I would like to know if anyone has ever known someone who's cancer has spread to the liver. Mine has spread to the liver and now on chemo all other medications have been stopped
Cancer spread to liver : I would like... - Advanced Prostate...
Cancer spread to liver
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Ca-Darrell123
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I'll give it to you straight... My Father-in-law passed away in December 2014. Lots of pain. From the time he was diagnosed to the time he passed away was from March to December. Transfer ALL your assets, bank accounts, auto titles, everything to your spouse NOW. Get your affairs/ debts in order NOW. Look into how your health insurance is going to process things. The doctors all said that Liver cancer is "fast & furious." I am so sorry. My experience with my father-in-law was that it took him out of this life very quickly. Talk with your minister now and do alot of praying. I am so sorry... but I thought you deserved at least one answer to your question.
Timothy:
Did he die from PC that spread to the liver, or was it colon cancer or bile duct cancer or some other cancer. My understanding is that even when PC spreads, it still acts like PC. For example, there are a number of folks with spread of PC to the lungs and many do they well for many years.
Darrell, I assume you have already gone through HT? Xtandi? Zytigia?
Mel
I was in a clinical trial that included zytiga lupron and an unknown drug with just a number ARB888-Art I was also taking 5mg I was getting a bone scan and at ct scat every three mo. Everything went well for four years. my psa was at 0.9 and boom all of the sudden there was the spread to the liver. the doctor said id was very unusual to spread to the liver. I did my second round of chemo to day and will do a follow up visit wit the doctoron the 19th of Dec.
My Father-in-law had PRIMARY LIVER CANCER.
In the same boat! How long for the cancer liver t finish the job?
My question too
He had PRIMARY LIVER CANCER. There are many other posts on here that show that you have Secondary Liver Cancer and there is a difference (Thankfully).
I'm in about the same situation. I was pulled from a trial because of more and larger spots in liver. having biopsy on Wednesday to see if it has become small cell. hoping to still have chemo this week while we wait for results and decide on new new course of treatment.
Hi
Very sorry to hear that about the spread to the liver.
My prostate cancer showed up in my liver almost 2 years ago while on Xtandi. Moved to a combination of Taxotere plus Carboplatin and then cabazitaxel during most of 2015. This year I have been taking a low dose oral chemotherapy called Cytoxan. The liver mets have progressed a bit and were lasted checked in June by CT scan. I also had a liver biopsy last November which showed it was not small cell. I am having a CT scan latter this week.
My cancer and treatment history is outlined in my profile on this site.
This is my personal experience with liver mets yours may be different. I was told the Carboplatin and Cytoxan both target liver mets are both in a related drug family tree.
Prostate cancer that has spread to the liver is called secondary liver cancer. Secondary liver cancer is not the same as primary liver cancer.
I hope this helps
Bill Manning
Ca-Darrell123 in reply to
I know from the biopsy that is PC that spread to the liver. Started on chemo so we will see how that goes.
How did the chemo go? What type were you put on and did you stay on lupron or any other drugs? My dad just found out his spread to the liver as well. We only found out about the PC in November so everything seems to be progressing quickly
My husband had a large tumor on his liver found on his final cat scan after he had exhausted all treatments .its not unusual per readings as to where prostate cancer can spread ..
Prostate cancer that had spread to the liver is a serious step forward in the disease progression. You should work very closely with your oncologist to deal with this situation.
Prostate cancer that has spread to the liver is a serious step forward in the disease progression. You should work very closely with your oncologist to deal with this situation.
However, having prostate cancer spread to the liver is not an immediate death sentence, however it is serious as the prognosis can be considered as having worsened with this step.
The first thing is to confirm that what has been seen is in fact is prostate cancer and not some other disease or cancer. The only sure way to know this is with a biopsy, otherwise it is speculation.
Joel
Joel thanks for your help. Yes the biopsy confirmed that is PC. I did my second round of Chemo today. Will keep you posted.
My PCa spread to my liver in 2016. Jevtana did nothing more than to slow the growth. I then had the "Y90" treatment of therasphere radioactive beads and it significantly reduced the cancer and the treatment caused calcification on the cancer that was good. My last PET showed a smaller spot on the liver but at least it was a level 6.5 and not the aggressive 20.0. I go for an MRI on 12/7 for and MRI and office visit with my liver oncologist. This will probably lead to a biopsy to determine if PCa, liver cancer or something else. Very please with "Y90" results especially when over a year ago two oncologist said I had 4-6 months to live.
