On 8/7/2007
Cancer Cruncher wrote:
Good morning to you all. I would first like to say my prayers are with each and every one of you as I read all of your stories and questions. This is by no means a fun avenue for any of us. Just keep the faith and remain strong..... I was diagnosed with stage four metastatic colorectal cancer which has spread to my liver on December 27, 2006. I have completed 10 rounds of very aggressive chemo thus far. The tumors have responded wonderfully but it is not the cure in the long run. My tumor in my colon was 6.3cm with many tumors in both lobes of my liver over 9cm. approximately 85% of my liver volume was cancer. The outlook was grim in the beginning to say the least. However, to date with the aggressive chemo… the tumor in my colon is now 1cm and the largest tumor in my liver is 3.5cm. The cancer in my liver is now 10-15%. Quite a difference. I was in Pittsburgh at UPMC, Hillman Cancer Center the beginning of last week and had a series of tests as well as met with a colorectal specialist and a liver specialist. I was told that the chemo was not the answer although it has done a fantastic job of shrinking my tumors it wasn’t going to be the “homerun” I was looking for. After throwing out several options that I had learned from researching endless hours on line, such as 1) Radioactive beads 2) Hepatic Artery Infusion – direct doses of chemo to the liver 3) chemoembilization – direct chemo injections through catheter into the artery 4) Cryotherapy – application of extreme cold, freezing the tumors 5) Hepatic Resection in conjunction with Radiofrequency Ablation – cutting out the tumors possible, sewing the liver back together and electrically with a needle shocking the tumors that are left. This is my number one option however I am being told that this may not be possible because of the dense cancer mass throughout both lobes of my liver. The number one choice for UPMC at the moment without doing further testing at the time of surgery is IHP, Isolated Liver Perfusion. This is quite a radical test surgery where they isolate your liver from your body entirely, basically drown it in high doses of chemo and then reacquaint it with your body. The whole process, baring any complications, takes approximately 5 hours. After the surgery I believe you are in ICU for a while and remain in the hospital for at least 10 days. They also surgically implant a port, similar to a hockey puck, in your side in which they use to give your liver ONLY high doses of chemo once a month for the next six months. The failure rate is approximately 10%. The problem being they give the liver so much chemo during this procedure that some livers are not strong enough to survive. This is why the 10 day stay in the hospital. They will know if you and your liver are going to make it within those 10 days. The failure rate is not real bad but it is a reality and there are not second choices if your liver fails during this procedure.
My question: Is there anyone out there that has had the IHP procedure?? I would love to talk with someone that has already gone through this to see how your experience relates. The follow up treatments, how you are doing today, and any complications. I would also be very interested in any information on the other procedures mentioned or not mentioned above. I am currently looking into M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston Tx, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore Maryland, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston Mass for a second opinion. If anyone is able to offer anything on the above, or anywhere else, I would be grateful in hearing about it. I am 43 years old with two young daughters and I will not let this ugly disease beat me. Any help or ideas is gratefully appreciated.
In turn, if I can help any of you with further details on anything I have mentioned in this article, please don’t hesitate to ask. I am more than willing to share all that I can in hopes that I can help someone else in this relentless journey.
Thank you! And may God bless you all.
Jack