treatment after gall bladder removed

My sister, 44 yrs old, was diagnosed Christmas eve with gall bladder cancer.Her gall bladder was removed on 1/16/08 along with 7 lymth nodes and a small 5% of liver.Cancer was found in the gall bladder and 5 lymth nodes, the liver was clear. She was staged at stage 2. Her surgery was done at Sloan Kettering in NY a wonderful place! She had a fluid collection complication at the incision site. A drain was placed and the horizontal incision was opened to clear infection. The open incision had to remain open to heal from the inside out delaying, chemotherapy.  Gemcitabine is their recommended drug but,Sloan was clear that there is no established treatment for gall bladder cancer after surgical resection.They use protacol for a near by organ, the pancreas to decide which drug to prescibe. My hope is that someone may have some insight to share. We need to begin some type of adjuvant therapy very shortly. If not gemcitabine, or gemcitabine based, what else? Are there any sucess stories. I send my prayers to everyone touched by this. Thanks everyone.

Nancy 

On 3/22/2008 nynancy wrote:

My sister, 44 yrs old, was diagnosed Christmas eve with gall bladder cancer.Her gall bladder was removed on 1/16/08 along with 7 lymth nodes and a small 5% of liver.Cancer was found in the gall bladder and 5 lymth nodes, the liver was clear. She was staged at stage 2. Her surgery was done at Sloan Kettering in NY a wonderful place! She had a fluid collection complication at the incision site. A drain was placed and the horizontal incision was opened to clear infection. The open incision had to remain open to heal from the inside out delaying, chemotherapy.  Gemcitabine is their recommended drug but,Sloan was clear that there is no established treatment for gall bladder cancer after surgical resection.They use protacol for a near by organ, the pancreas to decide which drug to prescibe. My hope is that someone may have some insight to share. We need to begin some type of adjuvant therapy very shortly. If not gemcitabine, or gemcitabine based, what else? Are there any sucess stories. I send my prayers to everyone touched by this. Thanks everyone.

Nancy 

Nancy,

  I pray that your sister is responding to treatment.  I know that surgery is the first defense against cancer.  I am currently being treated for breast cancer, however, I am here because my niece who is 51 has been diagnosed with gallbadder cancer.  I asked my oncologist if there is a treatment for gb cancer since my niece had been advised that there was no  chemo protocol but that they experiment with some chemo drugs if she wanted them to...my oncologist said that he was treating a patient of his with gemcitabine and radiation.  My niece is wondering whether to undergo chemo and radiation knowing some of the unpleasant side effects. 

 Again, I hope and pray your sister is doing well.  God Bless...