possible liver resection

Lisa_R
Lisa_R Member Posts: 59
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
hi everyone--- hope you are feeling fine....
dx june07 colon resection then chemo for 7 1/2 months, 14 month break and came back june 09.. am on avastin, erbitux, cpt-11 with a 5fu push... was told in june of 07 "too many mets to count"

Ok on my last PET scan only 2 nodules left(one in the liver and one on the top right lung) and the scan is negative--- YEAH !!! anyways the dr refers me to mayo for a possible liver resection.. maybe get the one on the lung too... so if this ok"d how hard is this going to be? i admit i am scared at the thought of the surgery.. but concidering where i started--- i think i really want it... i am going to the mayo (minn) next week and would really like some pointers on what to expect.

thank you
lisa r

Comments

  • carolyn2006
    carolyn2006 Member Posts: 1
    #2
    liver resection
    Lisa

    I had the liver resection in Nov 2006. I had 75% of my liver removed - my surgeon thought he was going to remove 70%, but had to take the max that he could. My three tumors and shrunk with the chemo, but my onocologist wanted the tumors out. The surgery is long. 5 - 6 hours.
    I was never in pain the surgery, but I had drain tubes on the right side that put liquid into a bag that had to be emptied every 3-4 hours. This wasn't a problem until three weeks after the surgery when the tubes were trying to come out. the tubes are placed in during surgery and it is about two feet of tubing. I finally had to have my surgeon pull the tubes out. I couldn't take it any more. He had wanted the tubes in for 5-6 weeks. I have another cancer patient that had the tubes in for 3 months. That is the worst part of the surgery. After the surgery I looked like I was going to have triplets. No surgery is easy, but the colon resection was a breeze compared to the liver surgery. One good thing with the surgery. I am now N.E.D - no evidence of disease. Go for it.
  • mom_2_3
    mom_2_3 Member Posts: 953 Member
    #3
    Liver resection
    Lisa,

    There are a large number of individuals on the board that have had a liver resection. Personally I had one in February of this year where the doctors removed about 40% of my liver (5 mets). At the same time I had my colon resected as well as having an HAI pump implanted. I can't say that my experience will match yours given you are just going for the liver resection (and mine was more extensive) but I will tell you that I had no fear going into surgery. I was very confident in my surgical and medical team.

    I had surgery on a Friday and was released the following Saturday. I had no drains/tubes with the exception of the catheter for the first day. My incision included about 40 some staples and they were removed 10 days after my surgery. The pain was pretty intense for the first few days but I had a pump that would dispense painkillers when I pushed the button. I did start walking right away so I could straighten up my torso and not be so hunched over. My incision went from my sternum to below my belly button but I just met someone yesterday who had a liver resection only and her incision ran horizontally beneath her rib cage.

    About 2 weeks out I was feeling pretty good from a pain perspective and I stopped taking my pain medication (which I really only took at night in order to sleep). The actual regeneration of the liver took my energy and I slept quite a bit. At about 6 weeks I found that I got my energy back. Today I feel fantastic and the surgery seems a distant memory.

    I went to MSK but I know that Mayo is highly regarded. Questions I would ask the surgeon would be around the number of liver resections he/she does, whether you will get an epidural, what percentage of liver removed, lobes/sections, time to recovery, what constraints on your activity are recommended, what diet can be of value for liver re-generation. One thing you may want to ask about is an HAI pump and whether it would be a good idea to implant one for adjuvant therapy.

    Hope this helps and good luck!!

    Amy
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    #4
    Hi Lisa
    I had my liver resection (65%) done over 5 years ago. I also had a bunch of other things done at the same time. Colon resection, gallbladder removed, HAI Pump installed, a few lymph nodes removed, my tires rotated and an oil change.

    Your situation sounds very promising. With me having so much done my recovery was much different than yours would be. I would think that you'd feel pretty good in a much shorter time.

    Any surgery can be a challenge but if you walk around a lot afterwards it speeds things up. I know I didn't give you a solid answer but I think you will do just fine. I'm glad to hear that so many tumors shrank.
    -p
  • zenmonk
    zenmonk Member Posts: 198
    #5
    possible liver resection
    I had my liver resection on June 10th. It is amazing how far they have come in surgical techniques. It seemed to me that the recovery period was longer and more intense but other than that I think you can go into that surgery with confidence. It was funny becuase when I started chemo my tumors were too large and too many for surgery. So we worked out a chemo plan with the goal of shrinking the tumors to make me eligible for surgery. It worked. I found myself wondering why I was so apprehensive about the surgery because that was my goal to begin with, to get to that point. Anyways, you WILL be fine. I hope that you have help and dont live alone because its tough the first week or so. I felt normal in about a month.
  • jams67
    jams67 Member Posts: 925 Member
    #6
    liver
    You've had a rough time already!
    I had a liver resection in '05 and even though it was tough, I'm still ok. Check out my profile. I understand that it grows back in a very short amount of time. Let us know what they suggest at Mayo C.
    When I came home I remember sleeping naked for a while because the incision was from just under my sternum virticle, and then right angled to right side. However my colon was resected and port put in at the same time. I had a tube in my neck, the port, a catheter, and a tube coming out of the incision. You will do fine. Try to walk in the hospital as much as you can and start by working out now so that you will be strong for your surgery.
    Jo Ann
  • Lisa_R
    Lisa_R Member Posts: 59
    #7
    thank you for all your
    thank you for all your comments--- i appreciate it

    lisa
  • angelsbaby
    angelsbaby Member Posts: 1,165 Member
    #8
    Lisa_R said:

    thank you for all your
    thank you for all your comments--- i appreciate it

    lisa

    Just wanted to say
    good luck and take care.

    michelle

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