Initial Diagnosis

Nathan went in earlier this week for a regular checkup and his doctor said that his liver felt a little large and that we needed to take him to the hospital for an ultrasound. We had the ultrasound the next day and the radiologist said it appeared that Nathan had a mass in his liver. We met with a pediatric oncologist who will become Nathan’s new doctor for the foreseeable future.

She said that it appears that Nathan has a hematoblastoma in his liver. After a cat-scan she told us the mass is 10.5cm in all directions and is in the right lobe of his liver. Originally we were going to go to KU-Med this Wednesday for surgery to remove it, but after the oncologist sent the images to the surgeon he told us that he would need chemotherapy first.

The surgeon told us that the tumor can be removed, but the problem is that it’s pushing against the superior vena-cava that runs up from the lower half of the body, as well as pressing against one of the two vessels that supply blood to the liver. When they remove a tumor they like to take plenty of healthy tissue around it, and because of its location that’s not safely possible.