mets to lung
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sorry about the liver mets gator gal. I just had them added to my list as well. Three months on ixempra and xeloda did nothing for me. Also will be starting abraxane in the 17th. Hope it does well for us both!
Has anyone heard of this? NP told me today that an xray showed that some of the fluid around my lung is turning to gelee. Therefore it won't be able to be all drained. Said this happens sometimes. It caught me off guard and I didn't ask any questions. Doesn't sound like it could be a good thing. Anyone know anything about this?
Hope everyone has a good night.
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No del never heard of it
Gor results back from the pdt scan, bones r stable, plureal effusion on right hand side, lung is active. More cells
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oh, MrsM: hoping for the best report. I actually had no symptoms and had over 50 lung nodules. I may have been a little sob, but I am overweight. No cough at all. So hopefully you have a very hard to shake cough, cold, bronchitis rolled into one.
I have a CT scan Wed. So I guess we can have scanxiety together!
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mrs m. I had no symptoms and still have none. But the scans show cancer in lungs
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I had an irratating cough to give concern for lung mets.
Sorry Gator girl for your progression in the liver but once you get a new treatment plan going you will feel better.
Poniesandpuppies I Find the fear of progression to be all consuming, its a nightmare but you have to believe their is a treatment plan that will be effective for you, good luck! I noticed the ladies with progression are all hormone receptice somyou have lots of choices available to you. Good luck.
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It may sound strange to those in the outside world, but I feel you all will understand when I say that I totally expected this. Didn't know when it would come, but just knew it would. Glad it's liver and not brain .... That would totally scare me. I am anxious to begin treatment. Glad I have a buddy who will be going through this with me, delirium pie. Hope abraxane is good to both of us. I will be 3 weeks on, 2 weeks off. Do you know what your protocol will be?
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I will be three weeks on and one off. Or that is the plan anyway. I will also be taking a trial drug in addition. Have to give myself daily injections. Started that part yesterday. Yuck!
Brain mets are the scariest. Mine were dx one day before I found out about the lung progression and chest lymph nodes. I remember thinking, well at least it's not in my liver. Ha!
Hope you get some rest and have some fun during your wash out period.
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Welcome Poniesandpuppies! I am a newbie to the Stage IV world. I was just diagnosed with lung mets and had no symptoms. I was rubbing my neck and felt a lump... the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I jumped on the phone first thing Monday morning and my Onc agreed to see me the same day. He felt the lump which was located above my collar bone and said that the chest and abdomen drain to that particular lump node. So he ordered a CT scan and he found lung mets. My tumor marker was just 50 and he said the mets are so small you can't even biopsy them. So I had a needle biopsy on my neck lump and they didn't get enough tissue to do the receptor test. So today... I had a surgeon remove the entire lump and once they figure out the receptors, then I can have a treatment plan. And I also found out the lump was not in the lymph node at all. Just close to it. Im feeling divine intervention with finding this lump!!
I notice a lot of women here have done many chemos. Is there a particular chemo that works better on lung mets vs bone mets??
Another thing I wanted to gripe about is the fact that my onc told me with treatment 2 years and that only 20% make it 5 years. Then I see this site and everyone living years with this disease. I think it was pretty crappy for him to not give me hope. My receptors on original cancer was ER+ and HER-. So it was not an aggressive cancer. I plan to change oncologists but time is of the essence, so will let him treat me this round as I search for a new one.
Wishing you all the best with good scan results!
Robin
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robin, grrr to your oncologist.m don't blame you for wanting to find someone who gives you hope!!
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Robin, Watch out for those "stats"....remember you are a statistic of ONE and unlike a can of beans at the grocer ....you do not have an expiration date. I have been in tx with Faslodex since dx a yr ago......ER+ and Herceptin+. I am lucky to be near a large teaching/research hospital for care. There is much available in the arsenal to treat MBC. My MO prefers to follow with meds for those of us that are ER+as a first line...then depending on scan results and TMs to make any adjustments that indicate change. Glad that you are seeing a new oncologist...it will give you lots of answers and encouragement. Hugs, Peg
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Hello again,
My scans revealed more questions than answers. It's pretty definite on the brain mets (which were completely absent 3 months ago and now are 3 large tumors and lots of tiny ones). I didn't understand about the pleura and the lungs. My onc explained that while the lining of my lungs (outside of the lungs themselves) tested negative, the inside of my lungs now looks "very suspicious" for cancer. So they're going to do a lung biopsy to be sure. In the meantime, he gave me antibiotics just in case there is an infection there, because my SOB is so severe.
