Liver Cancer

Yesterday my dear wife Joan was diagnosed with advanced bowel and liver cancer.

It followed a series of tests to find what was causing the ongoing nausea, dizziness and diarrhea. Her GP ordered a CAT scan because a few of the markers for cancer were present and early yesterday morning we had a phone call from the GP for Joan to attend her rooms. I was called soon after to share the bad news.

She had made a plan of attack and had booked us in to see a Colorectal surgeon. Wow, some heavy news with lots of tears! That afternoon we met with the surgeon, who explained the whole thing including the fight would be a chemotherapy one as there was too much of a spread of the liver cancer for surgery. He arranged for Joan to have a colonoscopy on Friday afternoon to determine if the bowel was being blocked by the tumour. If it is, then he would do a resection of the bowel almost immediately.

We are booked in to see an oncologist on Monday to set out the plan of attack. We have been warned that cure is not on the cards, but there is every chance that the modern medicines will give us a few more years together.

Two hard days!