Hello claremcd and a warm welcome to Cancer Chat, 

I am so sorry to hear that the chemotherapy has stopped working on your mum and that you are now considering different options such as the liver resection. It's great though that she is in the capable hands of this team of amazing surgeons. 

It's normal to feel overwhelmed sometimes by negative thoughts and to struggle to stay positive but try and take one day at a time I know it is really difficult though. 

I hope that you will hear from some of our users here who have had a liver resection and that they will share their experiences with you. I thought I would mention a couple of members [@Lucy7]‍ and [@Essmum]‍ who posted on this thread in August about having a liver resection - do feel free to post a response if you wish. 

We also have information on the liver resection on this page and if you wanted to talk things through with our nurses or ask them any question, don't hesitate to ring this free number 0808 800 4040 - their line is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. 

Best wishes to you and your mum, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hello..I've had 2 liver resections,I have primary liver cancer but the surgery will be the same.

Its major surgery and does take a while to recover. Mine were both done by open surgery but I know some people have it done  by laparoscopy.

If possible I would see if your mum can be referred to an actual liver surgeon rather than a general surgeon  

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask me and I will do my best to answer them. 

hello,

          l am sorry to hear of your mums problems and your obvious worries .Liver resection sounds such a scary thing,but it can be very successful,and the Liver can subsequently grow to compensate for the removed tissue

 in my case l was diagnosed with bowel cancer 6 years ago, had chemo and radiotherapy and was off to resection surgery six months later when a tumour on the liver was picked up on pre op scan. One month later 45% was removed from one lobe, 10% and gallbladder from the other lobe,followed by bowel resection three months later.

To be honest  l have had no problems with the liver apart from a slight bulge in the abdomen where the lobe with the least removed has grown to compensate.The gallbladder removal has been managed by colestrymine powders to bind up bile since l have a high  production rate with no metering system, however l have within the past month dropped these completely since my bile and bowel have agreed to live in harmony once again.

 Apart from being careful initially with alchohol,which as a light drinker was no problem,l can happily enjoy a few bottles of wine between friends with no ill effects,and indeed really could within the first year.

 Obviously we are all different but if the surgeons are able to operate this can be a very positive step.l should add that l was 60 years old at diagnosis,reasonably fit,and a workaholic.Today l am reasonably fit,and a retired  measured workaholic. l hope this helps both you and your mum, and feel free to ask further questions

Hello [@gruntifen]‍ 

Thank you so much for your reply and sharing your story with me. It’s so refreshing hearing stories like yours, 6 years on and still living happily. 

Your story seems a lot similar to my mums as she has also had a bowel resection. You are right in saying that being able to operate is a very positive step, I’ve never really thought of it like that and always assumed the worst with operations as I know that my Mum hates the idea, especially after her first op which was pretty traumatic. But having that little reminder that they are in fact very positive as it means something can still be done to get rid of the cancer, is so nice to hear so thank you. 

After my mums meeting the other day, the oncologists said they are still deciding whether they want to do the liver resection or probing. I haven’t heard much about probing and I’m not entirely sure why they are deciding between the two. But hopefully either one of them will have a positive outcome. If you don’t mind me asking, are you still having treatment now? 

Hello [@Essmum]‍ 

Thank you for your reply. The oncologists said that they are still deciding whether they want to do a liver resection or probing. If they are to do liver resection it will also be open surgery.

What were the outcomes of your liver resections? 

hello again,

                 no l am not undergoing any treatment and the only mediction l take is a single loperimide a day which l feel l will be able to stop shortly as my bowel training nears completion..My last operation was a stoma reversal in January 2015 and it has been the ride to purgatory until some four months ago when the bowel  and bile waved the white flag and decided to return to normality. From a start position of going to the loo up to 50-times a day, after more than four years  l am now once to twice maximum and never through the night. l have to say if l had the choice over again,l would still choose to lose what was a constantly raw/sore stoma. l would emphasise again that my problems were all around the gallbladder removal and coming to terms with bile production,the liver resection was fine

 l am unsure as to what probing involves but l suspect it is a less invasive proceedure, but the one thing l am very certain of is that the professionals in the NHS are on top of the game and that we are very fortunate to have them on our side.l am certain that whatever decision they arrive at,it will be to achieve the best outcome for your mum and not themselves or any budget.The reality on the ground is always so much better than the perception in the press

I'm not sure what probing is as I've never heard of that. My cancer has come back 3 times but have currently been stable for almost 5 years and have not had any treatment since 2015 (Ablation) .

Best wishes to you and your mum xx

Thank you for your reply,  I am now in a similar position,  I've just had bowel surgery to remove 40% of my colon and that was a huge success, thry found positive cells in my lymp nodes around the bowel area so removed those too, im awaiting an appointment with oncologist,  ive recovered really well from the op 3 weeks ago and they said ill most likely have a round of chemotherapy for 3 months then a liver resection or ablation as i have secondary liver cancer , 2 small tumours in section 7 & 8 of my liver,  so operable. 

I hope you are now well and want to thank you for sharing as your story gave me hope. I'm so pleased for you . Xx 

Much love ️ 

Thank you for sharing . I'm in a similar position,  I hope all goes well for your mum , Sending her love. I've just had my tumour removed from my bowel and am awaiting chemotherapy & possibly liver ablation in next 6 months. 

Good luck and please keep us posted on your mums recovery,  it's a very scary time, thank you for sharing.  

Much love ️