HELP!? i think i am being lied too about liver cancer

Diseases & Conditions Hepatitis
1
Hi,
 
This is my first post and it is not the sort of post i would normally like to make on any forum.
 
A Memeber of my family is telling people that he has liver cancer and requires a liver transplant or he will die by xmas.....
The only problem i have with this is that he is a pathalogical liar.
Since he made this claim he has been out and about on holiday, drinking binges and generally living life to the full.  there appears to be no sign of ill health.  He has just gone to Turkey for a week then apparently he is "booked in" to have a liver transplant when he comes back.
Surely the donor is not living, therefore i cannot believe that they just have a store of these organs waiting for people to go on holiday then book themselves in when it is convenient.
Apparently he was diagnosed about 6 months ago(absolute max).  Again surely this is rather fast.
 
I would love to hear what people who are waiting or people who have had a transplant think.
 
Again sorry for the horrid nature of this post but i am tired of my family being lied to and people feeling sorry for someone who can't keep his story straight.
 
I have seen the effects of chemo therapy as my father is terminally ill with various forms of cancer and it pains me to see someone playing on peoples good nature when there is nothing wrong with them, 
Please let me know if possible what sort of symptoms someone with this condition would have.
 
I have just read some of the posts on this site and it is heart breaking to read how people are suffering with true illnesses.
 
My heart goes out to you
 
Many Thanks
 
Dan
 

Post Edited (danccooke) : 9/1/2005 1:24:26 PM (GMT-6)

2

Welcome Dan.

What I know about the transplant process is that the patient must have at least 1 year sobriety, 6 months documented substance abuse counseling (if there is a history), extensive physical and psychological evaluations, an extremely strong support system, and the ability (personally or through insurance) to pay for the surgery.  And all of that is just to - possibly - get listed.

Then, when a donor organ becomes available, IF there is a match, the doctors would notify the patient and surgery would take place - IF the patient is still healthy enough to survive the procedure.

It is legally impossible to schedule yourself for transplant.  In the case of cancer, there are several chemo procedures that would be attempted long before transplant would become necessary.

That being said, anyone who is actively drinking or drugging would never even be considered.

Hope that helps.

DJ

Fiance had HCV, cirrhosis, ESLD, ascites, and portal hypertension. Was transplanted June 2004.  Now, on interferon and ribavirin. Hepatitis C is back.

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
desertjules@healingwell.net

3
Thank you so much for your response,
 
He is definately still drinking, and everything else that i stated above.
 
It pains me to see that i was correct in my assumption that someone could  be so calous as to play on peoples emotions.
Frorm reading your comments, there is no way on this earth that this man would qualify for a transplant.
 
Again thankyou for you help
 
 
4

While this person may be lying about getting a transplant, he may be telling the truth about having liver cancer.  I was diagnosed with a cancerous mass in my liver, which extends into the vena cava and has metastasized to 2 lymph nodes near the liver.  sad    The only symptom I have is being much more tired than I was with just the hep C, and sleeping a lot.  From what I've read here, this could be from amonia level being high, though I haven't been tested for that.  However, I HAVE gone through a bunch of scans and have the last one--brain CT--scheduled for the 29th.  I am having the scans done at a teaching hospital, but applying to Mayo in case I will be able to have a transplant.  They are requiring the past 6 months of medical records to make a medical evaluation, plus they will do a financial evaluation.  Of course, there will be pretesting, both psychological and medical, prior to a possible transplant.  I certainly don't foresee myself going off on an out-of-country jaunt right now--have neither the time nor energy.  So once again that brings into question the validity of this person's statements    nono    (not the one who posted, but his relative.)

They are starting to do "living donor" transplants for adults.  They have been doing them on children for years.  They only need a part of a liver as it will grow back in the donor and grow to normal size in the recipient.

 


5
hep93,
 
I couldn't agree more.  I was only clarifying what I knew about transplant evaluation and listing.
 
One cannot just "check in" for a transplant.
 
I wish you the best with your tests and Mayo.
 
God Bless.

DJ

Fiance had HCV, cirrhosis, ESLD, ascites, and portal hypertension. Was transplanted June 2004.  Now, on interferon and ribavirin. Hepatitis C is back.

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
desertjules@healingwell.net

6
Thanks, DJ! ;)
7
You are more than welcome, hep93.
 
Please be sure to let us know how things are going. 
 
There are a lot of very supportive people here and we all have very broad shoulders. If you ever need to talk, to vent, or ask questions, please feel free to post.
 
God bless.  I look forward to hearing more.

DJ

Fiance had HCV, cirrhosis, ESLD, ascites, and portal hypertension. Was transplanted June 2004.  Now, on interferon and ribavirin. Hepatitis C is back.

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
desertjules@healingwell.net

8
Hi!  Just a little update:
I had my last visit with my GI doc yesterday.  He said he has nothing else to offer me, and is passing me off to Oncology.  This is at the teaching hospital.  I got the results of my bone scan, which were good--nothing that indicates bone metastasis or any other problems.  I got all my records up to the present, and am mailing them off to Mayo this week.  I will then wait for an appt. with them.  I see Oncology on the 28th.
9
Jennifer, it will be Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL.  They work in tandem with St. Luke's Hospital...are located right next to each other.  Their wait time for a liver is only 1.5 months!  They also have a high survival rate.  I'll keep you posted.  :-)
10
I'm new here and I just thought I'd jump in here.  I live in Canada and my daughter is presently in hospital waiting for a liver transplant.  She has been on the waiting list for 3 1/2 yrs.  She is in the end stages.  She has been at the top of the list in our province for over 6 months, now she is at a Stat 3 which is Canada-wide.  Her blood type is B Positive and I understand that only about 7% of people are that type, so that is why it is taking so long.  I don't know if she is at the top of the list now with the extended search.  She was at death's door a few wks ago and she was in an amonia-induced coma - they only gave her a few days to live.  She rallied and then they gave her 2 weeks to live without a transplant and that was about 2 1/2 wks ago and she seems to be getting stronger every day.  She is on dialysis 3x/wk and on insulin 4x/day.  She was told a long time ago that if she gets cancer of the liver, she would not qualify for a transplant.  We was also told that for Hep C patients that they don't do living donor transplants, because they don't do so well, so she needs a whole liver.
 
Last year my husband had 2/3 of his liver removed because of large tumors caused by Carcinoid Cancer.  At that time I met a lady whose hubby was in hosp. waiting for a liver transplant.  When they did tests on him, they discovered that he had not stopped drinking, and they refused him a transplant and he died.
 
So sadly Dan, your relative seems "out-to-lunch" to me.  Hope this info helps.
 
God Bless!
11
hi hep93. i have severe advanced cirhosis & have been told it will turn to liver cancer. i was also told that if it does i will not be given a transplant. i do not drink & have a very difficult time just getting thru the day. so my dear if yor friend is living it up he is problably stringing you along. don't worry about this partyer get well yourself! transplant lists are long. you cannot make your own appts. take care & god bless. good luck with your tests.

lerie