Rick's story

Diagnosis: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
Age at diagnosis: 62

After successful cardiac surgery in March 2015, Rick developed pain in the area around his liver. An MRI revealed a mass, and Rick was diagnosed with bile duct cancer confined to his liver (intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma). His doctors recommended he start on aggressive systemic chemotherapy right away. For the next nine months he underwent six-hour chemotherapy sessions every two weeks to shrink the tumor with the goal of enabling liver resection. In December, his doctors told him that while the chemotherapy had stopped the tumor from spreading, there had been no reduction in its size. Rick needed to consider other options.

Rick was told surgery and long-term recovery were no longer options. Due to the inoperable nature of the tumors in his liver and the lack of success with a regimen of systemic chemotherapy, he considered radiation therapy. Uncertain that radiation therapy was the right treatment for him, Rick sought other opinions and alternatives. At a third consultation, Rick learned about a treatment called Hepatic Artery Infusion (HAI) therapy that could deliver concentrated chemotherapy to the tumors in his liver via a pump without toxicity to other areas of his body. He was initially concerned about having a pump implanted, but after talking with doctors who perform HAI therapy and implant the pump, he decided to move forward.

Rick had surgery to implant the pump in February of 2016 and received HAI therapy until the end of that year. Rick says, “After a year, my hair growth returned along with my energy and my overall outlook on life. I felt normal again for the first time in a couple of years, both physically and mentally.” In late December, Rick’s doctors told him he was ready for resection.

Rick has been able to get back to leading his normal pre-cancer life, spending time at his beach house, playing golf, traveling, and being with his granddaughters.

He is happy to share his story with anyone.