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liver lesion and other lumps

Seabass45
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Hi

I'm here because I'm waiting to hear back after an MDT about an 8½cm liver lesion. Actually the lesion was originally spotted a few years ago when it was a bit smaller and I was getting ready for an unrelated surgery to remove a 14½cm cyst on my ovary. I was discharged in 2023 from the HPB team as the liver lesion was stable, although it was around 4cm at that time.

So fast forward to now, a recent blood result triggered another ultrasound and MRI, and this time the liver lesion is 8½cm and my consultant said they are 'very worried' and it has to be removed.

I feel like i'm in limbo. The surgery is going to happen, but i have no idea about timescales and I have no idea if i'm supposed to be worried or not. I feel guilty that it might be nothing and i'm wasting everyone's time, but then i feel guilty that it might be something and i might not be taking it seriously enough.

I am a single parent to two children, having lost my husband when they were babies, so I feel guilty that i'll need to ask for help from friends for a few weeks after my surgery, and maybe beyond, depending what comes from this. I can't make plans yet, because I don't know what the timings will be but because i will be heavily relying on friends, which i am really uncomfortable about (but so grateful to have friends who are willing to help out).

On top of that I have a history of fibroids and my current fibroids are now pretty huge, to the point where i'm being nudged in the direction of  a hysterectomy - something which I never wanted but is even less appetising considering I'll be having a big surgery for the liver thing.

Does anyone with experience of this sort of thing have any sense of how long it tends to take to go from MDT to booking a date for surgery?

Parents
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    I finally had my surgery on Wednesday, 3 weeks after my original date. I was secretly hoping to be released today having overheard my consultant yesterday suggesting as much. but the doctor who came to see me today said no chance. 

    The consultant came round on Thursday and Friday and briefly said he was very happy with how things had gone.

    So I'm going to focus on Monday and hope that I can leave by then because the food here is inedible and I'll probably starve if I don't get out of here.

    Yesterday the consultant suddenly ambushed me with "do you have any questions" so of course my mind went completely blank. I guess I had kind of expected him to tell me anything important that I should know! I hope I'll get another chance to ask him some pertinent questions before my next clinic appointment. Like how long did the procedure take? do they now know for sure exactly what the mass was or do we have to just wait for the labs to come back? how much of the liver did they take out overall? What symptoms should I be concerned about over the next couple of weeks? should I be avoiding anything? when can I get back to driving, exercising, lifting etc?

    I'm really bad at that stuff, i.e. Asking the right questions on the fly. Why can't they just tell us the important bits. I might request a copy of the surgical summary later.

  • Offline in reply to Seabass45

    Hello Sebass45,

    good to read your surgery has gone ahead and you are out the other side on the path to recovery.You must be in Superman mode anticipating getting released from hospital just tive days from the operation,admire your optimism but l think you will find that reality takes just a little longer to progress.

    Good to have targets and push yourself as long as you recognise upcoming limitations and allow your body a chance toplay catch up over your minds demands upon it

    Expecting to have all your questions of your consultant lined up so close after surgery is a sfretch that alludes to the fact that you are still fluttering above ground level.l have aways felt the consultants know they are in for a quick Q and A session if they only see you immediatly following your surgery, given that they are very busy and are in time management pressure mode.

    You are off to agood start, stick to steady progress and it will serve you well.

    take care,

    David

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  • Offline in reply to Seabass45

    Hello Sebass45,

    good to read your surgery has gone ahead and you are out the other side on the path to recovery.You must be in Superman mode anticipating getting released from hospital just tive days from the operation,admire your optimism but l think you will find that reality takes just a little longer to progress.

    Good to have targets and push yourself as long as you recognise upcoming limitations and allow your body a chance toplay catch up over your minds demands upon it

    Expecting to have all your questions of your consultant lined up so close after surgery is a sfretch that alludes to the fact that you are still fluttering above ground level.l have aways felt the consultants know they are in for a quick Q and A session if they only see you immediatly following your surgery, given that they are very busy and are in time management pressure mode.

    You are off to agood start, stick to steady progress and it will serve you well.

    take care,

    David

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