Liver
HCC (Hepatocellular Carcinoma)
February 4, 2021
in Liver
I was diagnosed with end stage liver disease almost 2 years ago, and recently went for an MRI only to find out I had a small mass they caught early, that my doctors called Hepatocellular carcinoma HCC. I was wondering if anyone else has or had the same thing and how it was treated ? And any tips on keeping calm, and not over stressing to make things worse mentally ?
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Transplant Patient
I had a small mass on my liver pre transplant. They ended up just watching it and it never really grew or shrunk so they didn’t do anything beyond monitoring. For me it helped to take back the power in some way. Even if it was just drinking a green juice, I felt like I could then focus on putting good things in my body and have some control.
Thank you so much for the tip!! I've been being really mindful with what I'm eating as well, ill have to look into some green juices :)
Transplant Patient
@TaylorC Kris carr has some great recipes. I was on limited fruit pre transplant so I often just juiced spinach, kale, cucumber and then some lemon or ginger but a lot of people find that way too bitter
Hi @TaylorC! While I never had HCC, my brother did prior to his transplant. He was lucky his was caught early as well! I believe that should add more points to your MELD score and put you higher on the list!
@meghansmith thank you! I actually found this support forum because of you, I follow you on IG and have found your story so helpful, it made me less scared to see someone so positive after the surgery. So thank you for that:)
oh yay!!! so glad to hear that!!!💚
So if I ever have any questions I might bug ya ! Lol. Did the HCC effect your brothers transplant at all or no because they caught it early ? My hepatologist told me not to freak out because it was extremely small at this point @meghansmith
I had HCC pre-transplant. (My liver disease journey to transplant stretched 12 years - starting with a blood clot that led to Budd Chiari syndrome, that then led to cirrhosis, and eventually HCC.)
To treat my HCC (as the lesion did grow on MRI after a bit,) they performed chemoembolization to cut off blood supply to that area of my liver so that the lesions were not "fed". The HCC diagnosis bumped my MELD score quite a bit, but the "exception points" didn't kick in until 6 mos. after my diagnosis was reported to UNOS with my eligibility for transplant status. That said, the chemoembolization process wasn't too terrible. I felt off for a couple of weeks, and then was back to myself. (Like I could run, etc.)
Transplant Patient
Love seeing the connections being made here! Although I am kidney /pancreas I am learning more about liver this way! @lescp3 @AnnMarie
Ask anytime!! It did increase his MELD score but he ended up finding a living donor match so it didn't really matter. When he received his transplant they said he was lucky he was transplanted when he was - it was a matter of days before it probably would have spread!
I know the procedure you had. They are finding more ways to deal with the liver which is what we need! How are you feeling?
@AnnMarie I'm feeling fine right now, but I have an abdominal ultrasound on Friday so I'm a little nervous about that, and worried this little tumor may have spread. So I'm just trying to keep my head up and stay focused and positive!