The rest of the story. Chapter 2

We met with the transplant clinic and found out that Earl's tumors (there are 3 or more) were too large to be considered for a transplant. There was the possibility of treating the tumors with radiation to get them to shrink down to the transplant criteria. We were still positive. We decided to obtain a second opinion. Some very good friends of ours have brother that is a transplant surgeon and he agreed to review our case with us. When we saw him, he told us everything in language that we could understand. He was very good at translating the medical terminology into ordinary people talk. The bottom line is that there are certain criteria for obtaining a liver transplant. If you have a tumor that is under 5 centimeters, and you can do radiation to shrink the tumor to under 3 centimeters, then you may be eligible for a transplant. Earl's main tumor is 6x9 centimeters and it is in a bad place to be able to completely remove the tumor with a transplant. Because you have to take anti-rejection meds for the rest of your life, the tumor that has not been completely removed will be allowed to grow wild. Thus making a liver transplant a terrible option. So what next.