Posted 5/18/2012 12:15 PM (GMT 0)
Hello, Jiankang, and welcome to the forum. I am very sorry that your MIL is so ill. It does sound as though she is nearing the end. The jaundice and other symptoms indicate decompensated liver disease--her liver is going into failure. Do you know what caused her liver disease?
I have had liver cancer twice. The first time, in 2005, the tumor took up the entire rt. lobe and had metastasized into the inferior vena cava (vessel.) I'm thinking that this may be the case with your MIL. I've never heard of cirrhosis of a vessel. My liver never decompensated. I never had jaundice, hepatic encephalopathy, or other signs and symptoms of liver failure. Nevertheless, I was not a candidate for surgery or transplant. I went to Mayo and was referred to a wonderful Interventional Radiologist there. He was able to shrink the tumor (and shrink the tumor in the vessel back into the main tumor) with chemoembolization and a study drug, TheraSphere (microscopic beads of radiation, commonly used now, in one form or another.) The TheraSphere killed the tumor, but also the entire rt. lobe, which was removed. At that time, I had no cirrhosis. BTW, my liver cancer was caused by hep C.
I again was diagnosed with liver cancer in March 2011. This time, I required a transplant, which I received last Oct. By then, I also had cirrhosis. It's been a lot of hard work to stay alive.
Did anyone mention chemoembolization to shrink your MIL's tumor? That is usually what is done first with a liver tumor. She certainly may not be a transplant candidate as she is so ill. You might want to get a second opinion, too. I was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma at one hospital that gave me a death sentence. So I went to Mayo for a second opinion, which is why I'm still here today. However, I never would have known I had cancer were it not for it showing up on a routine abdominal ultrasound.
How old is your MIL? Is she experiencing hepatic encephalopathy (HE?) Is she taking diuretics such as Lasix for the swelling? Has she been seen by a hepatologist? My impression is that she is facing death, but has been kind of neglected by the medical people rather than aggressively treating her.
Hugs,
Connie