Those who have had liver resection

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keystone
keystone Member Posts: 134 Member
in Colorectal Cancer #1
A dear friend of mines dad is having liver resection next month. I wanted to share some good resection stories with her. I have read many but not sure how to pin point them on the forum. So if you have a successful story that I could share with her I would love for you to take a minute to share. Her dad lives within minutes of us and my husband and he were diagnosed with rectal cancer within a month of each other. Thanks in advance for sharing! Stephanie

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  • herdizziness
    herdizziness Member Posts: 3,624 Member
    #2
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    Liver resection
    I had my liver resection last year during the week of Christmas (was in hospital on Christmas Day, best Christmas present I ever got, getting the cancer cut out)and the liver resection was just one part of a couple of other resections, so I had about two weeks of recovery time, before I was doing housework, etc., but it wasn't bad at all, at least for me.
    After getting the cancers cut out, I'm considered NED (No Evidence of Disease) and you just can't beat that. So I consider that a pretty good success story. Just remember, the hospital food is still TERRIBLE, so make sure someone brings her something good to eat while she's in there (that was one of my main concerns while I was in the hospital, which I think is a testament to how smooth the surgery and recovery had been).
    Hope this helps.
    Winter Marie
  • keystone
    keystone Member Posts: 134 Member
    #3
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    herdizziness said:

    Liver resection
    I had my liver resection last year during the week of Christmas (was in hospital on Christmas Day, best Christmas present I ever got, getting the cancer cut out)and the liver resection was just one part of a couple of other resections, so I had about two weeks of recovery time, before I was doing housework, etc., but it wasn't bad at all, at least for me.
    After getting the cancers cut out, I'm considered NED (No Evidence of Disease) and you just can't beat that. So I consider that a pretty good success story. Just remember, the hospital food is still TERRIBLE, so make sure someone brings her something good to eat while she's in there (that was one of my main concerns while I was in the hospital, which I think is a testament to how smooth the surgery and recovery had been).
    Hope this helps.
    Winter Marie

    Thanks Winter Marie!!

    Thanks Winter Marie!!
  • schnauzerheads
    schnauzerheads Member Posts: 53 Member
    #4
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    liver resection
    i was diagnosed with colon cancer in december of 2010, and they thought it was stage 3.... CEA levels after colon resection showed it had metastasized to the liver. stage 4, that was a major blow. after 6 months of chemo, the tumor had shrunk to a reasonable size, so i had a liver resection in august. the surgeon and oncologist were both very positive about the outcome. surgery was on a friday, i was out on tuesday. the doctor wanted to keep me there until wednesday or thursday but i managed to talk them into letting me out early. CEA level after surgery has been normal, i finished chemo a couple weeks ago and will see what's what in 3 months. if her dad is on avastin, i'm sure his caregivers know he needs to get off it before surgery, but i feel like that's something that it may not hurt to bring up. i don't think you can ever be too thorough, miscommunication is always something that worries me.
    i feel great now, the liver regenerates, the scars are minimal. the fact that they're doing surgery is a very poistive thing. some advice, while i try to avoid pain meds, don't let the morphine (or whatever) run out of his system after the surgery, because it's a bit painful if you have to wait for the meds to kick in again. please give your friend a huge hug and wish her dad all the best.
  • schnauzerheads
    schnauzerheads Member Posts: 53 Member
    #5
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    herdizziness said:

    Liver resection
    I had my liver resection last year during the week of Christmas (was in hospital on Christmas Day, best Christmas present I ever got, getting the cancer cut out)and the liver resection was just one part of a couple of other resections, so I had about two weeks of recovery time, before I was doing housework, etc., but it wasn't bad at all, at least for me.
    After getting the cancers cut out, I'm considered NED (No Evidence of Disease) and you just can't beat that. So I consider that a pretty good success story. Just remember, the hospital food is still TERRIBLE, so make sure someone brings her something good to eat while she's in there (that was one of my main concerns while I was in the hospital, which I think is a testament to how smooth the surgery and recovery had been).
    Hope this helps.
    Winter Marie

    herdizziness
    winter marie, you continue to be a huge inspiration to me!

    kevin
  • cinnamongirl56
    cinnamongirl56 Member Posts: 4
    #6
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    schnauzerheads said:

    liver resection
    i was diagnosed with colon cancer in december of 2010, and they thought it was stage 3.... CEA levels after colon resection showed it had metastasized to the liver. stage 4, that was a major blow. after 6 months of chemo, the tumor had shrunk to a reasonable size, so i had a liver resection in august. the surgeon and oncologist were both very positive about the outcome. surgery was on a friday, i was out on tuesday. the doctor wanted to keep me there until wednesday or thursday but i managed to talk them into letting me out early. CEA level after surgery has been normal, i finished chemo a couple weeks ago and will see what's what in 3 months. if her dad is on avastin, i'm sure his caregivers know he needs to get off it before surgery, but i feel like that's something that it may not hurt to bring up. i don't think you can ever be too thorough, miscommunication is always something that worries me.
    i feel great now, the liver regenerates, the scars are minimal. the fact that they're doing surgery is a very poistive thing. some advice, while i try to avoid pain meds, don't let the morphine (or whatever) run out of his system after the surgery, because it's a bit painful if you have to wait for the meds to kick in again. please give your friend a huge hug and wish her dad all the best.

