Liver cancer, inoperable liver cancer
Being diagnosed with cancer is tough enough. But to be told that chemotherapy would not be enough and that they could not operate on me…that was devastating. I have a family. Four children: one out of college, two in college, and a third heading off next year. I didn’t know what was going to happen to my wife, and to them.

My physician referred me to Geisinger liver specialists in State College. They had begun offering some transplant services at the center several months before my diagnosis, and it was only about five miles from my home. That became important, because over the next 10 days, I had CAT scans and blood tests to determine the extent of the cancer, whether it had spread, and what my next steps should be.

The only option was quite a shock
It was terrible not knowing, but then came the shocker: a liver transplant was my only option. I knew about chemo. I didn’t know anything about transplants.

So I did a lot of research on the internet to find all the specialists I needed to talk to, to find the very best care. I knew a little about Geisinger’s program, but I wanted to visit as many transplant centers as I could, here in Pennsylvania and out of state.

When you visit transplant centers, you’re always looking for a good sign, for something to build your spirits up. I needed hope. I didn’t find it at first.

And as the months went by, I was going downhill quickly. Fatigue. Swelling. I was feeling bad.

Long shots, little option
Over the long winter months, I visited transplant center after center, looking for options. One wanted $20,000 even before I met with anyone, and they didn’t accept insurance. Another told me the tumor was simply too large according to transplant guidelines, and there was nothing they could do. Getting on the transplant list was a long shot, according to them. Their plan was just to make me comfortable and then to send me home.

It was really tough. It was like a death sentence, and they’re the ones who are going to make the call, not me. They offered me no other options.

Hope, as well as confidence
Then I spoke with the physicians at Geisinger. I was very nervous at first. But when I met with the transplant team, they made me feel like I could hope again.

They said, “Bill, we’re going to try chemotherapy to shrink this tumor. If this doesn’t work, we have this other option. If that does work, we have another option.”

The people here at Geisinger cared, and I knew it. That’s what I was looking for. I was important to them. They had a plan. They had a plan for me.

Getting into action
They told me what I needed to do to get ready for the transplant, and they helped me to do it all. They made me feel that I was actually a part of the treatment team, rather than just being a patient. They gave me so much hope and confidence, it was like they were part of the family.

I had three sessions of chemo embolization, to block the flow of blood to the tumor. They were able to shrink it, and I was finally able to go on the transplant list.

Success, thanks to a donor
We got the call that someone had donated a liver. There’s no amount of words to say thanks to the donor’ family, or to console their grief. But without that organ donor, I wouldn’t be alive.

Geisinger’s transplant team arranged for the organ to arrive by helicopter. That time was  hard on my family, but the team kept them informed all the time, and they knew everything that was going on.

The people at Geisinger are A-plus. After I’d gone home, they followed up with me. Even today, I sometimes get phone calls at 7 or 8 at night, from the docs just checking in on me. That doesn’t happen just anywhere. I know. Boy, do I know.

A new outlook
That all happened about two years ago, in 2007. This Spring, I’ll see my son graduate from high school. I’m looking forward to seeing my other kids graduate, too: one from seminary, and one from college. My wife and I can now visit my oldest child in Minneapolis. And we had our best year ever at the construction business last year. In November 2009, I’ll celebrate the second anniversary of my liver transplant.

Geisinger’s doctors told me that my cancer was curable with this transplant. They changed my outlook on life before I even had the operation. Today, I have a bright future, and my family has one with me.