Early morning jitters

Mom is out of surgery (yay!).

Gosh, this rather terrifying procedure gave us the best look inside her liver -- ever.

Now we know there are approximately eight tumors, mostly residing in the upper branch of the hepatic artery. Dr. Superstar couldn't tell for certain if there were more, but it's possible. No cancer in the lower part of the artery. Instead of treating the tumors directly, he applied the chemo to the area for optimal effectiveness.

That's a lot of cancer. And, she's pretty little.

Mom's bile ducts are dilated. This means it's harder for the bile to travel through, and therefore leaves the area more risky for infection. They dosed her up with antibiotics pre-surgery and will continue those through tomorrow. Infection is, as we all know, the crappy thing that can do damage.

Next, we wait. That's what cancer is all about, right? You wait, wait wait. Day-by-day, day-to-day, daily madness. She'll return to Mayo for more treatments like this over the coming weeks, and they'll continue evaluating effectiveness.

Mom's surgeon is two years older than me and has four kids. She likes him, apparently. This is important because her prior liver surgeon -- one of the best in the entire world (if not the best) -- was her rock. He's out of the picture now, so new Dr. Superstar has a lot of impressing to do. You know if she likes you, you're in pretty good shape. This relationship is critical to her ongoing treatment.

She's snoring now. Recovery for several hours. Hospital after that. More updates later. Thanks for caring.