Possible to survive Primary Liver Cancer?

Tobiasis
Tobiasis Member Posts: 4
edited March 2014 in Liver Cancer #1
Hi there. An acquaintance of mine has primary liver cancer, and he is only 31. His symptoms included feeling unwell, jaundice, pain in back & some abdominal bruising, and A LOT of weightloss. Dr's are operating today to remove a large portion of his liver (he has 4 tumors) and he is on a transplant wait list. I've heard that most people with liver cancer die within 3 to 6 months of diagnosis. Do you think that there is hope, as they are actually going to operate? If there was absolutely no chance for survival, wouldn't they just treat it with palliative measures, rather than performing such an invasive, risky and painful surgery? Symptoms usually show in the later stages of this disease...but is it possible for symptoms to show earlier, depending on things such as tumor location, etc? Any advice you could provide is greatly appreciated! Thank you all!
«1

Comments

  • offutt9
    offutt9 Member Posts: 88
    Hello!! i have primary liver cancer called angiosarcome of the liver. They say it is a very, very, rare type of cancer. I am only 49. I have known about it for a year now. I plan on surviving!!! I lean of God most of all. Last september,I had (RFA) radio frequency ablation done on my liver. I had 5 lesions, 4,5,6,7,&9 cm.I am now taking chemo to prevent any more cancer from forming. I am doing well. Faith and a good positive attitude will get you thru. My prayers are with you and your friend. Remember, there is always hope. Barbara
  • Tobiasis
    Tobiasis Member Posts: 4
    offutt9 said:

    Hello!! i have primary liver cancer called angiosarcome of the liver. They say it is a very, very, rare type of cancer. I am only 49. I have known about it for a year now. I plan on surviving!!! I lean of God most of all. Last september,I had (RFA) radio frequency ablation done on my liver. I had 5 lesions, 4,5,6,7,&9 cm.I am now taking chemo to prevent any more cancer from forming. I am doing well. Faith and a good positive attitude will get you thru. My prayers are with you and your friend. Remember, there is always hope. Barbara

    Hi Barbara,
    Thank you for your reply and words of encouragement. I hope the best for you also, and I admire your strength and courage. I hope you don't mind if I ask you a few questions? Did you have the same symptoms as the ones I described for my friend? Did they discover your cancer in the early stages? I guess I'm just wondering that since my friend displayed symptoms, that it might already be too late. Did you have a resection surgery performed at any time? We are all so nervous and scared. It's comforting to learn of people living with and surviving this disease!
  • offutt9
    offutt9 Member Posts: 88
    Tobiasis said:

    Hi Barbara,
    Thank you for your reply and words of encouragement. I hope the best for you also, and I admire your strength and courage. I hope you don't mind if I ask you a few questions? Did you have the same symptoms as the ones I described for my friend? Did they discover your cancer in the early stages? I guess I'm just wondering that since my friend displayed symptoms, that it might already be too late. Did you have a resection surgery performed at any time? We are all so nervous and scared. It's comforting to learn of people living with and surviving this disease!

    Hello!! I keep praying for you and your friend, and wish you all the best. In answer to your questions, no, I did't have a lot of symptoms. I felt tired a lot, but no jaundice. My cancer was found purely by accident. You see, on 01-24-03, i went to the dr. with abdominal pain. I had a kidney stone. To make a long story short, a week later after having surgery to remove the stone, i was in pain again. They said there were no more stones. The kub they did showed none. So they had to look further(and I know this was the doings of God) and thats when they found the lesions on my liver.My cancer center said it was stage 2 angiosarcoma and they didn't know how to treat me so sent me to Texas. After many more tests, texas said I did't have cancer.my cancer center and Texas continued disagreeing for months and when my lesions were growing, Texas said it wasn't and said ther was no reason to see me again. My dr. said I only had 6-12 months to live and I would be dead by Christmas. He gave me no hope. I then went to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, and found lots of hope. I talked to people who were told they only had 3 months to live, but with the surgeries, resection, or liver transplant options, they are still living and its been almost 3yrs. and they are doing well. They talked about putting me on the transplant list, but rfa has worked wonderfully for me. I'm sorry I was kind of long , but I wanted you to know,i never gave up hope, and you all shouln't either. I have a friend whose mother has liver cancer and is very jaundice, and has abdominal pain, and has had the shunts put in to drain off the jaundice. She is tired a lot but keeps on keeping on. She is 60. She has been jaundiced before but has recouperated well. I hope I have helped maybe a little. I'll be glad to talk to you anytime. your in my prayers, barbara
  • magenta007
    magenta007 Member Posts: 1
    offutt9 said:

