surgery is scheduled for the 8th of January.

my wife was asked to try to lose a little weight prior to, from 121 to lower.

As the surgeon said, "On January 8th, 2015, one of the most important surgeries in the world will take place, YOURS"

Now to get emotionally ready for this thing we've waited for.

Best wishes to you all and may the next year bring you nothing but great news.

we're with you. PM or post if you need support.

- Tab

Remember you are not alone! Wishing you only the best and here's to a better year for all of us!

I think I'm to 6 years now since I was diagnosed. I've had time to wrap my head around it.

A friend was recently diagnosed with Stage IV of an unusuually rare type of cancer. He's 20 years younger, has a wife and an 8 year old daughter.

Who am I to say 6 years trumps 6 months like that? Granted, it's not a competition, but some people insist on comparisons.

Every case is different.

And everyone responds to treatment differently. What we all have in common is the desire to be finished with this chapter once and for all and to live our lives without the shadow of relapse, which as I understand, never really goes away. I'm four months post Stem Cell transplant and in January it will be one year since the diagnosis. I am so grateful that at this moment I feel well and strong and look forward to drinking champagne tonight, saying goodbye (with joy) to 2014 and welcoming in the new year.

Cheers to you Tab and hope that things work out for your friend.

thanks for all the kind words this past year and thanks for the understanding ears.

what is going to happen on the 8th is that the surgeon will make an incision and remove a section of my wifes bile duct that has
a cancerous growth in it. He will somehow stretch the remainder in order to sew the two ends together. I am amazed at this.

That will expose the hepatic artery which if it has cancer in will need to be excised and whatever section is removed will be
replaced by a section of vein from her leg. If there is too much cancer he will come to me to make a decision as to going on or
closing up.

He will also remove the right lobe of her liver and her gall bladder.

THis is major surgery and I'm scared of how it will turn out. She hasn't let me know her feelings yet.

Talk to you guys later.

we will all be sending our best to you and your wife that day.

All you can do is be supportive, hold her hand ... we are all scared and need some human touch

Wishing you both the best!

and wish that you celebrated the New Year with family and friends. As my husband is currently an inpatient for another BMT they did bring in some sparkling cider with some pretty, yet plastic, champagne glasses and a lovely card. It is what it is and we are thankful to be celebrating another year.

He is doing well with supportive drugs such as Ativan for nausea and we'll await the 30 day BMB at the end of January to see if things worked.

Day by day!

Wishing all the best in 2015!!!

And yes- celebrating getting through another year is a great thing to do- as is toasting the year ahead. Any opportunity to be grateful is so important as you know- it's one of the lessons I've learned on this bizarre journey.

Big hugs and happy 2015 to you both.

and lovely looking plastic flutes.

It was too sweet, but also sweet that they acknowledged New Year's with what fit the guidelines and we were happy to celebrate.

Thanks, hugs and the best in 2015!

but there is nothing new about that I guess. I'm on the middle of radiation therapy, so I am totally exhausted and not getting anything done. I am having pain that I didn't expect. The pain I experienced after surgery, I expected to subside- not get worse. Hoping and expecting things to improve dramatically after my course of treatment in February.

Thinking about all of you, and hoping for a better year ahead.

Very glad you checked in! Sorry to hear you are going through so much pain and that this is not what you had anticipated. That just sucks. Replacing "getting stuff done" with just getting through the day may be the new normal for a while give yourself time to heal and rest- and take good care of you.
What comes next in February?
Please know that you are not alone- we are all going through our own cancer journeys here as you know and this is a very special forum brimming with support.

Here's to a much better 2015!

Radiation ends the first week of February. It should be easy so I'm thinking I am probably a wimp. I'll be seeing the Dr. tomorrow, and hopefully she will have some suggestions to help.

You are right, the people in this forum are great. Most here have a much rougher journey than I do. Like Nay, my cancer was found early but in my case they also found a number of other small tumors during the first surgery. They had to re-excise and during my second surgery they took a little of my pectoral and I suspect that is what is causing the pain. I will be in radiation for a total of 35 treatments. Mostly 5x a week, but the holidays really have drawn the process out.

35 treatments of radiation can't be easy- and while some journeys may be rougher then others, they are all different and all impact us powerfully. Glad your cancer was found early and that the end of the radiation is in sight in Feb. Happy 2015 to you!

Yes, I'm lucky, it was caught early in my yearly mammogram. I had a successful surgery and 16 days of radiation, no chemo. My sentinel lymph node was not involved.

I feel like I have a good chance that I will never see the cancer return; the docs say the same. So I'm grateful and happy to see the New Year.

Wishing you a very happy and healthy new year! So happy you are doing so well!

water bottle 24/7. Taste is back, but the skin on my neck will never be the same!

I've been very busy getting things ready for a move. Husband is retiring after 20 plus years in the military and I've been going through 20 plus years of stuff - trying to decide what to keep, what to get rid of - which is why I haven't been around much.

I got some scan results in January and I'm still doing good. My doc wants to see me every 6 months now instead of every 3 months. Still looking to the magical 5 year mark. Survival rate is fairly low within the first 5 years. So...

March will be my first year anniversary for my diagnosis. A very long, slow dropping drop in the bucket.