Welcome to our CaringBridge site. We are using it to keep all of you updated on Dad's progress. We appreciate your support, words of hope and encouragement and any suggestions you may have!
At a regular check-up, Dad mentioned some out-of-the-ordinary "back pain" to his PCP. The doc ordered an ultrasound, which led to an MRI on Father's Day (6/19). The MRI showed that his "back pain" was not structural in nature (as it's been for decades, due to his truck accident). The cause of the pain was a 5.2cm primary liver cancer tumor, "intermediate" stage. We were all shocked.
After much research and a second opinion, we decided to go with the University of Michigan team. Due to the lack of definition, surgery to remove the tumor is not an option. A transplant is not an option at this time either due to the size of the tumor. So, the first step is to shrink the tumor via the "Transarterial Chemoembolization" (TACE) procedure.
http://www.cancer.org/liver-cancer/transarterial-chemoembolizationOnce the efficacy of the TACE procedure is determined, we will consider the options which include getting on a transplant list at a facility which will accept a 74-year old, and regular CT scans/MRIs to check for new tumors with possible repeat TACE procedures.