    Hello!! i have primary liver cancer called angiosarcome of the liver. They say it is a very, very, rare type of cancer. I am only 49. I have known about it for a year now. I plan on surviving!!! I lean of God most of all. Last september,I had (RFA) radio frequency ablation done on my liver. I had 5 lesions, 4,5,6,7,&9 cm.I am now taking chemo to prevent any more cancer from forming. I am doing well. Faith and a good positive attitude will get you thru. My prayers are with you and your friend. Remember, there is always hope. Barbara

    Hi! I was just diagnosed with liver lesions and some of my tumors are malignant. What kind of therapy are you having? Friend in New Hampshire
  • offutt9
    offutt9 Member Posts: 88

    Hi! I was just diagnosed with liver lesions and some of my tumors are malignant. What kind of therapy are you having? Friend in New Hampshire

    Hello!! I WENT TO CLEVELAND ClINIC IN CLEVELAND ,OHIO. Dr. Allen Siperstein,did (RFA), which is radio frequency ablation, on my liver. Only a over night stay in the hospital, and a cat scan 24hr. later..They burn you lesions and the heat kills them. I am doing great! I just finished my last dose of Chemo today. I didn't have to take it, but I chose to. The chemo will get rid of the cancer cells if any are left. I took 4 months of chemo, 2 days at a time then off 3weeks. Cleveland Clinic is the smartest move I made. They Have their own website at cleveland clinic.com. or I can give you more info if you want. friend in kentucky
  • Tobiasis
    Tobiasis Member Posts: 4
    offutt9 said:

    Hello!! I WENT TO CLEVELAND ClINIC IN CLEVELAND ,OHIO. Dr. Allen Siperstein,did (RFA), which is radio frequency ablation, on my liver. Only a over night stay in the hospital, and a cat scan 24hr. later..They burn you lesions and the heat kills them. I am doing great! I just finished my last dose of Chemo today. I didn't have to take it, but I chose to. The chemo will get rid of the cancer cells if any are left. I took 4 months of chemo, 2 days at a time then off 3weeks. Cleveland Clinic is the smartest move I made. They Have their own website at cleveland clinic.com. or I can give you more info if you want. friend in kentucky

    Hi everyone....I received sad news this week. My friend had surgery....but the Dr. basically opened him up and said "no way - inoperable" and closed him back up again. I guess it's too far advanced, and there isn't much likelihood that he will survive. Do you know if they do RFA treatments on a regular basis? Would something like that be worthwhile? Don't even know if they do it in Canada?
  • offutt9
    offutt9 Member Posts: 88
    Tobiasis said:

    Hi everyone....I received sad news this week. My friend had surgery....but the Dr. basically opened him up and said "no way - inoperable" and closed him back up again. I guess it's too far advanced, and there isn't much likelihood that he will survive. Do you know if they do RFA treatments on a regular basis? Would something like that be worthwhile? Don't even know if they do it in Canada?