He's a good doctor, and I love him to pieces, but he admitted he was more concerned with "the immediate problem, the brain." I get that ,but I have no symptoms from the brain mets, and I'm dying here with the lung mets (uh, no pun intended) ! I'm coughing every few seconds, but don't cough up anything. I'm out of breath walking to the bathroom.
Does anyone else experience panic attacks about breathing? Mostly I'm okay. I even went out with my mom today and it wasn't too bad. But especially at night, when I start thinking about how hard it is to breathe, I have to really struggle because I get anxious and then my breathing gets worse. I know the oxygen is getting to my body (my pulse ox - the finger clamp thingy) says 95-98% every time. But my heart races when I walk any length and sometimes my arms/legs feel tingly.
I can't do oxygen...it won't help. My onc was very clear (said in a very gentle but straightforward way) that his one worry about my lungs is that if I had to go on ventilation he would be very worried about my never getting off of it. And there's not enough fluid in the pleura to suction out. Maybe when they do the lung biopsy, I can ask if they can just suction the cancer out along with it?! Sigh.
Well, I'm off to take Ativan and flexeril. Maybe the flexeril will calm the lung muscles so I don't cough all night, and maybe the ativan will keep me sane enough to fall asleep?! One can hope, at least.
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Raro, I also have problems with shortness of breath but no shortage of oxygen in the blood. My pulse ospx is always up in the 90's also. I don't cough at all but do get very winded if I try to multi-task (I.e., walking and talking at the same time). I set small goals for myself and have stopped doing things like vacuum cleaning, I actually raked a few leaves on Monday because the weather was so beautiful and I just wanted to be outside. Of course then I rested the entire afternoon. I had the fluid drained back in 2008 but haven't needed it done since. So sorry you are having such problems. For me, just getting up and getting dressed in the morning causes me to be fatigued. Stop and rest a lot. I miss the old me ....running up and down the football and soccer fields, encouraging my grandson and granddaughter. I feel like an old lump sitting in the chair watching. Ah, but then I have to remember to count my blessings, I am there! One day at a time! One memory at a time! One little pairs of arms around my necks at a time! Priceless
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Raro,
I wish I could help you. I know what it's like to have severe breathing problems! In my case I only felt better when the pleural effusion diminished or went away. The draining of fluid initially, then the chemo, made this happen. But you do not have enough fluid to drain! So what I would do if I were you is: First, visit a lung doctor and see what he/she says. If the tumors are the cause of your cough and SOB, shouldn't you be on chemo to help zap those tumors?
Meanwhile I hope it's just an infection and that the antibiotics help.
Brenda
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Mrs. M,
I had a cough for months and thought it was just a lingering cough from a bad cold. Seemed like I wasn't the only one. My boss and I were both always coughing. It got to the point where I was having trouble going to sleep at night. Once, running through the airport to catch a flight, I started wheezing. Still didn't figure it out until I went to the Opthamologist and he found the tumor in my eye, had brain MRI and PET/CT scan. Ever since I've been treated, first with Tamoxifen and now Xeloda, the cough has gone away and my breathing is fine.
Hoping for the best for you.
Hugs, Susan
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Adnerb,, my onc said that studies show no benefit to having chemo at the same time as rads. And he is more concerned with getting the brain mets under control before he works on the lungs. That's easy for him to say!
In the meantime, I've been trying to do deep breathing exercises every night when I go to bed. I'm trying to stretch out my "tight" lungs. I don't know if it's helping or not but I figure it can't hurt, at least. And I did visit a pulmonologist, who gave me a complete workup. He said that there was no way to tell what that "area of consolidation" was without a biopsy, so next Tuesday I get to have a lung biopsy. Sounds delightful. Not.
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raro, Hoping for the best on your lung biopsy. I had one done and it was very easy. Not at all painful. No real recovery time. Small risk of lung collapse but they don't let you go home until they're comfortable you're not going to have a problem with this. In the hospital, they can treat a lung collapse easily if it happens. At least for mine, they just stuck a needle in my back guided by some kind of scan machine, can't remember which kind. My biggest lung tumor was 4cm so hard to miss!
Don't know if it will help you but I found that sleeping on my back helped my breathing. I even got a special back sleeping pillow since I was not a back sleeper. Also, though this may sound crazy, my Chinese medicine doctor says that a healthy colon supports healthy lungs. He had me do an herbal enema every other day which seemed to help. I still do it once a week. I went from coughing my head off all night to rarely coughing at all. Didn't have a problem with SOB.
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If Herceptin/Perjeta quits doesn't stop the progression would they stop the treatment?
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I got myself a bottle of Lugol's Iodine as a supplement. I also wanted to share here that the label claims to help with breathing if you put a few drops into your nebulizer. I presently do not have breathing problems, just thought I'd share this with Raro and others.
