Cirrhosis and hcc

[KT60]

Hi my husband has just been told he has a small hcc has anybody had hcc and removed successfully

[Bermuda1]

I know some people who have and I believe Bolly has on here. Often if its small they will watch and wait , or try TACE to shrink it. It depends where abouts it is too. Some I know have had a full transplant , and are now very well.

[Hidden]

As Bermuda suggests, TACE can be used to shrink tumours. All other options depend on so many variables that you would be better asking the doctor who is looking after your husband.

[Bolly]

Yes i had a just over 1cm HCC removed by surgical resection 6 years ago. Surgery is dependent on the overall health of his liver and where the tumour is. Also other health conditions and what the background disease is that has caused the HCC.

I see your heading says 'cirrhosis' - it's unusual for a surgeon to remove an HCC by resection if the liver is cirrhotic, its too dangerous. I was very lucky, a Fibroscan suggested i did have cirrhosis, but as my overall health was not too bad and the tumour was so small and on the external surface of a lobe rather than deep in the tissue or near a vein, the surgeon took a risk to 'pop' it off like shelling a pea. My family were told i had a 50/50 chance of survival (glad they didnt tell me that at the time, lol!) and even though the tumour was so small and surgery was via laparoscope it took 7 hours. The liver is a very 'bloody' organ, surgery can 'seed' the cancer, so there are lots of things to consider.

[KT60]

Thank you all for responding you have made me feel better as was very worried the doctor said because hcc was so small was going to use frequency radiation ablation as where it is sited there is no cirrhosis. Really appreciate your response

[liveronmymind in reply to KT60]

Whatever treatment the doctor decides upon your husband is in the best scenario of the condition. being very small also sounds very hopeful . Consider yourselves extremely fortunate for it to have been discovered so very early on. HCC is one of those things that most people unfortunately discover later on. I suspect your husband has been being monitored regularly for this sort of thing, maybe due to a known existing liver condition.

[KT60]

Thank you for your response. Yes he is monitored every six months with ultra sound and every year has ct scan as he had a renal cell carcinoma three years ago which was also ablated and the hcc was picked up during this scan so he then had mri to characterize the hcc. He has a neurological condition called myasthenia gravis so he is closely monitored by all the consultants he sees so i know he is very lucky in that respect just that when he was told on tuesday about the tumour and i started to read about hcc was really concerned