I had a lovely trip to Leicester general. It was my birthday and the sun was shining. I was very grateful to my satnav which, although it didn’t warn me that the A6 was closed, did manage to avoid the traffic in Leicester.
Until now I have received all my treatment at Northampton general so a trip up the M1 was always going to be different. I was surprised how different hospitals have different procedures. But car parking is just as expensive.
I also met my liver surgeon for the first time. He didn’t tell me anything about my condition that I didn’t already know but hearing it in black and white certainly brought home the seriousness of my illness. I have 4 tumours in my liver. Three are on the right side, one of which is central. This will probably mean that I will have the whole right lobe of my liver removed (60% of the total). The tumour on the left side is much smaller and at the edge so this will be removed with the loss of a further 10-15%. So I am due to lose 75% of my liver. It sounds incredible but I am reliably informed that my body will regenerate the loss within 3 weeks and be fully functioning in 6!!
As always there is a condition. All this is based on what my scans have shown. Until the surgeon actually gets inside me he can’t tell for certain what is in there. I will have open surgery (another scar) and then they will rescan me from the inside. This is one of the reasons for going to Leicester as they have a specialist liver unit. So when he has all the information he’ll be able to decide what needs to be removed. I’ll only know myself when I wake up from the anaesthetic.
It has been interesting that both my surgeons feel that their surgery is the most important in my treatment. The liver is a much more complex organ than a large bowel and I have managed to survive without a large bowel which I wouldn’t do without a liver.
However, in terms of how my life has changed my liver surgery will have limited effects. Alcohol will be a no no for a few months but once it’s up and running I’ll hardly know it’s there. My bowel surgery has had an immediate effect on my life and will do for the rest of my life.
So, liver or large bowel. As Harry Hill would say ‘There’s only one way to find out. Fight!’.
I’m trying to make light of all this but I have to say I’m scared. I don’t know what the surgeon will find when he gets me open. Similarly, with my previous surgery there are a number of scenarios. But as I’ve found earlier I’ll worry about them as and when. I have to have faith in the skills of the surgical team and ask God to give me the strength to face whatever happens.
So the next steps are an MRI scan later today, pre-op assessment next week and if all okay my surgery is planned for Thursday 6th of April with the usual case of a bed being available in the high dependency unit.
As I’ve said many times before this is yet another step on my journey and again if I am ever to be cancer free it’s a step I must take. I am so grateful for all the good wishes and support I have been given. I can’t say how much it really means to me. Thank you.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
