terminal liver cancer question

[lucyw]

Hi,

I have a family member just recently diagnosed with liver cancer.  He went to the hospital with ascities very  bad.  2 weeks and many tests later, told that he has 5 tumors in both sides of his liver and 1 tumor is 8 cm.  Has not spread anywhere else as far as we can tell, still waiting on bone scan.  His oncologist told him that his only hope is a transplant, but he has to be sober for 6 months for this ( I really feel the oncologist thinks he won't make it that long).  He told him he could put him on Nexavar to slow the growth but average prognosis for him would be 2 to 12 months.  He has started bruising easy, itching a lot, still swelling in liver, and some confusion.  His energy level is still ok.  Anyone have any experience with this?  I feel that it would be more like 3 to 6months just based on him already having some symptoms.  We don't know what to expect.  thanks.

[JodyLynn]

The doctors were shocked at how long she lived...yes she lived 3 years instead of the 5 weeks they gave her, at that time it was all in her liver and bones. She did chemo for 3 years and we were blessed to have her that long and then one day she woke up her husband called us said she is just not herself and that she was very yellow.... her liver gave out she lived 8 days after that but didnt know much. That whole 3 yrs she did live she did it all drive go shopping just everyday stuff, my mom was a very strong lady she didnt wanna leave her children and grandchildren, she was a fighter, she hung on to see her first great grandbaby born and dided 30 days later, its now been 5 years, she was 61 years old.

[lucyw]

Was this recently?  Are you saying she lived 3 years instead of 5 weeks?  That is amazing.  At the time it was in her liver and bones, was she having symptoms like the bruising, itching and confusion?  How big were her tumors at the time of diagnosis in the liver?  I am just worried because I have read that you usually don't have symptoms in the beginning but of course he has a lot of symptoms now (not to mention the clot in the liver and the cirrhosis).  Thanks

[JodyLynn]

My mother had breast cancer and we thought she would be ok after having her breast removed doctor said she was fine cancer was all gone, well 7 years later it came back in her liver, 11 tumors was also in her bones, they gave her 5 weeks to live, we were so lucky she lived 3 great years.....ya just never really know.