My father recently experienced severe jaundice and after several tests and placement of a temporary biliary drain and a permanent biliary stent, his doctor feels strongly that he has bile duct cancer but because the tissue taken during an ERCP was not sufficient, a diagnosis could not be made. His doctor did say that the "tumor" is nonsurgical, mainly due to his age (81). His doctor suggests another diagnostic test but explained it will be very difficult to schedule because only a couple doctors in our area do it. My father's doctor said we will be hard pressed to find an oncologist who will treat bile duct cancer (with chemo) without having a positive tissue biopsy. We're left with the impression that he has cancer but have been told there's basically nothing we can do about it. I understand that the prognosis for bile duct cancer is poor and feel that any time we waste now is less time that we will have with my father.
Has anyone else been in this situation? Is anyone familiar with further diagnostic tests that can be performed? I am desperately searching for some answers.