My father Age: 70+ has been diagnosed with the following:
Diagnosis:
Non cirrhotic Liver with Right Lobe Tumour in Segment VIII, extending to V, no vascular invasion (Size: 9.4x9.1x9.8 cms)
Hepatocellular Carcinoma
AFP: 2.46 IU/ml
Ca 19.9: 16.1
(Tumour marker tests, AFP, Ca 19.9, CEA tests were negative)
Bilirubin is normal
Other conditions (all on oral medication):
Chronic Kidney Disease - on Medical Management (Creatinine - 3.7 range)
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus - 20 years
Hypertension - 21 years
Given the specific characteristics of the liver Tumour and his kidney condition, which would be the more effective form of treatment: Y90 TARE or Proton Beam Therapy?
Written by
Jabba2
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I apologize that no one replied sooner. My Community Ambassadors usually handle the forum. We cannot give medical advice. This is a supportive community for HCC patients and caregivers. While you have lots of specifics, you did not say what stage your father's cancer was in. That's very important. His underlying medical conditions could affect the efficacy of either treatment. Before deciding, ask you father what is important to him. What does he value? For example, if he likes to spend time outdoors, some treatments may affect his ability to do so. Then ask your doctor for all the pros and cons of each treatment. ALL of them. Also, ask what was the number needed to treat? That's how many people had to be treated before the treatment proved to be effective. Additionally, is your father being seen by a liver cancer expert? This is a MUST. If you have any more questions, feel free to reach out to me-- andrea@bluefaery.org
My dad is currently under the care of a Hematology specialist - which to my understanding is more of a blood specialist. What type of doctor should I have him request?
An oncologist is a doctor who specializes in cancer. A GI oncologist is more specialized; he/she specialize in only GI cancers. If you can, you want the oncologist that really understands HCC. It is very different from most cancers. Feel free to email me.
Ah - yes, sorry he is a hematologist oncologist (forgot to mention that part), but I'm guessing my dad should have a hepatologist oncologist on his care team?
Yes, most definitely--if he's being seen at a large multi-disciplinary center. Often the hepatologist is the lead or "manager" of the team instead of the oncologist when it comes to HCC. But it's not always possible to have a hepatologist on the team. Just depends on the resources/capacity of each treatment center.
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