I guess I'm just using this as venting space. Like it says, my mom has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Gallbladder Cancer. Hope is all I have right now. I live with my parents and I want to spend every waking moment with her. So getting into work. I'm employed at a nonprofit in an incredibly small office of 4 (including me) as an hourly employee, 40 hours /week every week with an hour commute both ways. At the beginning of the pandemic, we started working from home. We did this for a year and a half until our boss decided the pandemic was over and we could no longer work from home. She's older and it's apparent she doesn't like her home life, and I'm assuming this was her way of escaping that. Anyway, now that my mom is in this precarious situation, my time with her is incredibly valuable and while my father works, she is the breadwinner in the household. I have considered FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) and will probably end up using it, but I probably won't get paid during the time I'm off and we really need the money right now. This aggravates me because for a year and a half we proved to be capable of working from home, and even during the ebbing of the coronavirus over the summer, I was even able to take a vacation to NY without using any PTO and without missing a beat on my work. To make matters worse, she is late almost every day or some days will even not show up without informing us. However, if I am 15 minutes late, she takes this time from my PTO, she will ring the office to make sure I've made it on time and will almost forcibly make us join her on 2/3 hours lunch outings. And for the cherry on top, due to new parking fees and me falling off my parent's insurance, I now pay premiums, so after 2 years of working here, I now make less money than when I first started, though she never fails to give herself a raise. (I've looked up our taxes) There's so much more I could go into. Her exposing us to the coronavirus, (which she doesn't take seriously) her explicitly saying that she expects me to "return the favor" after letting me work from home the day of my mother's surgery.
It's sad because I genuinely like the work the nonprofit does.
I'm beyond infuriated and the only reason I haven't quit is that my mom wants me to have another job lined up. I have never felt more empty, scared, angry, and alone than now.
Any lady here who has/suffered from endometriosis (after menopause) after ongoing cancer treatments?
I’m asking for my mom. I want to know if it’s painful, what to expect, I’m her primary caregiver and I’m pretty clueless right now. (Oncologist/gynaecologist appointment isn’t till next week)
Mom[57F] African-American diagnosed with incidental gallbladder cancer Stage 3 T2N1. 5’5” 165lbs. I’ll try to be as detailed as possible about this. Found when being treated for gallstones. She has no major prior health issues. She received a Cholecystectomy about a month ago in which they removed her gallbladder and the nearest lymph node. Since then her blood tests have come back normal multiple times, she has received 2 MRIs and a CT scan in the past 3 months, the most recent being a few days ago, none showing spread to other organs so far. She has the option to participate in a neoadjuvant chemotherapy trial in which she’ll receive 3 months of chemo on the front end, have an extended cholecystectomy to have 6 lymph nodes and a small portion of her liver removed. Followed by 3 more months of chemotherapy, as opposed to an extended cholecystectomy followed by 6 months of chemotherapy. Her doctor’s think she could be a good candidate for the trial, and I trust the care she’s receiving but I want to be able to advocate for her too. Should I include the study as well? Additionally if any GI doctors (or any experienced physicians honestly) have any information of the possible outcome, that would be helpful.
Comparative Study of Laparoscopic Versus Open Liver Resection in Gallbladder Cancer
D'Silva M, Han HS, Yoon YS, Cho JY. Comparative Study of Laparoscopic Versus Open Liver Resection in Gallbladder Cancer. J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A. 2021 Nov 25. doi: 10.1089/lap.2021.0670. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34842448.
42 year old male. 6’ 180 lbs non-smoker and in good health up until recently.
Back in August I ended up in the ER with terrible pain just below the sternum and constant acidic sensation in my mouth. I had an abdominal CT and labs and was told likely gastritis. A few weeks later I was able to see a GI doctor and my endoscopy confirmed inactive chronic gastritis. I didn’t test positive for anything else on my biopsies.
In the time since my endoscopy in September I have been on 60mg Omeprazole and Pepcid at night as well as Carafate before meals for months. Though my symptoms have reduced some I still continue to get pain between my shoulder blades mostly to the right.
