Mets spread to liver

[Shafight]

I’ve been treated for 18mo for Mets to my bones. My last Pet scan showed they are now in my liver. I’m really scared. How will my treatment change? I haven’t seen my onc yet.

[Pbsoup]

I was on same boat a year ago. Totally terrified

Am now on Xeloda, an oral chemo. So far so good. Am having scans next week so that could change, but…. If liver is still lighting up I may have them zapped. Or at least that’s what my oncologist said

Otherwise I feel fine Some side effects from Xeloda but noting too bad.

It’s scary though. But plenty of women do fine for a long time with liver Mets. And there re localized radiological treatments to try in some cases.

[Shafight in reply to Pbsoup]

thank you Pbsoup!

[MyMiracle13]

I have widespread mets to liver and the radiation oncologist said that they will use radiation as a last resort for palliative purposes. For now, I am on Lynparza but although it worked well for my lung mets, it did nothing for my liver mets so when I see my onc, he will probably put me on another treatment possibly AFINITOR.

[Shafight in reply to MyMiracle13]

I was just put on Affinitor and something else

[Melpub]

From 2018-August, 2022 I had Ibrance, Faslodex and Xgeva with no progression (had had mets to bones and have a rod in my femur, where a turmor was removed) and then I, too, had "spots" on my liver--confirmed with various PET scans. Tried Capacetabine and the biosimilar for Avastin. The capacetabine didn't work and caused hand/foot syndrome (burning feet that looked like little red balloons) but I hasten to add it works fine on many women--this is one of the oddities of treatment. I sailed along fine with almost no problems on Ibrance (dry hair and occasional breathlessness) but some women really get sick on the stuff. Stopped the capacetabine and now it's weekly paclitaxel and Avastin (some weeks only the Paclitaxel)--it's working (tumor markers going down) but I feel weak and sick all the time--no energy for the gym or much of anything else. Will probably go off this and go on Exemestane and Everolimus unless or until I get Enhertu, for which my insurance company has been asked to pony up the dough. They seem to be hesitating (what a surprise! Costs to them in civilized Germany: 38,000+ euro). We shall see.

[Andersl]

Hi, the worst part of any serious health condition is waiting to hear what can be done... the options. And then waiting to start the treatment.We are so individual , cancer cell type, stage, pathway of spread to name just a few factors. Though perhaps I can demonstrate you're perhaps worrying about the worst case scenario and there are others which are more positive. For example:

Four years ago I was diagnosed stage 4: liver, lungs, mediastnum, breast and brain.

Today no evidence of cancer can be seen. After tough chemo at the beginning then immunotherapy and stereotactic radiotherapy I'm on 3 weekly iv Kadcyla treatment which causes very few side effects.

Any pain is caused by my osteoporosis.

So, keep an open mind, stay busy while you wait and compile a list of questions for your consultant starting with ' what are the options'.

All the very best x

[worldtravel75 in reply to Andersl]

where to you receive your care?

[SharonPAG]

I am in the same boat as you. I had bone mets and was on Ibrance and Faslodex for only 5 months. After first scans in August, they discovered progression to liver. I am now receiving Paclitaxol 3 weeks on and 1 week off. Besides losing my hair, I am feeling very well and I'm even more mobile than I have been in a long time. I will be getting more scans at the end of this month to see if it's working. Keep your chin up! It's scary but we must remain positive and put our trust in our oncologist. Things will get better! There are lots of options available to us thanks to medical avancements.

[Shafight in reply to SharonPAG]

thank you, sharonPAG

[Andersl]

I'm in the UK. I've moved a few times since diagnosis. I've been treated in Royal Marsden then Bristol and now Taunton.

[PJBinMI]

Wait to hear what your onc thinks about the PET results....sometimes radiologists are quick to suggest spread when it's really something else going on. And treatment depends on the profile of the cancer cells more than where they show up. Estrogen receptor positive or negative, progesterone receptor positive or negative, her2neu positive or negative. 18 months without progression is a great start and does suggest that you aren't dealing with rip roaring aggressive cancer cells. I'm a long timer with MBC -over 18 years since diagnosis, bone mets from the beginning. Learning all I could about bc and mbc was my main way to cope during those first couple of crazy scary years. We each have our very own unique bunch of cancer cells and predictions are hard to impossible. And know that it's ok to phone your onc's office if the wait is unbearably anxiety filled! Part of their role in treating us is explaining what's happening. Do let us know what you find out and how you are doing. Most of us want to be here for each other!

[Shafight in reply to PJBinMI]

thank you for asking for an update. My onc wasn’t overly concerned about liver Mets. He said it seemed my meds were starting not to work. So he changed me to Arromasin and Affinitor. I’ve barely heard of these drugs

[Snowday123]

I had a single met to lung and removed it surgically. Had to shop around for surgeon willing to do surgery and now I'm NED. Maybe makes no difference others but I found removing the lower right lobe of my lung easier than chemo! Might be because I'm very thin and lost way too much weight doing chemo. I do a targeted treatment now that I'm praying will last a few years but saw another woman respond to a question saying she shopped around till she found a surgeon that would remove 5 liver tumors (she also initially was bone only) and that was quite a few years prior...

[Shafight]

thanks. This is enlightening