Liver met

[Jay_may]

Tuesday was not a good day. I met with the surgeon who will operate on the liver met . It took a while for me to realise that he was talking about a 40 % survival rate in five years for this secondary cancer.i just cannot believe this is happening to me. I kept this news to myself but told my husband the next day which gave me some ease.how does one cope with the enormity of this..?

[Ron50]

My advice Jay is to forget the rate and concentrate on the survival. I have quite a few friends who have mets to liver and lungs who are leading (and these are there own words) happy and productive lives. I was given virtually no chance of surviving an aggressive stage 3 colon ca. It had raced thru 6 nodes and my surgeon only just got it in time. He could not believe there were no mets but he still expected it to get me. Too aggressive ,too many nodes were his exact words. I had a year of chemo and I am still ca free fifteen and a half years later. How do you cope? Well first you have to accept the situation. I quickly accepted that I had cancer and that there was no time to stuff around. First up you have a surgeon who will operate. That in itself is great,your cancer is operable! Livers regenerate very quickly. Chemo is really crappy but it kills cancer. Give yourself every chance you can to survive. Good luck Jay hoping to hear a good outcome from your op and that you are on the road to recovery....Ron

[SILLY]

You will cope with this news if you coped with your primary cancer . It's never easy but somehow most cope .Good advice from Ron . All the best .

[Pamela]

Hi Jay Statistics are so incredibly variable they are not worth considering. My surgical/radiotherapy team never mentioned them, so after reading your comment, I googled and found (for me): "The overall reported 5-year survival rates for buccal carcinoma are between 49% and 68%. About 90% of recurrences occur within the first 1.5 years after treatment. Local recurrence (reported rate 23%) is more common than regional recurrence (reported rate of 11%). Distant metastases are uncommon in buccal carcinoma." Even after reading it, I don't care what it says in regard to me and my situation. I was just so thankful that my nasty mouth ulcer was finally diagnosed as SCC so I could get something done about it. Worrying about whether you are in the upper, middle or lower figures is totally unproductive and taking strength, focus and positiveness away from your healing and future. I am living and enjoying every day as it comes with a positive attitude and sense of thankfulness, despite chronic pain and other, not insignificant difficulties. Warm hugs of peace, comfort and strength to you, Pamela 🙂

[Jay_may]

I am so very new to all of this and not even started treatment. . It is wonderful to know that there really is support from people who are going through or have been through all the trials and tribulations of a cancer diagnosis. Ron and silly and Pamela...thank you for your response...I reread them when ever I'm feeling a bit blue. I'm trying to be positive and cancer connections is becoming a lifeline for me.

[Pamela]

Hi again Jay I found aloe vera gel excellent for taking the burn from the skin after radiotherapy. It kept my skin healthy and smooth, despite awful redness. I also used Xylocaine Viscous for mouth ulcerating particularly so I could eat, and now use the leftovers for my wrist graft which is extremely painful. It numbs the area very well for half an hour or so. I hope your treatment is going well, Pamela 🙂