finding it hard too keep it together

On 9/21/2009 alio1 wrote:

hi all, my farther has just been told that he has just 4 months to live without the liver resection and i find it so hard too be positive when i see this wonderful man fighting this awful disease and then been told they cant get rid of it and chemo is not an option any more. If he survives the op.

Hi Alio1...Settle down and take a breath. Yes this cancer kills, but there is hope. You message doesn't say much so it hard to be specific. Let me start by saying my wife (Karen) was given 6 weeks to live from doctor's at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek California. Karen was diagnosed with bile duct cancer (CC) and was told the doctor's at JMMC could not help. She needed to go to UCSF Medcial Center in SanFrancisco. 

Alio1...that was in 2003...Karen had surgery and survived. Oh yes a loy of ups and downs these past 6 years...but she is considered a survivor.

I don't know your location or which hospital your dad is being treated...tell me.

You can keep it together...you just have to learn more about this illness. And the doctors are correct...chemo and radiation before surgery will not do anything. This cancer tumor (is it a Klatskin Tumor) need to be handled with surgery.

I can pass on more information regarding this matter than you may want to here...but when you are ready...just ask.

When you respond next time, put your thoughts together and tell us the entire story...what the doctors are saying...what hospital...etc. etc. You will only get information form the folks on CancerCompass if your messages are more specific.

Again...things may be okay...give it chance.

Take care...hope to hear from you soon.

Leonard from Alamo, California

PS...you may want to scroll down on the messages under bile duct cancer and read some of my responses. my log in name is "solutions"

hi, my farther was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in late july 2009,and are local hospital couldnt get the stents in so he was transferred too the freemans hosp in newcastle in the uk, there they managed too get them in. after a couple of days rest they said he could go home foe a couple of days too relax. we thought this was brilliant so we brought him home on the friday for the weekend. On the saturday evening my mother phoned me at my home and said my farther was in severe pain and she didnt know what was wrong i got there and took him straight too the hospial were they found his stents had become blocked and infected, he was taken straight too surgery where they put everything right.After another week in hospital they released him home took try and build his strenth up abit.They said it was interhepatic bile duct cancer. A fortnight later he went for another mri and the cancer had  spread through his liver and the other bile ducts and only about 5cm of liver are left for resection. the consultant has told us chemo is no option and without surgery his clock was ticking down from when the jaundice first appeared.   He has four months if this is the case, that was last week and we waiting for the operation go ahead.   love alio1                         

On 9/23/2009 alio1 wrote:

hi, my farther was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in late july 2009,and are local hospital couldnt get the stents in so he was transferred too the freemans hosp in newcastle in the uk, there they managed too get them in. after a couple of days rest they said he could go home foe a couple of days too relax. we thought this was brilliant so we brought him home on the friday for the weekend. On the saturday evening my mother phoned me at my home and said my farther was in severe pain and she didnt know what was wrong i got there and took him straight too the hospial were they found his stents had become blocked and infected, he was taken straight too surgery where they put everything right.After another week in hospital they released him home took try and build his strenth up abit.They said it was interhepatic bile duct cancer. A fortnight later he went for another mri and the cancer had  spread through his liver and the other bile ducts and only about 5cm of liver are left for resection. the consultant has told us chemo is no option and without surgery his clock was ticking down from when the jaundice first appeared.   He has four months if this is the case, that was last week and we waiting for the operation go ahead.   love alio1                         

Hi Alio1,

This is Leonard from Alamo California. I didn't want to leave you hanging. I read your input, much more information...great. 

I will get back you later today (Thursday September 24th) I need to take my wife to UCSF Medical Center for a PET/CTscan. She completed her last Chemo session and they want to follow-up with the scan to see if the chemo handled the tumor.

I see your father had some problems with the internal stents, that doesn't surprise me, they clog easily. We found a better solution when inserting a stent is to use the internal stent with a external drain tube...this allows you to flush the stent/tube at will...I've a lot of flushing.

I'm sorry, I need to go, I will get back with you later. By the way I read that the doctor said your father has intrahepatic bile duct cancer. I assuming you know that's a cancer tumor in the bile duct within the liver. My wife had extrahepatic bile duct cancer...that's where the tumor is in the bile duct outside the liver...in fact it was just outside the liver at the "Y" (common hepatic bile duct). The tumor was right at the split blocking all bile flow.

Well I'm going to stop and leave for UCSF...talk to you later.

Take Care and stay positive, especially in front of your father, keep a smile on your face...it's very important for your dad. When ever I showed some sad emotions in front of Karen, she thought I knew something more and wasn't tell her.  

Leonard