I saw my doctor a few weeks ago and had my pancreas and gallbladder tested. All that came of the ultrasound was a .8 mm gallbladder polyp which is recommended to be monitored but I did schedule an appointment to general surgery to discuss further. Not sure a gallbladder polyp absent of stones or other issues is causing this pain and discomfort that just won’t go away but I am really worried about it.
So at this point I have had 2 CT scans (abdominal and chest), an endoscopy, biopsies, ultrasound, lab work, and a bland diet. What else can I explore? I see my GI in 2 weeks and the general surgery in 3. I am at my wits end here. Prior to august I had zero issues so I am at a loss. I am starting to get worried it’s gallbladder cancer or something very serious but I just don’t know enough about gallbladder issues. Appreciate any advice.
I am starting to go down deep hole and I need help
ultrasound scan showed a gallbladder polyp and I had a choleosectomy, when the results came back they have told me that I have a small focus of cancer in the polyp that is T2 and not yet breached the serosa wall, the rest of the polyp was pre-cancerous
i have been ordered to have a PET scan followed be surgery to remove part of my liver and lymph nodes and also chemotherapy
I am so so so so scared, will I live a long life and will the cancer have spread to somewhere else’s, will the cancer come back, so many questions and I’m lost
I am a 31 year old female that lives in midwest united states. I currently weight 281 pounds and am steadily losing. I had weight loss surgery in June (gastric sleeve, heaviest weight 369 pounds in Feb.) and the weight loss caused a gallbladder attack at the end of September and it had a huge stone (1.36 inches in diameter) and a bunch of smaller ones. When they put it under a scope and did routine after removal tests they saw pre-cancer cells right next to the incision that led to the bile duct. They referred me to a liver specialist in their big hospital. This specialist and his entire cancer board agrees that I need to have surgery to remove a small bit of bile duct and if that piece tests positive for more pre-cancer cells they'll be removing the entire bile duct.
What are the side effects of this surgery?
They said something about attaching a piece of intestine to the liver if they have to do the removal of the entire duct. I know they said with the bigger surgery I could be out of work for at least a month if not longer. But how will this effect my life moving forward if it comes to this?
I'm so scared. I just like being informed and I forgot to ask this one simple question.
Hi guys! Posted before and you guys were a lot of help. Seeking some further advice! Some background, for reference:
-My dad's a 65-year old whose going through a year on chemo fighting pancreatic cancer. It's been going well, thank God
-In fact, the only issue we've had in the last 9 months was a sudden fever on 9/17 followed by a day of pain/no food that lead to the E.R. twice before it was determined it was his gallbladder
-The doctors put in a cholecystectomy bag/tube to drain the bile, and we're waiting on a scan
-The most recent doctor said my dad is going to be waiting for a bit for a gallbladder surgery given COVID and the low priority of gallbladder issues
-My dad has four more days of infection meds: augmentin and ciprofloxacin
Here are my questions:
-My dad's been having sleeping consistently: he'll sleep for an hour and wake up, and the most consistent amount of sleep he's gotten has been maybe three hours. He rests during the day, but I think in total he's getting around 6 hours total. Does anyone know if this is an effect of the medicine, the trauma, the gallbladder, or a little bit of everything?
-My dad has some pressure in the area, which I assume is normal. Currently, he has complaints of pain when breathing deep. Is this also normal?
-Indigestion and having to use the bathroom repeatedly after eating (not diarrhea, just solid bowel movements) are his most common issues, is this also "normal"?
-Any advice on handling the tube/bag? It seems like my dad might be on it for a bit. He also wants to travel to Mexico for a personal matter, and we're hoping it's feasible, particularly with surgery.
-It seems like a stone stuck in the duct. If the stone is dislodged, my dad technically goes back to "normal," and the surgery isn't a "must-have" (keeping in mind that the issue could happen again), correct? I know it's bad to put off things like this, but given my dad's chemo treatment, we're trying to avoid unnecessary (as in, not immediately necessary) procedures.
