The Results!

Today I returned to Duke to talk to the liver surgeon. I had an MRI and chest CT the week before, so these results would tell me whether the chemo was successful at containing the cancer and preventing it from spreading. If you recall, when I first started this journey, the liver surgeon said the location and size of the tumors (there are actually four of them) dictate whether we can cut them out and leave enough liver to function on its own. The results were good. The chemo has been successful at shrinking the tumors and they have not spread. Yay!

The next step is surgery. I asked whether it was important to have the surgery as soon as possible because I have a dear friend's wedding in early March that I really want to be able to enjoy. The nurse said I didn't have to rush it, so we picked 3/13. This means that I can't go to a conference later that month, which is unfortunate since I was looking forward to it. But oh well.

I learned that I should have a fully functioning liver after recovery, and recovery could last 2-3 months. The surgery will last 4 hours and I'll be in the hospital for a week. Comparing this with my previous surgery, this surgery is a bit more serious and risky. Less than 1% have complications during the surgery (ie death) but 20-30% have complications with the recovery. Complications vary significantly so I have no idea what to expect.

I'll be removing part of my liver, but the remaining part will expand to fill in the missing space. The veins and bile ducts won't regrow, but that shouldn't affect the liver function. So that's great news! After I've recovered from the surgery, I'll do a few more months of chemo to kill all the microcells that no one can see to ensure they don't find homes and grow into nasty tumors. So the end is near(er).

So now to plan it all out. When will I go back to Duke for my pre-op anesthesia visit? Can my brother come for the surgery? When will my mom come after surgery to help me recover? We'll be at Duke Hospital, so where will my parents stay while I'm in the hospital? What work items will I need to get coverage on? And finally, when can I finally take a vacation????? Lots of question, need to work on the answers.

Baby steps...