Sandra and Glen left a comment on our April Metastatic Liver Cancer post, which we will add below in italics and our feedback in
normal script.

Glen’s Liver Cancer story

Thank you for sharing your story. My mom, aged 71, has been diagnosed as having HHC (Hepatocellular Carcinoma) in April 08. Her MRI indicated multiple Metastasis in her liver (innumerable large and small tumors).

Sounds like father’s diagnosis: lots of words we heard for the first time and when we saw the picture of his liver it became all clear to us: innumerable small tumors scattered in his liver…

Her blood tests indicated elevated Alpha Fetoprotein, and her history of chronic Hepatitis added to the diagnosis of liver tumor.

The liver tumor involves both lobes (which makes it not curable by resection, according to her doctor). She is in pain and takes Hydromorphone.

Father also was in pain due to the expanded liver pushing against all other organs. We tried to keep the pain under control with medicine starting with paracetamol and ending with morphine patches

Doctor said her age and condition doesn’t make her a good liver transplant or liver surgery candidate.

If a liver transplant would have been an option with a certain degree of success, father would have taken that, but he even didn’t have that option because his liver cancer was secondary.

We are looking for all answers and hope to give it our best shot!

If you still have answers Glen, please let us know. For medical answers make sure you get a second opinion and contact hospitals that are specialised in the cancer you describe.

Please update us how it is going.

Sandra’s Liver Cancer story

Today my father was found to have a 12 cm liver mass.

Tomorrow he gets a PET and Wednesday a biopsy.

PET and biopsy as you know being in the field of medicine is standard procedure. Father also had an MRI like Glen’s mom. Hopefully the biopsy gives an answer about what kind of cancer your father has. With our father the biopsy wasn’t any helpful for finding a cure. Yet each case is different and since today is Wednesday, you will get more answers.

Being in the field of medicine I want to see that everything possible is done to save him.
Not knowing all the answers to what he has and how they’ll treat it is exhausting. I can’t lose him yet.

Since you are in the field of medicine and looking at the procedures mentioned above, I am sure you know which questions to ask medically. My sister in law is a specialist herself, and me not being a doctor at all, we did have some clashes… So you will be spared from those useless extra energy consuming fights.

Exhausting is what the future will bring as well, so please update us how it is going.

Please leave a comment to give Glen and Sandra your hugs or to share your knowledge and experience with metastatic liver cancer!

Technorati Tags: alpha fetoprotein, biopsy, blood tests, carcinoma, chronic hepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma, hydromorphone, liver cancer story, liver mass, liver surgery, liver transplant, liver tumor, lobes, medical answers, metastasis, Metastatic Liver Cancer, morphine, morphine patches, paracetamol, second opinion

Another metastatic liver cancer story: from Idana, posted 3 months ago on Pammy’s Liver cancer story : please give your hugs!

Idana’s metastatic liver cancer story

I’m reading this…..

My dad just got diagnosed with metastasic liver cancer, and he is feeling terrible, so do we.

We will see the oncologist in two days for the first time, doubts and fear is not nice.

He has two base ball sized masses on liver, some smaller ones on lungs and bones.

Two months ago he seemed very good and now he is pale and skinny, he seems very week, and desperate about pain, taking like 60 mg of morphine twice a day…

I was making some research when I found you…. I’m so sorry some of us have to go through this…. it is very painful for us to see a beloved one go through such pain….

Let’s all pray for each other and squeeze the best out of this awful experience, if we need to learn something from this, let’s learn it with love and patience, let’s be strong for them and give them the best time ever!!!

God bless you. soooo much!!!! Here goes my hug!!!!

Metastatic liver cancer answer

There is nothing much we can add to this metastatic liver cancer story.

Apart from the amount of masses in the liver and not having the knowledge where father’s primary cancer was…

It is like Idana says: very painful for the liver cancer patient (when you are on morphine already, we know the pain is humongous). Also very painful for the loved ones seeing their loved one going through such pain… "No pain" was one of our "quality of life" ideas, easier said than done…

Lot’s of quarreling also between us in this difficult period yet we made sure that our quarrels had a positive, constructive outcome. Emotions do run high when there is a person you want to help but there is no cure available…

But Idana summarizes any metastatic liver cancer story when she says: let’s be strong for them and give them the best time ever.

