Secondaries in the liver
Anyone had secondary tumours on the liver? Wondering how it might be treated????
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Hi Kittykat
There are a range of treatment options but it depends on a whole lot of different factors - type, size, number etc...
I have lung secondaries but know a few ladies with liver secondaries - as with early BC different treatments for everyone.
Amanda xx
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Hi Cathy
I just read your profile and I am very sorry to hear there is a part 2 to your story. I don't have any knowledge on liver mets but I just wanted you to know my thoughts are with you. Like Amanda said, there are many different types of breast cancers so what type will affect your treatment I am guessing too. Sending you lots of love
Sam xo
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Hi Kittykat,
Sorry about the delayed response, I am not that good navigating round this site. I was diagnosed 1 sept 2010 with liver secondaries and widespread bone mets in spine,right shoulder,sternum and ribs. My tumors were very aggressive on diagnosis and estrogen positive. I have responsed beyond my oncologists expectation as I was quite unwell at times and lost 12kg weight.
I am now 18 months post diagnosis next week and having staging ct and bone scans. I have 2 children ages 11 and 13.
Living one day at time is all we can do,enjoying life and maximizing experiences as they arrive. Living with advanced cancer is challenging as we face the unknown. I find it very important not to let it consume me. I always find my children cope well when I cope well and I strive to be at peace as much as possible. I have chosen to keep my childrens lives
as normal as possible, doing all the medical things but prioritizing appoint as much as possible. I focus a lot on psychological care , spiritual well being and nutrition and it makes a lot of difference. I remain active as much as my health allows me.
I am on 2 lots hormonal treatments, zometa , had 2 lots of chemo and radiation to shoulder and spine. surgery I am told is not very successful in ABC.There are some other treatments out there not offered in public but I havent investigated these. So far my tumors respond to chemo but regrow under six months from completion which they class as failed response but they say there are many options for chemo.
I would like to see national data collection to find out realistically what is happening out there.
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Hi Kittykat,
Sorry about the delayed response, I am not that good navigating round this site. I was diagnosed 1 sept 2010 with liver secondaries and widespread bone mets in spine,right shoulder,sternum and ribs. My tumors were very aggressive on diagnosis and estrogen positive. I have responsed beyond my oncologists expectation as I was quite unwell at times and lost 12kg weight.
I am now 18 months post diagnosis next week and having staging ct and bone scans. I have 2 children ages 11 and 13.
Living one day at time is all we can do,enjoying life and maximizing experiences as they arrive. Living with advanced cancer is challenging as we face the unknown. I find it very important not to let it consume me. I always find my children cope well when I cope well and I strive to be at peace as much as possible. I have chosen to keep my childrens lives
as normal as possible, doing all the medical things but prioritizing appoint as much as possible. I focus a lot on psychological care , spiritual well being and nutrition and it makes a lot of difference. I remain active as much as my health allows me.
I am on 2 lots hormonal treatments, zometa , had 2 lots of chemo and radiation to shoulder and spine. surgery I am told is not very successful in ABC.There are some other treatments out there not offered in public but I havent investigated these. So far my tumors respond to chemo but regrow under six months from completion which they class as failed response but they say there are many options for chemo.
I would like to see national data collection to find out realistically what is happening out there.
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Hi Anne Maree,
Thanks so much for responding to my post.
It really helps to speak to positive and inspirational women like you. I'm not quite there yet, at the moment I would describe myself as feeling a bit flat and resigned to things.
I started chemo again last week - I'm having 6 rounds of Gemcitabine & Paclitaxel. I had a bone scan yesterday and see my Oncologist again next week for the results of that. I find it difficult living in the country where it is a 3 hour round trip for tests, treatment and Oncologists at our nearest regional centre. The Oncologists fly in and out of there once a week from RPA and you rarely see the same one more than a few times. We love the country but as things go along might have consider a move back to a city.
Something I still cannot get my head around is why I had no scans from my original diagnosis in December 2009 until a few weeks ago after I started to feel intense pain in my abdomine. By this stage the mets where all over the liver! Wouldn't it have been better if they had of been detected months ago when still very small??? I've asked this question many times after initial diagnosis (why no scans??) unsatisfied. One Oncologist told me 'the outcomes are no better with regular scans'. Can you understand this? I'm going to grill the Oncologist about this yet again next week. Can you advise me to ask any more questions of him? I notice you had information about your secondaries being estrogen positive. Should they biopsy mine? This has not been discussed.
I sometimes feel a bit intimidated by this site because so many of the posts are extremely upbeat. I don't want to bring people down by moaning and groaning but I can't fake what I don't feel at the moment!!
All the best to you,
Cathy XX
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That's ok,you can moan as much as you like on this site.We are all here to support each other and share information.I've had breast cancer twice(7yrs apart)so I've lost confidence in my health and worry about every ache and pain. When I had my oncology checkup the other week,I asked my oncologist if I should be having routine blood tests and scans.He said no because that tends to make people more anxious.They would only investigate if you had a pain.Well I'm still not quite sure how I feel about that response.If I was to get secondary cancer then I'd want to pick it up immediately and be treated before it spread further..We have yearly mammograms so why not chest xrays,bloods,etc. I begin to wonder if it's a money issue or perhaps my doctor is right-why be anxious over nothing. It must be hard living so far away from treatment centre.That would add to the stress I imagine.I hope your bone scan is clear and your chemo isn't too hard on you.
Tonya xx
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Anne Maree, you are very knowledgeable and I hope you continue to be my friend on this site.
Thanks, Cathy X
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Hi Cathy,
I had my review with my oncologist and he said same as I did in previous post.
He said biopsy is an option but you would do chemo 1st based on previous breast cancer biopsy done in 2009. I would want to have repeat CT no later than 9 weeks post start of new chemo to ensure responding. You could ask about whether Ultrasound of the Liver was useful in checking progress of tumors earlier. I know it normally takes till 2nd round before chemo effects are evident and CT scanning not normally benificial before 9 weeks post start of chemo. However if you show signs of increasing unwellness, I would push for review to see if tumors continuing to grow. Tumor markers are recommended monthly, despite the fact they are not reliable in all women.
If you are not happy with your management under a particular oncologist get a second opinion, it is important you trust your oncologist. I have seen 2 different oncologists for second opinions over the 18 months when things were tricky. I still remain with my original oncologist as I find he has genuine care towards my case. He is happy for me to do this, I keep everything in the open.
One thing I have become more confident with is I know my own body better than anyone else and at the end of the day it is our body. The more knowledge we gain, it helps to empower us and gives us increased condfidence in our treatment choices.
Make sure breast care nurse follows you up each time you have chemo.Our needs can change from day to day when on treatment All the support you can get helps you deal with these needs.
It is also important to have good family GP who gets to know whole family and you have confidence in. We have enough stress dealing with the unknown of the disease, we dont need added stress of dealing with doctors who we dont have trust in.
I cannot recommend more highly the therapeutic benefit of having regular visits with a caring psychologist who has good deal of empathy on their side. I saw one initially but didnt get any benefit then my GP referred me to private one on the mental health plan. You can get up to 16 visits a year.I then used the chronic care plan (5 visits). She sees her role as a suppotive one.I work on cognitive behavioural treatment.
OTIS foundation has holiday homes for people receiving active treatment. You just google the website, look at houses avail in NSW and send email regarding putting name on waiting list.
Let me know how you go.
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