The Aftermath: Die Tumor Die

I mentioned in my "Operation: Die Tumor Die" blog post that I would be in and out of the hospital the same day of the procedure (put under local anesthesia) and I would be back to my daily routine after a few days of rest.  Well, that just sounds too easy.  And we should know by now that I don't like making things easy on anyone!  


So with this radiofrequency ablation (RFA), Dr. K and his partner, Dr. Vasan, were targeting 2 lesions that remained on my liver that the chemo was unable to reach.  One of these lesions happened to be in close proximity to my small intestine and the other one up against my lung.  Because of this, they were concerned that the heat from the ablation would heat up or cause harm to the small intestine and/or lung.  My "easy peasy procedure" wasn't sounding so easy peasy after all.  So to avoid complications with any other organ in my body, they put fluid into my abdominal cavity to be able to move things around, out of harms way.  By doing this, they were able to completely burn off 1 of the lesions on my liver and about 85% of the other lesion.  After being put under general anesthesia (breathing tube and all), the procedure took about 4 hours and I was required to stay in the hospital overnight to be monitored.  Thankfully they weren't serving fava beans and chianti!

I've been resting up the last few days and I'm slowly but surely feeling better each day.  I actually tried to cut back on my pain meds yesterday, but I quickly realized that was a BIG mistake.  I need to keep reminding myself that the procedure wasn't as easy peasy as I was expecting, never mind the golf ball size burns on my liver and the jostling around of my organs.  But hey, this has added a few more freckle sized scars to my right side.  Maybe when this is all said and done I'll have a tattoo artist connect the dots and see what we come up with.

So yes, this was a successful surgery.  Dr. K and Dr. V were very pleased with the amount of the lesions they were able to burn (considering their locations and their sizes).  But where does that leave us now?!  We still have 15% of one of the lesions still remaining.  I'm meeting w/ Dr. H this week (who has been consulting w/ Dr. K & Dr. V) to discuss the next step.  Anyone heard of chemoembolization?  This is where they inject a concentrated amount of chemo directly into the tumor.  Until then, I'll continue on with the chemo cocktail I've been on (every Wednesday for 3 weeks, then off a week).

I can't say this enough, but thanks again for your prayers, thoughts and good vibes throughout all of this.  We are just SO close to where we need to be!