-Lastly, I know that my dad's underlying condition/chemo is not something everyone facing gallbladder issues are also facing, but if anyone knows, any worries/things to look out for in regards to continued chemo treatments while managing gallbladder issues?
Hello. 27F. Current diagnosis of bilary dyskinesia. Just wanted to know out of curiosity (& slight concern) how likely is it for cancers of the gallbladder, pancreas, and bile ducts to be discovered during or after gallbladder removal surgery even after clear ultrasounds/ct scans with contrast ? I’m aware a great deal of gallbladder cancers are found incidentally during the procedure but is this occurrence possible/common even in the instance of a recent clear ct scan AND ultrasounds.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6695532/
My dad has smoked since he was 16 and is now in his early 60s, so we kind of figured lung cancer was coming eventually. Last January, he went for a scan and the doctors said he caught it early in Stage 1A, so he got surgery in February and they claimed him to be “cancer free.”
Fast forward to June of last year, he lost feeling in his left hand/arm because of what we thought was a stroke, so he went to the ER again. Long story short, they found a tumor in his brain which meant his cancer had somehow metastasized to his brain and he was now considered stage IV. Keep in mind, this was after we were told he was cancer free just 4 months prior, so you could only guess to how pissed/caught off guard our family was.
Since then, he has undergone many radiation sessions for his brain and adrenal gland tumors, and the brain tumor seems to be under control but the adrenal gland tumor is a persistent one. Other than radiation, he has been undergoing chemotherapy or immunotherapy every 3 weeks since early August. He hasn’t shown much symptoms to these other than bloating in his face/stomach from all the steroids until he started this new chemo about a month ago.
This new chemo has hit him like a truck. His breathing is terrible, he sleeps most of the day, and his quality of life is pretty awful. He wants to quit it already but I’m trying to convince him to not give up because he’s always been a fighter.
Anyways, the last few days the side effects have gotten even worse. He hasn’t eaten for nearly 3 days and has been vomiting/diarrhea every couple hours or so. We just recently brought him back to the ER where they said he had a blockage in his gallbladder and he has a procedure set up for tomorrow. I’m praying it’s not another tumor because that means his cancer has spread further. Anybody have any thoughts, stories, or opinions?
Hello wonderful people, I hope you are free of suffering as you are reading this. My mom has had a rare type of CD, which affects her large intestines. She’s been through countless operations, did Remicade for years and took an ungodly amount of steroids to keep CD managable. About 7 years ago her lungs started acting up, they found a mass and we all thought it was cancer. She had an operation - it turned out that it was inflammation - CD got to her lungs. More steroids, more Remicade and she was fine. Few weeks ago she developed jaundice. We all thought that inflammation got to her liver. This time it was cancer. A tumor was blocking her gallbladder tube and metastized to her liver. Gallbladder cancer is very rare and usually involves stones. She had none. I’m wondering if this is connected to her CD and if there are special treatments for these types of cancer. I hope none of you have experience with this, but perhaps if you have any info, please share, it’s much appreciated.
I have a gallbladder polyp measuring 1.2 x 1 cm I am only 25 Im so scared it can be cancer 😭😭😢😢
Hi,
Few days back mother has been diagnosed with Gall bladder cancer stage 4 with Metastasis to liver which was found accidentally. Around 7 years back she had been diagnosed with gallstones or stones in gall bladder. Now the oncologists say Gallstones may be the reason for gall bladder cancer. However in those 7 years we have done number of scans for other reasons but never we were told gallstones can cause gallbladder cancer ; all this time we were told to surgically remove gall stones but it is not an urgent procedure so may wait when emergency arises due to pain caused by gall stones.
Now mother has about 80 mm * 80 mm sized tumor on liver, Oncologists are suggesting chemotherapy ( Gemcitabine and Cisplatin ) . After 2 cycles progress will be checked if it doesn't work all treatments will be stopped and mother will be put under palliative care .
we were given a timeline of <1 year if chemo works , if it doesn't work then about 6 months. Mother and family members are trying to decide if chemo is worth the risk of sideeffects .
