166: Beth Lehman survived liver cancer | cirrhosis | heptacellular carcinoma | y-90 | hepatic encephalopathy | ascites

Beth Lehman went through a tumultuous year in 2020.  Thanks to heavy drinking, she was diagnosed with cirrhosis, then basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, followed by hepatocellular carcinoma, a form of liver cancer.  She underwent radioactive embolization in order to get a liver transplant.  Beth said the two-hour operation wasn't so tough, but the after-effects were difficult, including nausea and vomiting.  Then she experienced a procedure to get rid of the skin cancer on her right temple.  She says between her physical and emotional recovery, she advocates for cancer patients and is happier than ever.   Beth's alcohol consumption had soared to four or five bottles of wine a day.  In 2020, she began to have a buildup of fluid in her stomach, known as ascites.  For a long time, she avoided consulting a doctor, suspecting a doctor would tell her to quit drinking; but when ascites asserted itself, she sought medical attention.  She was diagnosed with cirrhosis.  Upon further examination, five tumors were discovered in her liver, which led to a diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma, a form of liver cancer.   This diagnosis came after another diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma, but the skin cancer had to take back seat to the liver cancer.   Beth said her care team first had to determine whether the cancer had spread beyond her liver.  Thankfully, it hadn't.  In order to complete a liver transplant, doctors wanted to execute radioactive embolization, in which radiation beads would be injected into her arteries through her wrist or groin and targeted at the tumors.  However, for that to happen, the tumors had to be 2cm, but her largest tumor was 1.87cm.  Incredibly, Beth's care team told her to go home and let the tumors grow so they would be large enough for it to go through with the radioactive embolization.   Once the tumors grew, Beth went through the procedure, also known as Y-90.  She had to go through the procedure a second time.  Usually, a second procedure comes eight to twelve weeks after the first procedure.  Beth's second procedure came just four weeks later.  She said she was awake during each procedure, each lasted about two hours, but the toughest part was post-treatment, as she had a great amount of radiation in her body, so much that upon returning home, she had to be sequestered from her husband and her pet cats. Once she recovered from her liver transplant, she had her skin cancer treated.  She said her doctors had to go seven layers deep to get all the cancer, but they did such an outstanding job that her incision is not visible.   Beth Lehman once had a lucrative IT position, but these days she works as an advocate for cancer patients, especially liver cancer patients and says she is happier than ever.   Additional Resources:   Support Groups:   The American Liver Foundation https://www.liverfoundation.org   Beth's Nonprofit, The Liver Circle https://www.thelivercircle.org   Beth's Personal Page with Her Story: https://www.bethlehmanliver.com