Prostate cancer usually (always) metastasizes to the bone. Sometimes you can get visceral metastases; mets to the lung or the liver. These are thought of as scarier, but mostly because they are off the main path, and usually later in the progression of the disease. I have heard doctors say that liver mets can be well controlled, take pride in the fact that their patients have them but under control, and the liver is a nice organ that can reproduce itself. Someone must know how many people die of liver faliure that is caused by prostate cancer mets. Not many.
Many trials have as an exclusion criteria: no visceral mets. This is because the drug they are testing is not aimed at that people with visceral mets, and they want the trial population to look like the target population. Don't be put off by this.
in reply to
Cancer cells circulate in the blood, first as individual cells. Later clumps of cells develop and circulate. Mets to the bones are biologically favored, because somehow the prostate epithelial cells change to semi-stem cells in the connecttive tissue family, to which both blood and bone belong. (Blood comes from bone. Bone comes from blood.) The prostate cells act like hemopoetic stem cells, and move to bone marrow.
But other mets come, I suspect, from phyisical blockage, not biological activity. Clumps of CTCs get stuck in tiny passages and settle down. (Speculation) This results in "multi-focal" tumors - lots of samll tumor sites.
I could be wrong, obviously, but I have not heard of any mechanism so I made this up.
It also "explains" why you can get "embolisms". Clumps of cancer cells attract an immune response, and the "scab" is too biig to circulate.
Ca-Darrell123 in reply to
Thank you for your reply. It is the most encouraging one that I have hadI wiil keep you posted as to my porgress. Did my second round of chemo today.
Glad to hear that you finally started chemo. I assume its docetaxel. The standard of care changed 18 months ago.
I feel sure that Radium 223 is approved in your case (metastatic to the bone). Hope they mentioned that.
You are in Southern California, so getting to Baltimore is a little inconvenient if not to say expensive. Would you be interested in a study that is directed at clearing out bone mets?
I think TimothyDave misunderstood your post. You don't have liver cancer.
Hello gentlemen, I am speaking from the standpoint of a wife, actually a widow as of Oct. 17, 2015. My dear husband was diagnosed in July 2010 with advanced PC. PSA went from 3.5 one summer to 20.4 the next summer. Primary Care Physician didn't think the 3.5 PSA was any big concern. (I won't elaborate on his poor judgment.) Ray did fine on ADT until July 2013. His PSA jumped rapidly to 93, so oncologist started him on Docetaxel. He had many treatments, some of which were Zytiga, Etoposide + something, Lupron, Jevtana, you name it, and he tried it, all except immunotherapy. Docetaxel did OK until October 2014. He was found to have mets in liver, and then after that pleural effusions (fluid gathers in the pleura - lining of the lungs). Side effects became rampant . . . skin peeling off hands and feet from the excess swelling, loss of appetite, food tasted like cardboard, eyes were constantly watery, or constantly dry, nose was runny, scrotum was enlarged beyond imagination. We went to Duke in Oct. 2014 and were told "one year". I was determined to go to M.D. Anderson, so we saw oncologists April 2015, and again they agreed with Duke . . . "one year or less". Ray said he had no aches or pains, other than just the irritating side effects. In May we went to our final location, Univ. of Ala. at Birmingham. And again they concurred. Suddenly in August Ray's lungs showed microscopic cancer cells in the fluid, so we had a home health nurse come to our home and drain one lung 3 times per week. September 2015 he was hospitalized for 8 days due to an infected leg. After he came back home, things were never the same. He weakened day by day, weight was dropping, and he needed assistance with daily skills. In mid-October of last year, he was hospitalized for 5 days. The 5th day he was transferred to hospice, where he passed away the next morning. It was quite a long 5+ year battle, but he truly did remarkably well, all things considered, until the last 2 months of his life. As someone said, mets from PC to the liver is not called "liver cancer", nor " lung cancer". It was called "PC with mets to the liver (or lung)." The source from where the cancer originated is the type of cancer it is. Even in the 13 months since I lost my husband, newer and newer meds and treatments and clinical trials are appearing. I know Ray did better during the extent of his cancer than a friend who was diagnosed about 4 years previously. That friend passed away as Ray had just been diagnosed. That friend lived a little over 4 years, and Ray made it 5 years & 3 months. Whomever gets the diagnosis of PC now will probably have an even longer length of survival! Blessings are stretching the time out further and further! How wonderful, because one day PC will be a thing of the past, like polio was. Never underestimate the power of medicine . . . and prayer.
