Liver Disease stages

[StlrFan]

My Dad was diagnosed with cirrhosis a few years ago and has been doing well up until recently.

In 2004 he was diagnosed with cirrhosis and hospitalized with esophageal varices.
Every 6 months since then he had a procedure that would band the varices.

last year he was diagnosed with Lung Cancer and give 8 weeks to live.

We are now 57 weeks into this and have seen some changes. He was in the hospital for 7 days with pneumonia. During that time he received a platelate transfusion.

Again given only a few weeks left. Since being released from the hospital in a wheel chair he got stronger and was able to use a walker and then stronger to walk without a walker. He is a fighter but his stomach is huge, his feet are swollen, and he has little red spots on his feet. The family is loving that he is already on borrowed time and fighting for more but he is starting to have pain for the first time.

Will his stomach get smaller or is this the disease progressing to a terminating level. How can we tell?

[StlrFan]

Thank you both for your information.

The Lung Cancer does prevent him from being on the liver transplant list. He is on a diuretic that seems to be helping but not at the same rate as it did last year. The Doctors do not want to drain his stomach due to his Lungs, worried about ability to clot, and recover from procedure. His Liver, according to his Doctor, has deteriorated distinctly. So I see him getting stronger from wheelchair, to walker, to walking on his own but then also see pain and discomfort and the Doctors aren't willing to drain his stomach. It seems like the Doctors have given up but not my Dad.

[mikesimon]

I think the lung cancer may exclude him from consideration for a liver transplant. That would have to be resolved in some fashion before he would be considered and resolution of lung cancer is a very difficult and unlikely course.
I agree with Sir_Osis - he stomach could be drained which would provide a lot of relief from discomfort. There are drugs that are used with a patient with ascites and edema - diuretics.
Here is an excerpt from:  http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec10/ch135/ch135e.html

"......Treatment

The basic treatment for ascites is bed rest and a salt-restricted diet, usually combined with drugs called diuretics, which make the kidneys excrete more water into the urine. If ascites makes breathing or eating difficult, the fluid may be removed through a needle inserted into the abdomen—a procedure called therapeutic paracentesis. The fluid tends to reaccumulate unless the person also restricts salt consumption and takes a diuretic. Because a large amount of albumin (the major protein in plasma) is usually lost from the blood into the abdominal fluid, albumin may be administered intravenously.

An infection called spontaneous bacterial peritonitis occasionally develops in ascitic fluid for no apparent reason, especially in people with alcoholic cirrhosis. Untreated, this infection can be fatal. Survival depends on early vigorous treatment with antibiotics....."

Good luck,
Mike

[Sir_Osis]

I will start with this: My Father back in 72' was diagnosed with a brain tumor - He was given 2 -6 months. He lived 12 more years and 8 of those years (in the middle) pretty well.

The fluid build up sounds like ascites, which is a side effect of advancing liver problems. This fluid can be drained.

What does his hepatologist say? Is he on a transplant list and is his MELD score sufficient to get him on the list???

A Xplant could buy your Father both an improved quality of life, control of the varices and ascites, etc, and he could well go on to feel better than he has in some time - not to mention live decades longer.

I hope and imagine his docs are all on top of this and are deciding when would be best to consider how to best proceed.

Be well and take good care...

J