My mom's surgery isn't for another couple of weeks- for reasons that make sense, and yet- the more I read about this cancer, the more I wonder if it was the right decision to wait. And I wonder if the biliary stenting that was done to treat her jaundice was a mistake- if that could just spread the cancer as some suggest (but there isn't good data yet), and if they should have gone straight to surgery. But I don't even know if that was medically an option. Maybe her body couldn't have handled the surgery like that.
The prognosis for this type of cancer is not great, even when it is apparently resectable. But knowing a more precise prognosis will depend upon biopsies of the margins and lymph nodes. If these are clean, it is much better. There isn't a lot of published research out there on whether chemo or radiation help. Some of it is contradictory. It is just such a rare cancer.
Whatever issues I have with my mother, I just cannot imagine her not being there. There was a time when I thought that 74 was old- now it seems so young.
It's so hard to have a medical background going through something like this. I hope you can find a place of peace to get you through the wait. I know that is much easier said than done though.
ReplyDeleteJMJ