ERCP's

[Guest guest]

I have not been reading all the messages lately so I am responding

to something a few days ago....

My husband and I have met with a number of different specialists and

they do indeed have different opinions about when ERCP's are

appropriate.

I will only say that last week my husband Mark was diagnosed with

bile duct cancer based on ERCP's and brushings done at Mayo. It was

diagnosed early and at this point we fit the protocal for chemo

followed by transplant at Mayo. It is VERY important to catch this

disease early. If it has progressed too far it may be too

large/have spread from the liver/not be eligible for transplant.

They have suspected cancer with Mark for months but it took multiple

ERCP's to pin it down.

So - - the long and short of it is that I believe in

monitoring/treating PSC with ERCP's because:

-ERCP's have had a positive impact on how he felt. It improved his

LFTs. His fatigue improved. An ERCP may not stop the progression

but it made him feel better and don't we treat other diseases in

ways that just make quality of life better!

-It was through an ERCP that cancer was diagnosed while it still can

be addressed.

I feel this way even though Mark had pancreatitis each time and was

septic twice. We have had hospital roomates that had end stage

liver cancer. It is a hard road to travel...

Just my thoughts...

Terri, wife to Mark

'68 Perthes, '73 Ulcerative Colitis, '87 Park's Pouch(J Pouch), '90

hip replacement, '03 PSC, '05 Stage 5 PSC(portal hypertension-

varicies, acities, mild he), '06 Bile Duct Cancer