    hello, I am sorry for the news you received about your friend, you are still in my prayers. I don't know if they do rfa treatments in Canada but you should ask the doctor about it. RFA treatment, only one , took care of my 5 lesions on my liver. I don't know if it is right for your friend or not. Please talk to his doctor. Ask him if he knows about this treatment, or any other treatments out there.Tell him not to give up hope....A dr. should never give up. nor should you or your friend. I wish there was more I could do or say. Your in our prayers
  • Tobiasis
    Tobiasis Member Posts: 4
    offutt9 said:

    hello, I am sorry for the news you received about your friend, you are still in my prayers. I don't know if they do rfa treatments in Canada but you should ask the doctor about it. RFA treatment, only one , took care of my 5 lesions on my liver. I don't know if it is right for your friend or not. Please talk to his doctor. Ask him if he knows about this treatment, or any other treatments out there.Tell him not to give up hope....A dr. should never give up. nor should you or your friend. I wish there was more I could do or say. Your in our prayers

    Hi Barbara,
    Thank you again for your prayers and thoughts, and encouraging responses. The lastest information is that the doctors can no longer do anything to try and slow down or cure the disease. He likely only has a few weeks at most. Very sad, and many friends/acquaintances are coming to be near.
    Thank you so much for talking to me! My prayers are with you also! Stay positive!
  • bebin16
    bebin16 Member Posts: 1
    I just found out tonight that my mom has 2 tumours in her liver. I am so scared at this point, and I don't know what to think. She has had bone metastes Cancer for the last 8 years and prior to that she had breast cancer. I'm 21 years old and in my second year of university. This news tonight has really devastated me, and I am really scared for her. What should I do? If anyone can give me some information on Liver Cancer I would really appreciate it.

    scared in Canada
  • offutt9
    offutt9 Member Posts: 88
    bebin16 said:

    I just found out tonight that my mom has 2 tumours in her liver. I am so scared at this point, and I don't know what to think. She has had bone metastes Cancer for the last 8 years and prior to that she had breast cancer. I'm 21 years old and in my second year of university. This news tonight has really devastated me, and I am really scared for her. What should I do? If anyone can give me some information on Liver Cancer I would really appreciate it.

    scared in Canada

    Hello, I am sorry to hear about your mother, but there is hope. You need to pray and lean on the Lord. He will get you thru. That,s how I got thru. Faith in God, and people praying for me. I have a daughter 21, and it was hard for her to hear that I had liver cancer. But she kept praying for me. Liver cancer is scary. You and your Mom should talk to her doctor about the different options she may have. Lots of liver cancer is treatable according to my doctor, but there is no known cure , however, there are some options that may increase your Moms lifespan. Only your moms doctor knows what treatment is best for her, but the Great Physician up above can comfort you. God loves you. Lean on Him. He'll never let you down. By the way, I just found out I had liver cancer this time last year, and I just finished my chemotherapy last week after having RFA (radio frequency ablation) done on my liver in september. Everything looks great and I am doing great. Be glad to talk anytime. Liver Cancer Survivor in Kentucky I WILL BE PRAYING FOR YOU AND YOUR MOM
  • Ripley
    Ripley Member Posts: 2
    offutt9 said:

    Hello, I am sorry to hear about your mother, but there is hope. You need to pray and lean on the Lord. He will get you thru. That,s how I got thru. Faith in God, and people praying for me. I have a daughter 21, and it was hard for her to hear that I had liver cancer. But she kept praying for me. Liver cancer is scary. You and your Mom should talk to her doctor about the different options she may have. Lots of liver cancer is treatable according to my doctor, but there is no known cure , however, there are some options that may increase your Moms lifespan. Only your moms doctor knows what treatment is best for her, but the Great Physician up above can comfort you. God loves you. Lean on Him. He'll never let you down. By the way, I just found out I had liver cancer this time last year, and I just finished my chemotherapy last week after having RFA (radio frequency ablation) done on my liver in september. Everything looks great and I am doing great. Be glad to talk anytime. Liver Cancer Survivor in Kentucky I WILL BE PRAYING FOR YOU AND YOUR MOM

