Worried about Mother - liver cancer

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I can't see an awful lot of posts on here about liver cancer (if any).My mum has been ill for over a month now. She complained of abdominal pain which was very bad indeed.The doctor said it was probably gallstones, and so she had a scan booked. She had the scan a couple of days ago (almost 4 weeks after she reported the problem - the UK health service is awful) and it came back as negative to gallstones, but something else was wrong.Turns out she has an enlarged liver and she was rushed to hospital for more in-depth tests.Today she came back home, as there was nothing more they could do until Monday morning where they're doing a full body scan.They told her that there was a pretty good chance that it's liver cancer.Now I'm scared to death. I did a little research and found out that the survival rate of liver cancer isn't too great. In fact it's pretty pathetic.Supposedly once it reaches the stage where the victim is experiencing pain - it's too late to do something worthwhile about it.So now I'm so worried that I'm going to lose her. Does anyone here have any experience in this? I don't think I could survive without her...

Hon, I am sooooo sorry to hear about your mum.I felt exactly the same as you when my mum got Breast Cancer a few years ago. I found it really hard, because i had to be strong for her, when I was hurting so much inside.The liver is the only organ in the body that can actually re-grow, I know someone who had part of thier liver removed, and they are fine, hopefully, if the worst comes to the worst and she does have liver cancer, they can take the diseased bit away and she will be able to carry on as normal.Again Im so sorry, but, try to stay positive, tho the statistics show the survival rate as low, people DO survive......

This is so hard. I want to die

Hon please don't say that. Things seem hard right now, but you have no idea what the future holds. The fear of someone close to us dying is SO scary that is seems too much to cope with, but, there is no saying your mum is going to die. You have to be strong and give her something to live for, and support eachother. Please PM me if you want someone to talk to whos been there.......wish I could give ya a big hug, you sound like you need one hug

I'm sorry to hear that. I know how you feel and what you are going through. My mother died from cancer 10 yrs ago. By the time she was feeling bad enough to go to the doctor to see what was wrong with her, the cancer had metastasized and had fully engulfed her liver. We don't know the source of the cancer. There were really no treatment options either since it was so bad. Ours was an extreme case and you don't know the details for your mother, so don't give up hope. We're here to support you.

Well it sounds like my mother has the same as yours had.She has liver cancer, which has metastised from the bowel it seems, and she's not expected to live.As with you, they don't know how it happened.It's not settled in to my head yet. I'm scared.

I'm sorry hun sends you cuddles

Im really sorry to hear the diagnosis is so bleak....

I'm sorry, sadbuttrue. That doesn't sound good. Try to make her time left happy and comfortable for her. Plan - together as appropriate - how you will live after she is gone.It's perfectly normal for this not to be settled in your head. It will take a long time to settle, and you may go through a lot of different emotions. That's all normal, so don't worry that you aren't feeling the right emotions at the right time.

I'm very sorry to hear that. My mom had something similar.The most important thing is to be there for your mom (not just physically). Now is the time to share the things you've been thinking about but haven't said.You're not alone. Lots of people around here have been through difficult family medical situations. Please let us know how things are going.

Well, we got the news today.Stomach cancer that metastized into the liver.She's expected to have 4 months left. They say it's so far in that chemotherapy would only sustain her another couple of weeks at best.

Yeah, I'm sorry about the news. I can't say that any of this is going to be easy. Hopefully she will go easy like my mother. If you need to talk, let me know.

It's been a while, thought I'd post an update.She's been doing chemotheraphy for about 2 months, and she had a scan today to see if it's helping any. We know it's not gonna cure it, but we're hoping it'll slow it down. Should get the results on Wednesday.She has lost all of her hair and is retaining fluid, which has made her look pregnant. She's quite ill, looks very pale and is very weak. She has lost all of her independence.It's really tough because she gets very angry a lot of the time.

Very sorry to hear about the situation. I'll keep you and your mother in my prayers.

Since you are an (or the) advocate for your mother's care, you should do the following:-o- Learn everything you possibly can about liver cancer and its treatment. Make sure you understand your mother's current chemotherapy and its potential side effects. Make sure you know what alternative chemotherapy exists if the current one proves ineffective.-o- Make sure there's nothing the doctor says that you don't understand. Ask him to explain further and/or look it up, if there's an issue.-o- Make sure your mother's side effects are dealt with, whether they are nausea, diarrhea, etc. There are relatively easy ways to treat most of those things.-o- Your mother should never be in pain. In some ways, pain treatment is more advanced in the UK than it is in the U.S.-o- Anger is very common when people feel sick and lose their independence. It's easy for me to tell you to be understanding, since I'm not there to deal with it. It would help if you had someone to talk to (counselor, social worker, etc....they are accustomed to dealing with this kind of thing). Don't neglect your own needs. You need personal time to stay sane. Try to be active.Value the time you have with your mother. Say the things you always meant to say. If you do it now, you will be happier after she is gone. That's true even if she has a miraculous recovery.

my mum ended up looking ill when she had chemotherapy, the hair loss just seemed to add to the whole......image.......I hope it helps hon, i really do, its so hard to see someone you love in such a state, but you are strong, and you will keep it together, for yourself and your mum.Thanks for taking the time to post an update, are you getting any support by the way?

Just got the results of the CT scan...the chemotherapy has done absolutely nothing whatsoever. All it has done is made her lose her hair and feel unneccesarly ill for a few weeks.So that sucks...

sorry to hear than hon, but, everything is worth trying, you don't know if its gonna work or not........im sorry it didn't work for your mum. So will she be having radiotherapy now or surgery?

Neither will work. They could possibly fix the liver, but it's the stomach that's the problem - and if they fix the liver, it'll just come back again.Apparently there's another form of chemo she can take - so that's being investigated on friday...

well i really hope they find something that works on your mum hon.......good luck.