Liver Cancer Questions?

Earlier this year my aunt was diagnosed with liver cancer. She's had some surgeries to remove a large part of the tumor and some lymph nodes, but the doctors have found that the cancer has sort of "swiss-cheesed" itself through out her liver for want of a better descripiton. They're waiting until she heals more after the last surgery to decide if they want to try chemo or radiation.

Obviously we're hoping for the best, but we all know that liver cancer is most often terminal. My aunt and uncle are reluctant to discuss anything other than recovery, but can someone give me a realistic life expectancy for her if the chemo or radiation is unsuccessful?

To answer that question properly, one would need a lot more information. And, even at that all you can do is give averages. For example, for a particular kind of brain cancer the average expectancy is 13 months after diagnosis, but some people die in a few weeks and some live for years. There's really no way to say for certain, especially without knowing more specific details about your aunt's case.

I'm sorry to hear about your aunt's diagnosis. It's a tough one, but these days there are many new medications available and clinical trials to become involved in. It's important to know what stage your aunt was when she was diagnosed. Take a look at the staging guidelines below:

A summary of the TNM stages for liver cancers:


Stage I. The liver tumor does not invade blood vessels.


Stage II. There is one tumor that invades blood vessels, or there are several tumors and all are less than 2 inches (5 centimeters) in diameter.


Stage III. There are several tumors, at least one of which is more than 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter, or a tumor invades a branch of the liver鈥檚 major blood vessels (portal vein or hepatic vein). Tumors may have invaded a nearby organ other than the gallbladder, or a tumor may have penetrated the lining of the liver or nearby lymph nodes.


Stage IV. The liver cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

And you might want to also read more on liver cancer at this medically-reviewed website. I think it will answer some of your questions:

http://cancer.health.ivillage.com/kidney...

Wishing you well!

I'm sorry about her diagnosis

I had a young cousin who was diagnosed with liver cancer, and the chemo seemed successful for a while, but they discovered later that the cancer had come back and had also spread to his lungs as well...

so his was unsuccessful, he was diagnosed only a year or so after birth, and died before he was 5

I don't know if your aunt's age will hep her, as my cousin was quite young and probably not developed enough to fight it off, I hope for the best!

Liver cancer can be treated. In your Aunts case much will depend upon her age, overall health and response to treatment. No one knows how long someone else has to live even doctors do not know. So, it is impossible to even speculate. It is fantastic that your Aunt and Uncle are so positive about her disease. You should be fighting for her too. There are other treatments for liver cancer besides chemo, radiation, and surgery. Have they investigated Radio Frequency Ablation or any type of chemo perfusion?

RFA for Liver Tumors
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm...


Isolated Hepatic Perfusion for Unresectable Liver Tumors
http://www.massgeneral.org/cancer/about/...

Advances in Surgical Oncology & Clinical Investigation in Liver Cancer
http://www.massgeneral.org/cancer/about/...

Not all patients are candidates for these treatments so it is best to thoroughly discuss them with her oncologist.

NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Hepatobiliary Cancers
http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physic...

Stay strong. There is always hope.

she needs a liver transplant, but unfortunately she will not be able to get one in the US. Dr John Fung, the Cleveland Clinic, can get her into a program for a chinese liver transplant. It saved my sister's life

It doesn't sound very good. I'm no medical expert. At this point I'd be looking at her quality of life. That is the most important thing,whatever time she has left hopefully it will be as comfortable as possible.I have had many relatives die of cancer and in their cases if I could turn back the clock I would request that there be no more chemotherapy or radiation. It seems to me that even when someone is obviously not going to make it they still persist with chemo and radiation.I don't know anyone who has survived liver cancer but i've only known a few .. Best wishes to your aunt. I hope she will get through it.