Technorati Tags: beloved one, best time, bones, cancer answer, cancer patient, dad, doubts, fear, god, liver cancer story, love, lungs, Metastatic Liver Cancer, morphine, oncologist, patience

We got a comment from Nancy, promoting magosteen against cancer at Primary and secondary liver cancer treatments.

If you want to promote anything that works 100% against metastatic liver cancer, please let us know and we will add it for FREE.

Otherwise please spend $10, click here and put your link instantly.

Nancy’s liver cancer story

My grandmother died of liver cancer in 1990 -no drinking, no hepatitis C. She went really fast.

I’m glad that there’s a blog like this getting the information out there on different treatments.

Anyhow, I have heard of many people having luck with the original whole fruit mangosteen juice, which has natural anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties.

I wish my grandmother could have tried it.

Metastatic liver cancer prevention

Being aware that there is food and fruits out there having anti cancerous properties is the first step you can take in preventing yourself from getting cancer.

But you shouldn’t stop there: drinking a bottle of mangosteen won’t change that you are breathing polluted air or eating other food with pesticides.

So if you go for mangosteen, then go for an entire organic diet and include lots and lots of tomatoes (organic ketchup or puree is even 100 times better). Also eat avocado’s: although not that delicious on their own, combined with a tomato, pepper, salt, cumin and a pinch of garlic it makes a delicious guacamole which in my case replaces mayonnaise on fresh salads.

Live healthy because
your body is your best asset
when it comes to killing cancer cells.

I am sure there are plants out there in the rainforest that are even better than mangosteen when it comes to cancer prevention and maybe even cancer treatment. Unfortunately the human race is only interested in the wood the trees can produce, and destroying in their path plants that could carry the treatment for metastatic liver cancer.

Technorati Tags: avocado, cancer cells, Cancer prevention, Cancer treatment, cumin, fresh salads, guacamole, hepatitis, hepatitis c, ketchup, liver cancer story, liver cancer treatments, magosteen, mangosteen, mayonnaise, pesticides, polluted air, puree, rainforest, Secondary liver cancer

Who else knows your environment is the primary cause of cancer?

Reading Barbara’s cancer story about her father having bone cancer and liver cancer at the same time, I googled to find bone cancer early symptoms. Because when you detect cancer at an early stage, chances of having a successful treatment do exist.

Sadly, primary bone cancer is relatively uncommon in comparison with secondary or metastatic bone cancer. And just like father’s metastatic liver cancer had an unknown primary, it seems that in a lot of cases the primary cancer is not yet recognized at the time when the early metastatic cancer in the bone becomes
painful and people go see their doctor.

Primary bone cancer

Cancer that begins is the bone is called a primary bone cancer. But when you or your loved one has cancer, you will hear a lot of terms and it feels that "everybody has his own idea what kind of cancer you are dealing with".

With primary bone cancer, the word sarcoma will often be heard. Sarcoma is a malignant tumor (which is another way of saying a cancerous tumor or bad tumor) arising in the bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue or muscle.

Most people will now criticize my idea that we have cancer due to living in an unhealthy environment, breathing in unhealthy air and eating food filled with pesticide residues. Why criticize? Because children and young people are more likely to have bone cancer than adults.

So my theory that an accumulation of bad residues over the years will cause cancer in older people holds, but how does it explain cancer in younger people?

For this you have to go back to the best pesticide ever DDT: it killed everything and was "oh so practical". What DDT also did was killing the embryo in the eggs of bald eagles after the Second World War:

…Along with the passage of the Endangered Species Act, the US ban on DDT is cited by scientists as a major factor in the comeback of the bald eagle in the contiguous US…

So as long as adults have to bear living in a sick environment,
adults will bear sick children.

…as long as adults have to bear living in a sick environment,
adults will bear sick children…

Barbara’s liver cancer story

Barbara left her cancer story in a comment at love your parents you only have 1 pair of them.

I am so sorry for your loss.

I just learned last night that I am facing the same with my father. His cancer spread to his bones and his liver.

I am trying to learn what he will face in this last year or so of his life and none of it looks good.

I know this will be the most difficult thing I have ever faced, but I pray that I can stay strong for him and my mother.

They just celebrated their 54th anniversary and have had many honeymoons.

