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For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 3:38 pm
by Trying
Hello all,
Those of you who were advised that your liver mets were not an option for surgery, how long on chemo before you were able to have surgery. Im sure it varies widely but just curious. Surgery hope is what im hanging onto .....

Trying

Re: For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 4:06 pm
by hiker
If you are only doing systemic chemo, it may never get you to operable. I don't know where you're being treated or even what chemo you are on, but I was told by 4 oncologists that surgery was not an option for me. That was until I visited MSK in NYC. Not only did they remove all the cancer in my liver, but they implanted an HAI pump to hopefully prevent a recurrence - no guarantee, but I'll take any advantage I can get.

Are you being treated at a major cancer center? Have you obtained second, third or even fourth opinions? If not, I urge you to contact a facility that specializes only in cancer care.

hiker

Re: For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 4:29 pm
by LeonW
Hi Trying,

I was in your shoes 6 yrs ago when docs decided it was best to attack the colon first, as liver mets were too big for surgery. Chemo started some 6 weeks after the colon job. Mets shrunk from cycle three. All in all the liver resection was almost 9 months after the colon job: first 6 weeks recovery from colon surgery, then 8 cycles of chemo and then another 6 weeks waiting time to get rid of chemo remnants. Have been cancer free for 5 yrs now and life is back to almost normal. Even forgot to celebrate the 5 yr anniversary two weeks ago :shock:

Best wishes - Leon

Re: For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 4:34 pm
by stu
6 cycles for my mum .
Stu

Re: For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 6:40 pm
by Trying
Im at a major cancer center in Canada BC. Already on my second oncologist as he had morw info than the first one. He is talking about pissible surgery in future but not yet. Thats why i thought i would ask you all.

Re: For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 9:25 pm
by martd
I did 10 rounds before first lever surgery then 2 more before the second. At my first scan my oncologist told me I wouldn't have surgery, he talked about maintenance chemo. The scan showed about 40% shrinkage. My surgeon told me in the beginning there was potential for surgery with a good response form chemo. Then the second scan showed another 30% shrinkage. Surgery was successful with clear margins. So don't give up, talk with the surgeon if the oncologist is saying no. After round 8 I did two more rounds without avastin.

Re: For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 10:11 pm
by Trying
Thank you so much for all your replies.

Re: For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2018 2:00 pm
by Detox
Also, I have read about other members on here who have treated liver lesions one at a time using ablation, cryo, etc. I've never done it myself but I think doctors can get rid of difficult tumors using different techniques. So once you have maybe some tumors that are not currently operable, maybe they can just get rid of those, and then get to surgery later.

Re: For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 5:07 pm
by Trying
Seems many were able to have surgery after 6 treatments which has mw a bit discouraged. I just found out that 8 of my small tumors disapeared but surgery not option yet. Hoping to hear from some of you that waited a longer period than 6 months for surgery to be an option. Thanks

Re: For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:26 pm
by Number1994
I had a colon resection and HAI pump implanted on 2/23/18. Liver resection on 6/1/2018.

Re: For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 12:06 am
by Detox
Did the doctor say why you are not a surgical candidate? Typically 3 lesions or less on the liver is the typical marker. I've also seen patients do HIPEC and liver resection simultaneously so you might want to ask the oncologist and surgeon about this.

Re: For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 12:26 am
by Trying
One of my mets is on an artery so we need that one to shrink more :D

Re: For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 12:38 pm
by Detox
I know there is a procedure where they can block blood flow to tumors in the liver, causing tumors to die out. I'm sorry that I don't know the name of it but you can also ask your GI about it. My oncologist never mentioned this but a GI told me about it. This is usually done for a small number of tumors.

Re: For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 9:54 am
by ginabeewell
I was in the same position as you. Now 5 rounds in and discussing surgery and radiation given strong response to chemo.

I talked to three doctors who didn't want to discuss surgery at diagnosis. They said it was like talking college entry during preschool. I switched to a fourth doctor who outlined what would have to happen for surgery to be an option. And if my chemo response hadn't been as good as it has been, I would be pushing in a big way for the HAI pump to get me to operable.

Re: For those previously advised no surgery.....

Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 9:29 pm
by Trying
They dont want hai pump if i have peri met however ivr had 8 tumors disapear with chemo so hoping it continues to work so well