    Liver Resection & Lung Wedge
    I had my liver re-sected on March 4 2011 plus had a lower wedge of my left lung done during same surgery. I was operated on on Friday and was home Tuesday. My spot was close to the vein so that my surgeon had to scrape the vein and I wasn't able to get a clear margin but my liver surgeon was confident that he got it all and I was up an walking that night. I was one of the lucky ones I never needed any pain medication at all not even after I had my tumor surgery last Sept 2010.....I finished 7 more chemo treatments after that and my last one was on July 19 and on Aug 25 I had my first scan and was told I was NED !!!! and my next scan will be Dec 8. I am feeling great and I do have a L shaped scar on my stomach but if it got me NED I can handle the scar......
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    #7
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    Hi Stephanie
    I had liver surgery in September of 2004 and it was very successful. Prior to my surgery I had chemo which shrunk the largest tumors including the one that was by my hepatic artery (the main source of blood to the liver). After having 60-70% of my liver removed I had some small spots that were still in there. During my surgery, I had an HAI pump installed which delivered chemo right to my liver and killed any remaining spots in there. It was a more targeted approach than the usual systemic (all over the body) chemo. I still got chemo systemically, but having the direct dose to the liver cleared things up nicely. I have not had any problems with my liver since then. Not all hospitals do that procedure, I had mine done at Sloan Kettering in NYC.

    On a side note, the liver is the only organ that regenerates itself.
    It's good to know...
    To show your friends Dad any posts, just copy the link that appears in the browser when you click on the Big Blue Post Title at the top of the post.
    I hope this helps, good luck to him. VERY many do VERY well with this type of operation.
    -phil
  • keystone
    keystone Member Posts: 134 Member
    #8
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    PhillieG said:

    Hi Stephanie
    I had liver surgery in September of 2004 and it was very successful. Prior to my surgery I had chemo which shrunk the largest tumors including the one that was by my hepatic artery (the main source of blood to the liver). After having 60-70% of my liver removed I had some small spots that were still in there. During my surgery, I had an HAI pump installed which delivered chemo right to my liver and killed any remaining spots in there. It was a more targeted approach than the usual systemic (all over the body) chemo. I still got chemo systemically, but having the direct dose to the liver cleared things up nicely. I have not had any problems with my liver since then. Not all hospitals do that procedure, I had mine done at Sloan Kettering in NYC.

    On a side note, the liver is the only organ that regenerates itself.
    It's good to know...
    To show your friends Dad any posts, just copy the link that appears in the browser when you click on the Big Blue Post Title at the top of the post.
    I hope this helps, good luck to him. VERY many do VERY well with this type of operation.
    -phil

    Thanks so much Phil!!!!

    Thanks so much Phil!!!!
  • SisterSledge
    SisterSledge Member Posts: 332 Member
    #9
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    liver resection 8/11/11
    Hi Stephanie,

    My surgery was performed after the chemo had shrunk my tumors enough to be operable. When they went in to remove them, they found that the tumors were completely necrotised and glomped together into one dead mass...all were removed with 60% of my liver. The surgery went very quick for me and the healing was smooth afterwards. My only discomfort during the hospital stay was when they removed the drain tube...twas a very painful few minutes in my experience, so be prepared for that possibility. Hospital stay was seven days. I have had a complication-free healing so far, though I'm trying to refrain from lifting objects heavy enough to potentially cause a hernia...the main warning I was given from the docs was to protect against hernias as they can be a serious problem in future.

    I'm having a bit of trouble with the scar from my surgery as clothing rubbing against it all day begins to hurt, and I can't wear anything that constricts across the scar, such as a bra. I am hoping to work with a tailor to make some undergarments that will be wearable.

    Best wishes,
    Janine
  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #10
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    SisterSledge said:

    liver resection 8/11/11
    Hi Stephanie,

    My surgery was performed after the chemo had shrunk my tumors enough to be operable. When they went in to remove them, they found that the tumors were completely necrotised and glomped together into one dead mass...all were removed with 60% of my liver. The surgery went very quick for me and the healing was smooth afterwards. My only discomfort during the hospital stay was when they removed the drain tube...twas a very painful few minutes in my experience, so be prepared for that possibility. Hospital stay was seven days. I have had a complication-free healing so far, though I'm trying to refrain from lifting objects heavy enough to potentially cause a hernia...the main warning I was given from the docs was to protect against hernias as they can be a serious problem in future.

    I'm having a bit of trouble with the scar from my surgery as clothing rubbing against it all day begins to hurt, and I can't wear anything that constricts across the scar, such as a bra. I am hoping to work with a tailor to make some undergarments that will be wearable.

    Best wishes,
    Janine

    Hey Janine,
    Welcome back (sorry if I missed an earlier post).

    Glad to hear the surgery went well, and that the tumor was dead.

    Blake
  • SisterSledge
    SisterSledge Member Posts: 332 Member
    #11
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    Buckwirth said:

    Hey Janine,
    Welcome back (sorry if I missed an earlier post).

    Glad to hear the surgery went well, and that the tumor was dead.

    Blake

    Glad to be here
    Hi Blake,

    Thanks for the good wishes...surgery over, recuperation mostly done and NED for now. Life has been very challenging on the home-front, keeping me more busy than I'd want - marriage went down, lost my house to foreclosure/shortsale, had two huge garage sales to pare down possessions and then moved across the country to Oregon. I'm looking forward to hunkering down for winter!

    Best to ya!
    Janine
  • janderson1964
    janderson1964 Member Posts: 2,215 Member
    #12
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    I have had 2 liver
    I have had 2 liver resections and about to have a third. Surgery is the only real chance to be cured from stage IV.
  • keystone
    keystone Member Posts: 134 Member
    #13
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    janderson1964 said:

    I have had 2 liver
    I have had 2 liver resections and about to have a third. Surgery is the only real chance to be cured from stage IV.

    How long have you had the
    How long have you had the cancer?

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