The Decision

After consulting so many doctors (even one who's overseas, thanks to my sister's fren) and doing quite a bit of online research, we've decided at this point in time to go for the internal radiation (IR) treatment.

Why Internal Radiation

Main reason being IR is a one-off procedure (day surgery) with minimal side effects. Definitely not like those tedious chemo sessions where I get poked repeatedly with needles and having to suffer the usual chemo side effects week after week.

The IR treatment will involve delivering millions of microscopic radioactive spheres through a catheter into the tumour(s) in my liver. These spheres will destroy the tumour(s) from within, with little effect on nearby healthy tissues. Will then do follow-up scans to monitor effect on tumour(s).

For the sake of my dear family and frens though, I'll find out exactly how radioactive I'll be after the treatment. May have to become a hermit for a while : )

An Aggressive Alternative

Interestingly, one of the doctors listed liver resection - a major surgical operation involving general anesthesia - as an option. . Imagine CSI where somebody cuts open my tummy, puts his hand in and cuts out the whole tumour site, all 11cm of it, plus 1 or 2 other little tumours hiding around.

Essentially, that means 70% of my liver in the bin. But the doctor reassured us that the liver is one super-organ which can support the body even with just 30% physical volume, and more amazingly, it will re-generate and grow back to its normal size in a few months.

However, it's a rather invasive procedure with quite a few risks, possibly involving GA, bleeding, infection and liver failure. Also, will be required to go through many pricey scans and tests to assess my suitability even before the op.

Guess it would be quite amazing to wake up after a 6-hour op and know that the burdensome tumour is gone from my liver. But no guarantee that it won't recur or appear somewhere else in my body...

Anyway, we're sticking to our decision to do IR for now. Just waiting for an appointment with the surgeon who will be doing the op. Will still need to get the full details from him and understand any risks involved.