My fellow community members, please let me know if you have also faced similar situation of selecting treatment for gall bladder cancer.
I did a follow up ultrasound on my abdomen and found my gallbladder polyps size had grown to 9mm. Gastroenterologist recommends a surgery to remove gallbladder and he has recommended me to an oncologist surgeon who specializes in abdomen area. Since I was recommended to an oncologist, it is giving me an anxiety. I am 35 years old. Should I be worried? I have a MRI coming up which is giving me more anxiety since it’s coming from an oncologist.
My mother in law was just diagnosed with GB cancer stage T1b. She was doing a full body check and the doctor discovered the tumor in her gallbladder. She immediately proceeded to do a simple Cholecystectomy. After confirming the cancer the doctor is recommending an extend Cholecystectomy.
We are grateful this was discover at a relatively early stage, however, we also know this is one of the most aggressive cancers. Just wanted to get anyone’s thought and experience on this.
What we are really concerned about the survival rate of this when discovered at T1b stage. Anyways appreciate any comments and suggestions. Thank you!
I found out from my mom a couple days ago that my aunt was recently diagnosed with gallbladder cancer. I don’t know what stage it is in but I know she is getting chemotherapy next week. What kills me is that she was that au natural person who ate healthy, excercised and took care of herself and still got cancer.
What can I do to support her through this? Should I give her time to process this before I ask if she needs help with anything?
TL;DR - I found out my aunt got cancer. What can I do to help?
Mom[57F] African-American diagnosed with incidental gallbladder cancer Stage 3 T2N1. 5’5” 165lbs. I’ll try to be as detailed as possible about this. Found when being treated for gallstones. She has no major prior health issues. She received a Cholecystectomy about a month ago in which they removed her gallbladder and the nearest lymph node. Since then her blood tests have come back normal multiple times, she has received 2 MRIs and a CT scan in the past 3 months, the most recent being two days ago, none showing spread to other organs so far. She has the option to participate in a neoadjuvant chemotherapy trial in which she’ll receive 3 months of chemo on the front end, have an extended cholecystectomy to have 6 lymph nodes and a small portion of her liver removed. Followed by 3 more months of chemotherapy, as opposed to an extended cholecystectomy followed by 6 months of chemotherapy. Her doctor’s think she could be a good candidate for the trial, and I trust the care she’s receiving but I want to be able to advocate for her too. Should I include the study as well?
Not sure what other avenues I can take with my gastritis
Back in August I ended up in the ER with terrible pain just below the sternum and constant acidic sensation in my mouth. I had an abdominal CT and labs and was told likely gastritis. A few weeks later I was able to see a GI doctor and my endoscopy confirmed inactive chronic gastritis. I didn’t test positive for anything else on my biopsies.
In the time since my endoscopy in September I have been on 60mg Omeprazole and Pepcid at night as well as Carafate before meals for months. Though my symptoms have reduced some I still continue to get pain between my shoulder blades mostly to the right.
I saw my doctor a few weeks ago and had my pancreas and gallbladder tested. All that came of the infrasound was a gallbladder polyp which is recommended to be monitored but I did schedule an appointment to general surgery to discuss further. Not sure a gallbladder polyp absent of stones or other issues is causing this pain and discomfort that just won’t go away.
So at this point I have had 2 CT scans (abdominal and chest), an endoscopy, biopsies, ultrasound, lab work, and a bland diet. What else can I explore? I see my GI in 2 weeks and the general surgery in 3. I am at my wits end here. Prior to august I had zero issues so I am at a loss…. Appreciate any advice.
Hello. 27F. Current diagnosis of bilary dyskinesia. Just wanted to know out of curiosity (& slight concern) how likely is it for cancers of the gallbladder, pancreas, and bile ducts to be discovered during or after gallbladder removal surgery even after clear ultrasounds/ct scans with contrast ? I’m aware a great deal of gallbladder cancers are found incidentally during the procedure but is this occurrence possible/common even in the instance of a recent clear ct scan AND ultrasounds.
