactly what you experienced? We know that she will have to have treatments for 4-6 weeks. We will meet with someone after her incision heals more.

my mom had a whipple procedure 4 weeks ago and just started with constipation issues the last 8 days. She is not taking ANY meds. Like your mom no over the counter remedies are working. She was doing so well and now is miserable. If tonight over the counter suggestion does not work, I am taking her back to the surgeon. I am afraid there is a blockage.

My hauband is 66 and had lower bile duct cancer that had not spread, with surgery to completely remove in Sept. 04. He had 6 months of 5fU chemo (no radiation) and then got a CT scan that proclaimed him tumor free. But then he got obstructed from scar tissue a week later and had to have another surgery July 05. It turned out he had another tumor in the bile system but where it connects to the small bowel (thank goodness the surgeon's eyes were more sensitive than the CT). They removed it and now he is on more aggressive chemo. It sounds like having radiation to kill off any stray cancer cells is a good idea, as he got another tumor. My question is how do they do radiation if there is no specific tumor? Do they just radiate the entire area?

My't mom was diagnosed with colon cancer July 04 and and surgery to remove the tumor-they call it poorly differentiated tumor-4/24 lymph nodes affected-chemo for 6mths. and was just enjoying life again when all of a sudden she couldn-'t eat -ultrasound-cat scan-found a tumor in the common bile duct-procedure ERCP where they put a stent in the blocked duct so she can eat. She just had apptmt.with oncologist-sm. tumor in common bile duct and a group of drs. decide what her options are-so she has towait another week-they are not fast. Supposely where it is located they cannot do surgery-and my understanding that chemo-radiation usually doesn't shrink the tumor. I hope I hear from someone that has had the same cancer and what they did for them. At this point my mom said no more surgery or chemo. Sept.05 found tumor in bile duct.

Hello all

My father age 64 had colon cancer in 2003, had surgery and the chemo in 6 months because of cancerous lymphnodes.

My father was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma and spread to the liver ind february 2005. He was offered chemo but not as a cure.

He went on the chemo regime with oxaliplatin and gemzar and xeloda. His tumor regressed sligthly but has now progressed and they have stopped offering chemo. So now I am desperate for starting a new battle against the tumor. But here in Denmark if one thing doesn't work you are not likely to get the chance to try another thing.

Any advice would be much appreciated

How is your mother doing.

Greetings from Randi, Denmark aged 36