Thanks for sharing your story. It looks like I am headed down the same road. I am in my fourth year of treatment at City of Hope hospital. Things have been going good then last month the CT scan reveals a spot on my liver and the biopsy confirmed it was pc cancer spread to cancer liver. I just received my second chemo treatment yesterday and will see my oncologist on the 19th of December. Once again thanks for sharing your story. I am sorry for your loss.
Hello Darrell123,
My name is Susan from the Atlanta area. With the exception of only a one-time break of about a month and a half, once Ray began Docetaxel, he stayed on it continuously. He started chemo in July 2013, then took a break in January 2014. His PSA varied from .06 to 1.0 on up to the 30's, then it would drop (with no different treatment involved), then it would shoot up to 40's, 50's, and then low 60's. By that time Ray was still on ADT, but when his PSA reached 93 in July 2013, his oncologist started him on chemo once every month, then every 2 weeks, and eventually every week. We knew he had bone mets, then his liver mets were discovered. The time period when he took Etoposide and (Carbo- platin ?) was a schedule of 3 consecutive days , then 4th day oral pill, then nothing over the week-end. This was repeated for 2 more weeks. We were told it was to reduce visceral mets, but the 3-day treatment did very little to help. So back to Docetaxel, until September 30, 2015. A total of 2 years of chemo.
That day turned out to be the last visit to the oncologist. Ray told him he was ready to quit chemo, and that he would "ride it out for the long-term." The "long-term" was from September 30 until he passed away October 17 of 2015. I know Ray was doing the chemo for me. I feel pretty sure he would have chosen to stop back in the summer because he told me that if he had to live like "that", then he was "ready to go". It breaks my heart to think of how he suffered from side effects just to keep me from accepting reality. I feel so guilty. His platelet count which normally should be 140,000 and above began dropping slowly. During his 8 days of hospitalization in September, his platelet count was as low as 24,000. This will sound absolutely horrible, but if either of us had known how miserable his last 2-3 weeks were going to be, it probably would have been more gentle and humane to pray that God take him Home during the 8 day stay at Emory in September, rather than living until mid-October. Darrell, I am so deeply sorry that you are experiencing this, but just from various things you have said, it appears that you are better than Ray was at this point. We were in total denial, as I look back. Ray did not want to talk about "it", so I went along with what I thought were his wishes. It was not until a hospice representative dropped by Ray's room that final week that I found out how sick he actually was. The rep told him face-to-face that he had "only a few days to live." Imagine that???!!! He told her he thought he had about 5 more months to live, based on the doctors' saying "one year". If he hadn't been told that, I wonder what would have happened. Naturally his will to live plummeted. He obviously had not been feeling well, but certainly not like he was only going to make it "a few more days". Be an advocate for yourself, Darrell, or have family members fight for your rights. YOU have the right to make decisions for yourself. I'll be lifting you up in prayer that the Lord will cover you with his blessings of healing. Be strong! And don't let any medical staff tell you what you must do, what morphine you must take. You can take charge. Sincerely, Susan
Thanks so much Susan for your reply and your prayers. I will hang in there. It is important to me that I leave my wife and family okay.
Once again thank you
I'm so sorry for what you have been going through. My dear hubby was diagnosed 8 yrs ago with Advanced PC. His PSA had been slowly going up but still under 4 so his primary physician was not concerned. In one year it went from under 4 to over 10 and then everyone took notice. My husband had surgery, full range of radiation, Hormone Therapy, Infusions and 3 years of successful trial drugs. Then the cancer moved forward into his bones. We did two types of Chemo and they both stopped working. Then scans showed it was in his liver. They did several biopsies to see if it was the type of PC in the liver that a new drug might help. But it was not. We are now in Hospice. My husband is very weak, in pain, hardly eats and sleeps most of the time. I'm wondering how much time we have together. We just celebrated our 53rd wedding anniversary this week. I love this man so much!
