Not such good news re by secondary liver cancer

Hi chart

Such a difficult time to feel as though surgery slipped from your grasp . Your situation is exactly as my mum experienced . We had hoped for a liver resection after chemo but the radiographer identified other mets and the tone changed . We were also told they would always be looking for shrinkage and reevaluate if the opportunity presented itself . But I felt at the time they were being kind . However I was totally wrong . Chemo turned out to be a powerful treatment for her . Some of her mets were 5 cm and once chemo was finished they were no longer visible on the CT scan with a mere dot being identified on the post chemo PET scan . True to their word they did in fact reassess and the liver surgeons were able to remove 73% of her liver . If you click on my user name you can read her story as there was a few bumps along the way . 
I totally appreciate how difficult this part is when you are picking yourself back up but you will see people on the forums who are having chemo for six years and continuing to do well . 
At the time I was devastated and it was difficult but looking back in hindsight I attribute chemo to be one major factors in her longevity.

You Also have Cetuximab  in your plan . Back when my mum was diagnosed that was not available in Scotland , only England !! I did seriously think about moving down to Carlisle as the research was strong on its effectiveness . It’s available now though ! 
I see a few patients coming through on your protocol so I can only imagine the research is supporting this !

This is still not without hope , despite it being incredibly difficult and I wish for you significant shrinkage and hope chemo gets to do it’s job quickly . 

I think the “ chat “ is pretty universal as I scanned international forums at the time , however once they see how you respond to treatment and are better able to assess how you respond it can change . I noticed it slowly got progressively more loaded with possibilities! Twelve years later the registrars are now the consultants , the consultants many have retired and her current oncologist always has a little smile that creeps across her face when she sees her . Still doing her bit to increase the stats . Neither is she alone . Many people I connected with in the early days are still doing well . Sadly not all but hold onto the positives and draw strength from them. we certainly did .

Take care ,

Court 

Hi Court,

I woke up this morning to the sun coming in through the window. Then, after reading your reply to my post I felt lifted and hopeful for the future  Knowing that other people have been on the same journey and have survived makes me feel that there is hope for my journey to be successful too.  

You have made my day and your words have given me the courage to keep positive and fight back. 

Thank you.

Catherine

Hi, chart, can't help but sending a (((hug))) anyway!

Hi Catherine,

I was in a similar position to you 2 and a half years ago, diagnosed with stage 4 bowel that had spread to my liver and was inoperable. After 3 months of chemo, irinotecan and 5FU then 5 weeks of radiotherapy to my bowel all the tumours had shrunk by more than half and I was deemed operable. I had ops on both bowel and liver. I have had set backs along the way which have been challenging but am doing well. 

I am currently having chemo and as before have the pump at home for 2 days. I sometimes find it a hindrance but am very used to it. You will get used to it.

The best piece of advice I can give you is that in my experience I live with uncertainty, you will likely get some news that will be positive at times and sometimes will be more challenging. At times it feels like we have little control over anything but there are things we can control, food, exercise, time out if people are asking too many questions etc.

I hope that is helpful and that I haven't said too much.

Best wishes, Martin

Hi Martin,

Thank you. No the information is really helpful (not too much).  I know I have to be realistic, that there will be quite a few down days in my journey.  I think I might borrow your superpower though Hope!  which is what I have found on these posts.  

Journey continues tomorrow, with blood tests and then on Wednesday I get the line put in.

Good luck with your ongoing chemo.

Take Care

Catherine