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Huh. Don't know if I can use it because I'm allergic to CT dye. The doctors said it's the iodine in the dye that I'm allergic to. I don't know how that's possible because I eat iodized salt and other stuff with iodine. But I had an anaphylactic reaction to the CT dye, so I'll have to ask my onc about it. Thanks for sharing that, Adnerb.
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Don't forget to inform your oncologist of any supplements and other medications before trying them out. Gentle reminder.
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ok so apt with onc today
Found out I have the lung mets on the plural wall of the right lung. Some are biggerish 1.6 cm 1.2cm and some mm that they didn't bother measuring
The added new f'ing fantastic news is I have mets on my ribs too left and right side
So treatment starts tomorrow - onc recommended to start with Capecitabine (Xeloda). Has any one been on this? Was it helpful? How were side effects?
My oncologist is optimistic anyway
He has also lots and lots of treatment options - so if something doesn't work we move on and try something different!!
I'm glad he is optimistic but I scared shitless:(
Tumor markers jumped another 80 points higher yesterday........
Feeling like life is out of control
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poniesandpuppies,
So sorry to hear that. I'm on Xeloda. It's the first time I've ever been on chemo so I was also very apprehensive. So far, just finished my 2nd cycle. it has been very tolerable. I love that it's in pill form so I don't have to deal with needles or a port. I can also take my pills with me anywhere, don't have to go to the infusion center for treatment. The most common side effect is hand and foot syndrome (HFS) but so far, my hands and feet are more sensitive but not red and cracking. There is a Xeloda thread so you should take a look to find out what others are experiencing. It runs the gamut but most seem to think it's the easiest chemo. My coughing has completely gone away since I've been on it.
Hoping for the best for you.
Hugs, Susan
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Ponies, I hope as your treatment starts that it helps you both physically and emotionally. It's a cliche, but just take it one single day at a time.
My ct/bone scans came back clear. Yet I still have a cough. I wonder what's up with that? I'm still taking a second antibiotic as well as prescription Claritin d. When I rub Vicks on my chest at night, no coughing. Wake up, coughing starts. Not sure what to make of this. I am getting a humidifier to see if that helps
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Hi Ladies! I haven't been on here in awhile. I just read a few pages and wanted to add my experience, if it helps....
I found out I had mets to the lung (now lungs) when I had a CT scan prior to surgery for a ruptured implant in June of 2013. That led to a lung biopsy in which my lung did collapse, and that is very painful. I was 15 years out from my original diagnosis and symptom free. My tumor markers were so low, nothing indicated anything was wrong.
Since then, I've seen nothing but progression. It's like we took a stick and poked the sleeping bear. And it sucks. I could really relate to some posts on this thread. This shit just sucks. But, ya gotta get through, each day, one at a time. Just keep getting up.
It doesn't get better, it doesn't get easier. It gets old and tiresome. (This is my experience, I'm sure some ladies who are now NED probably would disagree.) But it's the journey we are on, as individual as they are. I didn't ask for this, I get tired of talking about it, and I don't want to be defined by this either. So, I look at it as my job now, since I'm not working. Other people go to work, I go get infusions and scans.
Read, study, be informed, ask questions, share and be open to trying alternative therapies as well. And gratitude helps a lot. Practicing gentlelovingkindness too. Sometimes, if I am leaning towards a pity party, I snap out of it. It could be worse, but it's not. :-)
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sky you're allowed to have a pity party no worries.
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Hi Blondie! Nice to see ya! What's that old joke?? Pity? Party of one? Table for one? Something like that? Lol!
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Robin.... So sorry to hear you are joining us with lung mets. I heard that in May of this year also after 4 years of stage 3. I am doing a drug trial and just got results of latest cat scan and NO PROGRESSION! Dancing with the stable boy! I hope your oncologist gets you on something that does work for you also. There are so many drugs to help us stage IV gals now. Keep positive and we are here for support.
Cathy
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Sky, I relate to the sleeping bear reference. I also noticed that your signature did not show a lot of chemo tx. still available. When you get the brain mets to stabilize or regress, do you think you might be a candidate for more chemo to zap your other tumors?
Cathy, I'm doing the happy dance for you!!!
Hugs to all,
Brenda
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When you ladies say the cancer in the lung was found on the scan, was it a ct scan? Can you say what words or terms would be used on the report to verify the finding? I still have a cough and am reading the scan report looking for anything that might have been overlooked
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Thank you BrendaDivine - Yes my first cat scan mentioned that 2 nodules were on the left lung and to follow up with repeat scans to monitor.
Cathy
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