Hi everyone --
My name is Lynnette. My husband Doug is currently 70 and had a radical prostatectomy in 2006 with radiation and hormone therapy following surgery. In November 2016, we found out that his cancer had returned and had metastasized to his bones with multiple tumors throughout his spine, hips, femur, shoulder and ribs. He followed up with chemo for six months and continued with monthly lupron and zometa treatments. In January 2017 his liver enzymes had tripled so they performed a liver biopsy and he was diagnosed with small cell liver cancer. He is currently having chemo treatments with carboplatin and etoposide for six cycles every three weeks. He was supposed to start his third cycle this past Monday but his white blood count was only 600 so we will try again next week to see if he can reach the magic 1,000 mark they are looking for to have the treatment. The liver tumors have responded to the chemo shrinking them slightly but his oncologist told us that with small cell cancer the chemo is just to slow down the progression and that my husband had approximately a year to live. Has anyone here had any experience with a similar situation that I can ask questions. I have a lot of anxiety about time passing too quickly and need a little hope to hold onto. Thank you very much for any experience, thoughts or suggestions you may have.
Sincerely,
Lynnette
Dear Anya:
I am sorry that your father is going through metastatic liver cancer as well. No question is too sensitive on this site as we are all leaning on each other for support. In answer to your question, no, my husband was not recommended for Y90 as he has small cell liver cancer and it appears like oatmeal on an xray and there were too many tumors to treat. Doug is doing well--actually better then I could ever have hoped for with all that he is dealing with. He finished six chemo treatments of carboplatin and etosposide and had very minor side effects. His PSAs are down to 2.48 and he is feeling great. He was not a candidate for the new drug Keytruda due to not having the DNA marker needed for it to be covered by his insurance but oncologist said if needed we can try it as a clinical trial later in treatment. Onc also asked if he wanted to continue chemo as his body tolerated it so well but he has opted to give his body a break and he will be checked every month to see when his numbers rise again and then on to the next course of treatment. I hope your father is doing well and please feel free to ask questions any time and hopefully I can help or at least give you some peace of mind that there is hope and treatments still available to your dad.
Sincerely,
Lynnette
Hi Lynnette, How is your husband, Doug, doing? I hope well? 3 weeks ago (after an MRI showed what we thought was just sciatica turned out to be tumor activity on his lower spine) we learned my husband's PC became CRPC. Today he had a CT scan and found it has also gone to his liver. VERY scary prognosis from the oncologist, who now recommends my husband start carboplatin-taxol chemo ASAP.
fwiw, My husband was diagnosed almost a year ago, with extensive mets to bones (spine, ribs, skull, etc) a shock, given he had no symptoms other than common aches and pains for a 60 yr old who spends a lot of time working on his computer. He immediately went through the standard hormone treatment + chemo and went into what we were hoping was going to be a very long remission before becoming CRPC.
We're now looking for and hoping for a Hail Mary!!!
Dear JLS1 -- mets to liver is scary. Doug is back to chemo again. If you have read my posts, Doug's PC returned a little over five years after his RP in 2013 (Gleason 4+5 and followed up with 37 radiation treatments). The big shift in his progression came in November of 2015, his PSAs were 64.63 and his PC had spread to his bones. and he started chemo with taxotere. A year later his numbers were on the rise again and CT/scan showed the spread to his liver. Biopsy showed small-cell liver cancer and he started carboplatin and etoposide. He finished six treatments in June 2017 and by September his numbers started to rise again. Dr. wanted him to try Xtandi but we could not afford the $10,000 co-pay each month and with numbers continuing to rise (PSA 25.46) and he started another cycle of chemo this time Jevtana and taxotere. He has completed two of six so far (PSA currently at 20.45 but we expect it to go lower with further treatments). As others have stated, this is a very aggressive form of cancer and we are looking at continuing chemo until it stops working. Another option is to see if he qualifies for a clinical trial (maybe one that uses Xtandi would be nice) but he has other health issues so not sure about the qualifications. It is tough to watch the one you love so dearly suffer but make each day count and when he is feeling well feel blessed and take advantage of those days. Both of us have accepted his situation and live in the present and make each day count and try not to focus too much on the future. I know those are sage words when you are going through this but Doug will be on some form of treatment for the rest of his life. By living in just this 24 hours, it helps to eliminate a lot of what I don't have any control over and, of course, some days are better than others.
Big hugs and continue to let me know how your husband is doing as he continues his treatments.
Lynnette
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