Sunday, December 11, 2011

Liver Cancer Please Help?

396545116 just over a year ago my grandad was diagnosed with a rare type of liver cancer which i dont know the name for it started in the gull baldder which spread to liver they couldnt operate sooner as he needed heart valves replacing first, anyhow he had liver op 3 weeks ago but has been in alot of pain and not eating since the doctor told him today they couldnt remove all of the largest liver cancer which i think was 4cm and now they have said his liver is enlarged what shall i be exspecting now, how long approx will he be around for is he not eating due to the enlrged liver i think they want to do chemo to prolong his life so does this mean he will die very soon if he dont have it done he werent this bad 3 weeks ago could it have spread this quickly
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3 comments:

  1. rebesDecember 11, 2011 at 6:01 AM

    Sue M - OH Emma I'm so sorry. The best thing that can be done at this point in time is make your grandpa comfortable. Reassure him you love him. The chemo could help but it's very hard on the body, they get terrible sick. Some people would rather give up and go to heaven, than have chemo. I wish I could be their to give you a hug. Grab a friend and get a hug from me ok. take care and pray Grandma sue

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  2. rebesDecember 11, 2011 at 6:01 AM

    Jesus - HAHAHAHAHHA YOUR GRANDPA GOT CANCER -Slaps my thigh- HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

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  3. rebesDecember 11, 2011 at 6:02 AM

    abijann - Cancerous tumors can push against the liver cells and cause
    damage to them. When the liver cells are damaged, the immune
    system of the body will respond to this and cause inflammation
    to develop inside the liver. This is what causes the liver to
    enlarge in size and take on a spongy texture.

    If the cancer was only in one part of the liver, then they would
    do a resection to try and remove this part and the liver would
    then regenerate new cells to become a whole liver again.

    If the cancer is throughout the liver, but was only in the liver
    itself...then he may of been able to be evaluated for placement
    on the liver transplant list. (This would also depend on whether the
    doctors thought he would be able to withstand the long hours of
    surgery with his heart condition)
    However, If the cancer was somewhere
    else and came to the liver, or started in the liver and went somewhere
    else...then it is considered an aggressive cancer and the transplantation
    option may not be able to be available for him.

    The doctors can sometimes shrink a tumor using what is known as
    Sir Spheres, but, it depends on how many tumors the patient is known
    to have...whether the option for transplant would still be available.
    Sir Spheres are like microscopic beads of 40 x the radiation delivered
    right to the tumor itself.
    Links you can click on:
    http://www.umgcc.org/sir-spheres/about_sirt.htm
    http://www.sir.net.au/SIR_pi.html

    There is something new out:
    PERCUTANEOUS HEPATIC PERFUSION OR PHP
    Gives very high doses of chemotherapy but keep them largely confined to
    the liver. Catheters to deliver 10 times the normal amount of chemo
    directly to the liver. Two balloons block the chemo from flowing
    through the rest of the body.
    The blood that does touch the chemo is filtered out,
    cleansed and pumped back in.
    80 percent saw their tumors shrink or stabilize.
    This helps prevent the sickness people feel with the chemo.
    Here is information of the person to contact, if you may want to
    try it: I don't know if this is still a clinical trial or not:
    Dr. Mark Faries, John Wayne Cancer Institite,
    Los Angeles, CA
    fariesm@jwci.org Phone 310-582-7020
    Clinical trial info: 1-888-NCI 1937

    Only the doctors who have all his blood, film, and biopsy tests results can
    give a patient an educated "guess" of how long they may have left to live,
    it they do not have a transplant done. It is important that the patient sign
    an Advance directive or power of attorney form appointing someone in
    his family to speak to his doctors directly and make decisions for him
    (say he is in surgery or under the influence of strong medications).


    They can insert tubes to see he gets his nourishment.

    If he decides he doesn't want chemo and want to be at home:
    The doctor can sign for him to have Hospice at home.
    You can get in touch with the Area of the Aging in your area,
    they provided alot of help to those who are elderly and some to
    people who are disabled.

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