It's a long story. Dad was having 6 monthly blood work done to check for irregularities because of his haemochromatosis. This had gone undiagnosed into his 50s and caused scarring on his liver, elevating his chances of developing liver cancer.
Last October his bloodwork showed elevated alpha feta protein and he was sent in for an MRI. The technicians diagnosed him with having scar tissue on the liver but nothing to worry about. We all breathed a massive sigh of relief. Dad's doctor wasn't totally convinced and sent his scans to the specialists in Melbourne (we live in Australia). They called back a day later and asked that he come in immediately as they were almost certain it was cancer. It was confirmed with a biopsy and then he was immediately scheduled for a liver resection. He was really lucky to have a surgeon who was keen to try and remove the entire cancer, it's a really risky procedure with a high mortality rate, even amongst healthy people. Dad's cirrhosis made it even more complicated and so I was readying myself to say goodbye to him. 5 surgeons voted on whether or not they should proceed and 2 said no, too risky. Without a complete resection people don't survive past a year with this cancer.
6 hours of surgery later he survived and the surgeon managed to remove the entire tumour. We then had to wait a day for pathology to return and dad was incredibly lucky. His margins were clean (no detectable cancer in the remaining liver tissue) and no detectable cancer in his vascular system. It took him months to recuperate as his liver grew back and he got his strength back. He almost seemed completely back to normal and then it was recommended that he start adjunctive chemo to try and reduce his chances of recurrence. The oncologist told us that it would improve his odds by about 10%, so worth doing.
At the moment he's basically been battered by the chemo. He's on an oral form that's caused vomiting, diorreha, red raw skin on his extremities, extreme fatigue and his feet are covered in blisters. I've never seen him so sick and it's really shaken me up. This is a guy who would go for 50km bike rides a couple of times a week and who has always eaten cleanly and has never smoked or drank to excess.
He's staying as positive as he can, he's got another two months of chemo to get through and then fingers crossed life will get back to some sense of normality. Of course we will always have the spectre of this disease hanging over us and I'll be terrified at each 3 monthly scan that it's come back. Dad is determined to 'be the exception not the rule' and to live for many more years. I know there's always hope but the statistics on this cancer are fucking devastating. Dad is a wonderful father and grandfather to my two kids who are 4 & 1. To not have him around to see them grow up utterly destroys me.
My heart goes out to Robbie and his family. I hope that they receive some kind of miracle.
