Chemoembolization
If surgery isn’t an option for your liver cancer, your doctor may recommend transarterial chemoembolization. Also called the TACE procedure, this less invasive treatment works by:
- Injecting chemotherapy drugs into the blood vessels that feed your tumor
- Blocking the tumor’s supply of blood, oxygen, and nutrients
Your tumor receives a higher dose of chemo than you could get otherwise. That means effective cancer treatment with fewer side effects.
Preparing for treatment
If your oncologist (cancer doctor) recommends TACE treatment, we’ll schedule a clinic visit before the procedure. You’ll learn what to expect and get answers to your questions.
Don’t eat or drink anything the evening before TACE.
Day of treatment
After you come to Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, you’ll:
- Change into a hospital gown
- Take lab tests
- Receive an intravenous (IV) line for fluids and medications
- Meet your doctor to discuss the procedure
- Go to the procedure suite, where we’ll attach sensors to monitor your vital signs and give you conscious sedation (medicine to relax you and prevent pain)
An interventional radiologist will perform your procedure. This type of doctor specializes in using imaging guidance to treat health conditions. The physician will:
- Place a thin, flexible tube called a catheter in your wrist or upper thigh
- Move the catheter to your liver arteries and inject the chemo drugs
- Remove the catheter from your body
We’ll monitor you for several hours as you recover. You may go home the same day or stay in the hospital overnight.
After treatment
You may have abdominal pain, a fever, and nausea for a few days. When you leave the hospital, you’ll receive medications to ease these symptoms.
Follow-up care
We’ll check on you to see how well treatment worked and determine the next steps. Expect to visit the interventional radiology clinic after your next cancer imaging scan, usually three to six months after chemoembolization.
