What We Know

What I’m Going to Beat:
Liver Cancer/Fibrolamellar

May/June 2016

  • Ultrasound
  • CT Scan
  • PET Scan
  • 2 Biopsies (Liver and Liver/Pancreas)
  • 2 Rounds of Blood Work
  • Biopsy tissues are being sent to USC for further testing

July 2016

July 1st:

  • Met with Dr. Saab, a liver specialist at UCLA. He was super informative and helpful!
  • Megan has an appointment scheduled with Dr. Finn (liver oncologist and one of Dr. Saabs partners).
  • Megan is now a case at UCLA where they will put together a team of surgeons, radiologists and oncologists to figure out next steps and the best course of treatment.
  • A radiologist is reviewing the PET scan to see how much the lymph nodes have been infected.
  • Dr. Saab thinks that there’s a possibility that it could be Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma; a less aggressive type of liver cancer.

July 3rd:

  • Dr. Saab’s radiologist reviewed the scan and felt it was a little unusual to see that amount of swollen lymph nodes with the presumptive diagnosis of liver cancer.

July 5th:

  • Pathology report from USC came back: “CT guided needle core biopsy of liver with some features of hepatocellular carcinoma but favor a diagnosis of acinar pancreatic carcinoma.” In other words, pancreatic cancer that spread to the liver. An MRI and a new round of blood tests have been ordered. Until we get those results, nothing is definitive.

July 6th: MRI

July 7th:

  • Blood work was completed.
  • MRI results have found a 3cm mass outside of the pancreas. Doctors cannot conclude if it is part of the pancreas or if it’s a lymph node.

July 18th: 3rd Biopsy at UCLA Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

July 26th: Diagnosis Finalized (Fibrolamellar)