Billary stent/Catheter

[Greenwhite63]

My father has MBC and has been on Lynparza for 8 months with good results. At monthly check up a week ago, hit liver enzymes and bilirubin went from normal to sky high. Within days he was jaundiced and hospitalized. Found tumer on pancreasus pressing on bile duct. This did not show up on PET scan 2 weeks earlier that should pretty goo results. They tried to do ERCP (endescope) stent insertion yesterday and they were unsuccessful. He is about to go in for a IR Biliary Stent Insertion New Access With Drainage Catheter done by an intervention radiologist.

Has anybody had experience with this procedure?

Thanks!

[GollyG]

Hi there, I haven't had the procedure but just wanted to wish him luck, I hope it goes well.All the best,

Gill

[Greenwhite63 in reply to GollyG]

Thank You!

[Threadsgirl]

Hi, I haven’t had this procedure but have seen patients having it. The stent is to open up the bile duct and keep it open . That should help in getting rid of the jaundice. There may be some discomfort due to the stent, some people have some pain after the procedure, others not, make sure he has something ordered if he needs it. The stent will stay in. Sounds like he will have a drain inserted that will be a tube through the skin with a smallish drainage bag connected on the outside that will have to be emptied periodically, not hard to do, just important to keep everything clean. Ask how long they think he will need it. This is usually done under mild sedation. Once the immediate problem of blocked bile duct is taken care of then they will have to rethink therapy.

[Greenwhite63 in reply to Threadsgirl]

Thanks for the info and taking the time to respond. He had the procedure yesterday evening and it was successful. They first went through side but that did not work and went in the front of stomach and that did the trick. It was done under sedation and local but my Dad said it was one of the most painful things he has gone through. They did a ERCP the day before and was under general anesthesia. No idea why this one was not done under general. We will request if it had to be done again, which it sounds like every 2-3 weeks

Yes need next line of therapy to shrink these tumors and hopefully allowing bile to drain normally. Crazy how this came out of the blue when we had just gotten one of the best PET scans in 3 years. A reminder that the scans can miss a lot of tumors in this area and the colon.

[Valisa]

I don’t have experience with that procedure . I developed pancreatitis last November and had an ERCP procedure to have a stent put in my common bile duct. It has made a world of difference. My levels have all improved and my comfort has improved greatly. I also have a metastatic tumour on my pancreas. This was my first progression since being diagnosed de novo in Dec. 2018. I had three good years on Ibrance and Letrozole before this new tumour. In January 2022 I started on Xeloda. The surgeon used a plastic stent, these have to be replaced every 3-6 months. I have had one replacement already. There is also a metal stent that will last longer. I did not have any pain or side effects after the ERCP procedures.

Hope your father’s procedure goes well and he gets relief soon. Pancreatitis is very painful. All the best🤗

[Greenwhite63 in reply to Valisa]

Hi Valisa - thanks for your response. Father had the procedure, but noticed blood in his drainage and went back in and they put a new type of catheter in that seems like a better set up. Now we need to get with his oncologist and see about new therapy to shrink the tumors. I am curious, did you ever get the pancreas tumor biopsied? The tumor on the head of the pancreas is the one compressing the bile duct and causing the blockage. I just assume it is MBC, but they had talked about getting it looked at in case its another primary cancer.

I am going to investigate if there is any other treatment for this tumor, like gamma knife or targeted radiation to shrink. Not sure if that's an option, but need to look at all possibilities.

My best to you!

[Valisa in reply to Greenwhite63]

I did have my tumor biopsied and it was confirmed that it was from the breast cancer. Not a new primary cancer. It was just a quick outpatient procedure. Then a few weeks later I had the second stent procedure. The surgeon noted that the tumor had decreased in size in those few weeks, indicating that the xeloda treatment was working.🤞that this will last.Best of luck with your father. Not sure if radiation is an option. Keep me posted how he makes out. Your father is lucky to have such a great advocate researching treatment options.

Lisa

[Greenwhite63]

Thanks for this info and the kind words! I am thinking they will most likely do the biopsy. And a good chance like you it will be the original breast cancer. I am thinking the next treatment most likely will be xeloda. I am just starting research on it. How did you tolerate it?

Thanks,

Chris