    My mother was diagnosed with stage 4 primary liver cancer that has gone into her bones. This news came just 4 months after my father was diagnosed with lung and bone cancer. My mother is on her second try of chemo. The first round helped to shrink the tumors but not enough. She's now been on another kind of chemo for 3 treatments and will go for a catscan in 2 weeks to see if this one is working. How many different chemos does it take to stop this disease? Has anyone else gone through different types of chemo? If so how many did it take to find the right one?
  • cleo109
    cleo109 Member Posts: 1
    Will someone please tell me that there is some shread of hope for my husband surviving liver cancer. It is probably secondary because he had esophageal cancer last August, it was caught very early with no lymph node involvement - they removed the esophagus and the prognosis was excellent. CT scan in Jan 04 was negative - the one yesterday showed 2 spots on the liver. He is 54. Can you email me at Buhla109@aol.com because I am not sure I can find my way here again. Thanks
  • clicata
    clicata Member Posts: 2
    Tobiasis said:

    Hi Barbara,
    Thank you for your reply and words of encouragement. I hope the best for you also, and I admire your strength and courage. I hope you don't mind if I ask you a few questions? Did you have the same symptoms as the ones I described for my friend? Did they discover your cancer in the early stages? I guess I'm just wondering that since my friend displayed symptoms, that it might already be too late. Did you have a resection surgery performed at any time? We are all so nervous and scared. It's comforting to learn of people living with and surviving this disease!

    Tobiasis.. My brother in law was just diagnosed with primary liver cancer..specifically Fibrolamellar carcinoma. He is also in the process of being put on the transplant list. I too am worried about the severity of the procedures. I think it is important to find if it has moved to lymph nodes, bones or lungs. I was also frightened by the statistics originally, but have found many instances where there has been much more success. We know of one cancer transplant survivor that is very active a full 14 years later. There is always hope and a positive attitude means everything. It is also important to find a doctor and hospital that is very experienced with the transplant itself. We have changed from our original team. Good luck to you.
  • alisonw
    alisonw Member Posts: 3
    hello i guess i'll join the responses in hopes of finding someone who has also has primary, metastatic liver cancer caused by hepatitis c... my father was diagnosed with cancer 6 months ago after undergoing the interferon treatment for hep. c... he's had a liver ablation and chemoembolization but the cancer has spread to his lymph nodes and is now metastatic. the doctors say it is incurable and cannot recommend any treatment other than sort of picking a clinical trial out of a hat. has anyone had any success with clinical trials, or any kind of treatment? i think we all should pull together and the only advice i can give is to believe in getting well again. somehow, giving my father hope and love and attention has actually helped him in a visible way. thank you everyone...
  • Teresa85331
    Teresa85331 Member Posts: 1
    offutt9 said:

    Hello!! I keep praying for you and your friend, and wish you all the best. In answer to your questions, no, I did't have a lot of symptoms. I felt tired a lot, but no jaundice. My cancer was found purely by accident. You see, on 01-24-03, i went to the dr. with abdominal pain. I had a kidney stone. To make a long story short, a week later after having surgery to remove the stone, i was in pain again. They said there were no more stones. The kub they did showed none. So they had to look further(and I know this was the doings of God) and thats when they found the lesions on my liver.My cancer center said it was stage 2 angiosarcoma and they didn't know how to treat me so sent me to Texas. After many more tests, texas said I did't have cancer.my cancer center and Texas continued disagreeing for months and when my lesions were growing, Texas said it wasn't and said ther was no reason to see me again. My dr. said I only had 6-12 months to live and I would be dead by Christmas. He gave me no hope. I then went to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, and found lots of hope. I talked to people who were told they only had 3 months to live, but with the surgeries, resection, or liver transplant options, they are still living and its been almost 3yrs. and they are doing well. They talked about putting me on the transplant list, but rfa has worked wonderfully for me. I'm sorry I was kind of long , but I wanted you to know,i never gave up hope, and you all shouln't either. I have a friend whose mother has liver cancer and is very jaundice, and has abdominal pain, and has had the shunts put in to drain off the jaundice. She is tired a lot but keeps on keeping on. She is 60. She has been jaundiced before but has recouperated well. I hope I have helped maybe a little. I'll be glad to talk to you anytime. your in my prayers, barbara

