Postby Rock_Robster » Mon Mar 11, 2019 8:31 pm
Hi Amy, so far it’s been much better than I expected. I went in last Wednesday and walked out yesterday, day 5. I had a fair bit of pain on waking up, but they hit that hard and has been manageable ever since. I did have some minor lung deflation and fluid build-up on the right side, which apparently happens during longer surgeries (esp after chemo), but breathing and coughing exercises have stayed on top of that. It’s really important to take enough painkillers so you can breathe properly and do your rehab exercises, otherwise you can end up with other un-fun complications. My hospital had a good ERAS program, and I also borrowed some tips from MSK’s website.
I was quite interested in the research around avoiding surgery-induced metastasis, so I’ve been doing what I can to prioritise painkillers which aren’t immunosuppressive, and a few other things. That has meant some interesting discussions with anaesthetists, but we got there!
The wound is large but quite tidy; I’ve got a check with GP tomorrow then with surgeon in 2 weeks. Appetite-wise I’ve had to adjust to smaller, frequent meals, with lots of protein to support liver regeneration and avoid losing much muscle mass. Now I’m just focusing on eating, resting and keeping moving to try to keep any issues at bay and get back to treatment!
Let me know if anything else specific I can tell you about.
41M Australia
2018 Dx RC
G2 EMVI LVI, 4 liver mets
pT3N1aM1a Stage IVa MSS NRAS G13R
CEA 14>2>32>16>19>30>140>70
11/18 FOLFOX
3/19 Liver resection
5/19 Pelvic IMRT
7/19 ULAR
8/19 Liver met
8/19 FOLFOX, FOLFOXIRI, FOLFIRI
12/19 Liver resection
NED 2 years
11/21 Liver met, PALN, lung nodules
3/22 PVE, lymphadenectomy, liver SBRT
10/22 PALN SBRT
11/22 Liver mets, peri nodule. Xeloda+Bev
4/23 XELIRI+Bev
9/23 ATRIUM trial
12/23 Modified FOLFIRI+Bev
3/24 VAXINIA (CF33 + hNIS) trial