HCC : Don't know if our decision are right or not.

er_sandeep
er_sandeep Member Posts: 5
in Liver Cancer #1
HI

My mother(63) who had Hep C & Cirrosis for last 10 yrs was diagnosed with HCC in feb 11. At that time it was around 4 cm.

We went for TACE in Feb and in march observed 95% necrosis , however in may 3 small lesion appear on that site (1.8, 1.5 , .9) .

We also talked with surgeons ... who were of opinion that going for tace is not the right protocol and we should have gone for surgery. My mother is against any surgery. Currently she is fine doing routine jobs and liver functions are OK.

So we have again went for TACE on 4th June. Her Alpha protein drops from 750 to 230 in 15 days.

I am just looking for opinion that should we take a risk of surgery or TACE could help us.

Comments

  • XtremediverHCC
    XtremediverHCC Member Posts: 63 Member
    #2
    er_sandeep
    Don't know the
    er_sandeep
    Don't know the individual particulars of your mothers case history, but it is generally accepted that the only viable option for a "cure" is surgery; either resection or transplantation. I have had resection surgery, it bought me 3 more years and when the HCC recurred I opted for RFA as it was a small lesion and handle easily this way. Hope this helps (PS. i am 60 years of age, had hep c, cleared it and have cirrhosis also)
  • Darryl2010
    Darryl2010 Member Posts: 15
    #3
    Surgery
    The other post is correct. Surgery is the only known cure for cancer. Chemotherapy (TACE or other) is called a necrotic treatment - necrosis means to kill - and, although today's chemotherapy drugs are much better than they used to be and generally targeted to what they kill, it still presents difficulties for the patient (side effects, build up of resistance to the drug over time, etc.). The other form of care for cancer patients is called palliative care - making the patient comfortable, like pain medications.

    I'm fighting two tumors now, hoping for a chemotherapy drug that will arrest their growth long enough for me to convince the surgeons that I'm a good candidate for surgical removal of the tumors. If I'm given the option of surgery, I'll take it in a heartbeat.

    Good luck
    Darryl

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