    Hi Barbara, My 26 year old nephew was just diagnosed with angiosarcoma in the liver. We think he may have been exposed to vinyl chloride. Do you have any info about how you got your cancer? How are you doing these days? Please email me at tcashen@qwest.net
  • katzpur
    katzpur Member Posts: 4
    offutt9 said:

    Hello!! i have primary liver cancer called angiosarcome of the liver. They say it is a very, very, rare type of cancer. I am only 49. I have known about it for a year now. I plan on surviving!!! I lean of God most of all. Last september,I had (RFA) radio frequency ablation done on my liver. I had 5 lesions, 4,5,6,7,&9 cm.I am now taking chemo to prevent any more cancer from forming. I am doing well. Faith and a good positive attitude will get you thru. My prayers are with you and your friend. Remember, there is always hope. Barbara

    Hi Barbara, thank you so much for posting your experience. My brother is 45 and has liver ca., hep c and cirrhosis. the doctor suggested chemoembolization. He needs support, he was just told 12 months to live. katzpur@aol.com
  • firestuss
    firestuss Member Posts: 7
    offutt9 said:

    hello, I am sorry for the news you received about your friend, you are still in my prayers. I don't know if they do rfa treatments in Canada but you should ask the doctor about it. RFA treatment, only one , took care of my 5 lesions on my liver. I don't know if it is right for your friend or not. Please talk to his doctor. Ask him if he knows about this treatment, or any other treatments out there.Tell him not to give up hope....A dr. should never give up. nor should you or your friend. I wish there was more I could do or say. Your in our prayers

    Hi there, its been nice to hear that your treatment has gone well,and you can look back on it all.like you i have the same condition u had (angiosarcoma) of the liver and have a tumour that has responded to chemo therapy (di roxarubicin hydrochloride) i am hoping after chemo they can give me RFA like you had. I'm 33 and live in england and am worried that they are not skilled enough to do it so am thinking of making the trip to wear you had your treatment. like you they thought my tumour was benign and gave me 99.9% all clear that i had not cancer,but later said it was.that was a bit cruel.like to hear how u are doing.i hope i can follow your path.Peace Stewart
  • firestuss
    firestuss Member Posts: 7
    offutt9 said:

    Hello!! i have primary liver cancer called angiosarcome of the liver. They say it is a very, very, rare type of cancer. I am only 49. I have known about it for a year now. I plan on surviving!!! I lean of God most of all. Last september,I had (RFA) radio frequency ablation done on my liver. I had 5 lesions, 4,5,6,7,&9 cm.I am now taking chemo to prevent any more cancer from forming. I am doing well. Faith and a good positive attitude will get you thru. My prayers are with you and your friend. Remember, there is always hope. Barbara

    Hope u are well, be good to hear back from you.how did the treatment go.i would be happy to hear how you have been.in this difficult journey we've been given it be good to try and keep in contact as it is a lonely one to deal with.my wishes are with you.hope to hear from you.stewart
  • AuthorUnknown
    AuthorUnknown Member Posts: 1,537 Member
    I don't know how to post to all liver cancer advice. I'll be brief. Most oncology doctors unfortunatly stopped searching for more truth to be revealed to them. I'm ill and I have suffered needlessly. U of texas houston anderson cancer center-listed number 1 in rankings. Cancer centers of America-several locations. All use different approaches to heal. The traditional methods, plus nutrition, immune defense, herbs, the list goes on. Let me know if anyone knows about this. I have been misdiagnosed, told I was psychosomatic, and my family on both sides-no support. I had to turn over to God. I have 6 years of research I've accumulated. Let me know if you have been told this. Thanks, Linda
  • This comment has been removed by the Moderator