He says he is okay with the end of his life, but I don’t think I am.

Oh well, I guess I don’t have any choice in this.

Metastatic liver cancer story

Our father seemed to be a bit younger than Barbara’s father when he got diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.

Father kept a stiff upper lip saying that he did live a good life, but the tears in his eyes didn’t really say the same.

You do need to be strong for your mother, because she will be the one loosing her partner for more than 54 years. Loosing a father is bad, but cannot be compared with loosing a partner of 54 years, so try to keep that in perspective.

Mom could really become angry to people coming with a story like: oh, when my husband had a terrible flu I also thought he was going to die and felt so afraid blablabla…

Of course you feel afraid, but with a flu you have hope for a better outcome, with terminal cancer you have no other options…

If you have more news about bone cancer early symptoms, or you have a cancer story to share: please leave a comment here!

Technorati Tags: bone cancer early symptoms, Cancer, cancer story, metastatic bone cancer, metastatic cancer, Metastatic Liver Cancer

When Kistan2 asked in her Liver Cancer story about alternative liver cancer treatments, we immediately had to think about hepatocellular chemoembolization.

• chemo-embolization are 2 treatments in 1:
• a chemotherapy through the artery feeding the liver cancer +
• a closing of the above artery feeding the liver cancer
  

Immediately, because we went through the same quest when father was diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer. We searched the Internet for any cure, we found a few "promising treatments", but :

• they were extremely expensive, a long waiting list and not at all nearby
• they were promising because you tend to hold on believing in miracles
• they were all quite useless in our case because the doctors couldn’t find father’s primary cancer. In other words: even if we replaced the liver with a new one, the primary cancer sooner or later would attack it again (although nobody knows when, so you might say: if I can prolong my life with 5 extra years, why not…. Which is true, but the medical world doesn’t operate like you think…)
• one doctor even told us to stop reading the Internet and spend as much quality time as possible with father…

What is Hepatocellular Chemoembolization?

Chemoembolization is an innovative treatment for cancers of the liver doing 2 things at the same time:

1. block the tumors’ blood supply and at the same time
2. deposit a concentrated form of chemotherapy at the site of the cancer.

A catheter (a thin flexible, spaghetti sized tube) is placed through a tiny hole in the skin and directed through the pathways of the body’s arteries straight into the portion of the liver where the cancer is located.

Chemotherapy and particles which block the blood supply are then infused through this catheter.

Advantages of hepatocellular chemoembolization

Fist and foremost: it is a chemotherapy, so it’s not a guaranteed cure.

It is also used to reduce the size of the tumor to decrease the pain due to the growing liver pushing against the other organs.

The main advantage is that the chemotherapy doesn’t go into the entire bloodstream, so a higher dose can be used without the patient suffering from terrible side-effects if this dose was given with a normal chemo-therapy.

How does that work exactly you say? Well: the liver gets his blood:

• 75% from the so called portal vein
• 25% from the so called hepatic artery

Tumors in the liver typically get most of their blood supply from the hepatic artery. So:

• drugs or embolic material injected into the hepatic artery kill or greatly inhibit the tumor and
• spare most of the healthy liver tissue that is fed via the portal vein.

In father’s metastatic liver cancer case unfortunately: his liver didn’t have 1 big tumor, but looked like a raisin bread filled with little tumors. Trying hepatocellular chemoembolization would have been a daunting task…

Technorati Tags: chemo embolization, chemotherapy, Hepatocellular Chemoembolization, liver cancer story, liver cancer treatments

This post is an introduction to alternative cancer treatments, mainly a repeat from Kistan2’s question which we will print out below as it is part of her liver cancer story. Many hugs to you Kistan2 and thanks for sharing.

Our next post is about an alternative that sounds good in the sense of giving a person suffering from liver cancer a better quality of life. Yes, I am very prudent using the term : "alternative cancer treatments" as I will keep on saying that:

the only way to eradicate cancer is to prevent it!

This is a political choice and as you have noticed, it isn’t in any of the 3 remaining candidates program for the US presidential elections

Why a political choice? Because they can implement policies in order to :

• make sure we can breath in healthy air
• make sure we can drink healthy water
• make sure we can eat healthy food

Not healthy according to "their standards", but healthy to eradicate cancer big time.

All we can do at this point is try to eat as much healthy organic food as possible, reduce on red meat and increase on doing exercises.

