Cancer Update: The Races are On

Tomorrow they attempt stage two of increasing my chances of surviving for more than two more years, to 45%.

The cancer is spreading - a 3rd tumor now, on the border, or invading, the 'healthy' liver half.

Tomorrow begins the 2nd line of attack; two mos. chemo having been the first. If I don't bleed to death, by tomorrow night, they will have successfully attacked the artery feeding the cancerous half of my liver (tho, tumor #3 is bordering, at least, invading, at worse, the healthy liver half  :-(    ).

Tomorrow's procedure sets up a game of chicken - my cancerous liver half is raced toward dying by starvation of blood supply while simultaneously forcing growth, hopefully, of the healthier half; and the tumors will continue trying to grow and spread before the healthier half is large enough to support me without totally failing if and when the more cancerous half is removed.

When to operate and remove the cancerous liver half?  If they do it too soon, the healthier half will not have grown enough and I die of organ failure.  If they do it too late, the cancer has spread, and the end game clock starts ticking unstoppably.  3-6 weeks is all I've heard so far. 

Chemo is terminated, for now, because surgery cannot take place until chemo is suspended at least 3 weeks, and it is not clear to me the continued expense justifies the marginal increase in my survival time, and the nerve damage in my extremities, well, if it goes to far, and chemo brain becomes permanent, what is the point of surviving?

Tomorrow I go in at 7am.  My Intervention Radiologist, nice guy, grad of Georgetown and Stanford.  He reserved the 'best' theater for this, but if higher priority surgery emergency comes up, we'll be delayed some hours.  After the procedure they watch me for 6 hours, for internal bleeding.

Then, 3-6 weeks back as an Inmate, leaving my Human Rights at the door, in the dreary, dreary, filthy, massive Homeless Shelter Infirmary, where, at least, so far, I'm permitted to work online, without being evicted.  :-(

Interesting.  Let the games begin.  :-)