Liver Cancer Story from Kistan2

My 43 yr. old husband was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma early February of this year.

[ hepatocellular carcinoma is a type of liver cell cancer: a malignant growth made up of liver epithelial cells (cells forming the covering of most internal and external surfaces of the body and its organs) that tend to infiltrate the surrounding tissues and give rise to metastases ]

The oncologist that we consulted with all concluded that his mass was to large to operate on and it was too dangerous for the other recommended treatments.

Our only option was the liver cancer drug - Nexavar which he began on Feb. 12th.

Since then his oncologist has also combined the treatment with an infusion of Avastin (which is not approved by Blue Cross Blue Shield).

Since the infusion I have watched my husband go downhill with extreme high blood pressure which leaves him weak and fatigued most of the time. He barely leaves his bedroom and when he does it’s only to eat.

To me, he is getting more jaundiced which is not a good sign.

We have two young children (3 & 12) - I feel saddest when I think of the kids without their father around.

This disease has turned our whole world upside down - I am praying for a miracle but from what I’ve read about this disease, it just doesn’t look good.

Everyday I feel like he is drifting further and further away from us and I live in a constant state of sadness and loss (even though he is still with us).

I’m always on the Internet looking for alternative treatments for his cancer. Has anyone ever tried alternative medicine and have gotten good results from it?

Metastatic liver cancer addings…

• Kistan2 says : To me, he is getting more jaundiced which is not a good sign. I also thought father was getting more jaundiced, so I asked my doctor and he said : not at all. So in all cases cancer: always ask for a (second) doctor’s opinion.
• The drug our GP doctor suggested was Xeloda, which is a pill taken orally and should only work on the tumor without messing up the entire body. Yet our oncologist said: it is still a chemo-therapy causing the common well-known side-effects. He suggested to not give any treatment, therefore we didn’t have the "chemo-therapy" side effects. But you do need to be prepared for the side effects of:
• a growing liver that pushes against all organs in the belly, causing enormous pain
• a failing liver that can’t clean all the blood which sooner or later starts affecting the brain (like people poisoning their blood do to not enough food… hallucinations are to be expected)
• As long as your husband is there, he is there: do cherish these moments as good as possible!

Please do leave a comment:

did you try alternative medicine and
what were the good results from it?

We also listed a small introduction to alternative cancer treatments at our liver cancer survival rate page.

Technorati Tags: alternative cancer treatments, hepatocellular carcinoma, Introduction to alternative cancer treatments, Liver Cancer, liver cancer story, quality of life, suffering from

In the liver cancer story from Jessica it is not clear whether she talks about a primary cancer or a metastatic liver cancer. But the outcome is clear: too many people die from cancer…

Notice how Jessica prays for a cure for all cancers where we take it one step further and pray that people start promoting cancer prevention globally.

Just like Jessica we all have been struggling with father’s death as well. For mother the struggle is both physical as emotional:

• she has torn a ligament due to carrying father around, but after one year that’s more or less taken care of
• the loss of father is not at all taken care of: sometimes I call her up and I can tell she has been crying…

We were told in advance:

• the doctor who made father’s metastatic liver cancer diagnosis said:
  it’s easy for me to say in these 4 walls of the hospital, you will leaving the hospital soon and have to deal with it
• a few of the palliative care-takers and a few widows:
  taking care of your father is only the beginning of the story, yet when your father passes away, the story will be far from over…

We totally agree with Jessica’s words: "father now is in a place where there is no pain".

Jessica’s liver cancer story

Many generations in my family have cancer.

I have had two of my grandparents (grandmas) who have died because of cancer.

• one who was my step-grandma she had breast cancer and
• the other was my closest granny and she had liver cancer.

I have been struggling with their deaths a lot, and it hurt to see them go through it all too.

I just pray to God, that He will help our doctors find a cure for all cancers.

Its such a horrible cause of death and its so hard for the families to see it happen.

I miss my grandparents so much, but I realize that they are in a better place with no pain, where I will see them again.

Thank you for making this website.

Technorati Tags: 4 walls, cancer cure, cancer diagnosis, Cancer prevention, cancers, care takers, doctor who, ligament, liver cancer story, Metastatic Liver Cancer, Palliative care, struggle, widows