If you are not Stage IV but have questions, you may post here

Whovian05

I have already posted in the "Not yet diagnosed stage 4 but concerned" sub-forum. I was initially diagnosed at age 33 with breast cancer eleven years ago. I had an aggressive tumor, which was ER+ and PR+. It was Her1 and Her2 negative. I did lumpectomy, chemo, radiation and tamoxifen. I had a baby, my only child, at the age of 40. I had an abnormal mammogram in November 2012 that showed atypical cells in my left breast (the breast with the original cancer). I had consulted with a breast specialist/plastic surgeon, only to have him refuse to do a mastectomy (long story there) in the summer. I decided to wait a couple of months before getting a second opinion. I had the bilateral mastectomy with expanders placed on December 19, 2013.The PS felt I would be a good candidate for expanders/implants because of how well the breast healed from radiation and the fact I had rads over a decade ago.  Because of the fact I had radiation to the left breast a decade ago, the plastic surgeon had to put Alloderm to help anchor the expander. The expanders feel like lead weights on my chest, making it harder to breathe deeply.

In mid-January, I had only gotten two fills on my left side and three fills on my right side when I got a bad cold. After about three weeks, I still had the cold-low grade fever of about 99F, chills alternating with hot flushes, weakness, never-ending post nasal drip and coughing, along with bad shortness of breath and the feeling I couldn't breath in very deeply. I went to a six-month follow-up and had an x-ray that showed moderate pleural fluid. I had a thoracentesis a week and a half ago. The pulmonologist that I was referred to told me the pathology report showed atypical cells that were suspicious, but not diagnostic, for metastatic lung carcinoma. The fluid was cultured and tested negative for bacterial pneumonia. In other words,the results were not definitive, so I still don't have any answers. The pulmonologist is still leaning towards me having the pleural effusion due to viral pneumonia because the breathing problems didn't start until after the bad bout with the cold. I had another x-ray that shows I still have pleural fluid in my left lung. I also have mild swelling on my lower left ribcage and the feeling of pressure and pulling. I don't know how much of the pressure/pulling is also from my tissue expanders. I am scared that I have lung mets. How can I have all this pleural effusion from viral pneumonia???? I am feeling better, with the exception of the pleural fluid and post-nasal drip, along with the cough. I am so scared and depressed right now. I feel like going through with the mastectomy was a big mistake and all for nothing if I am now stage 4 with lung mets. I just want my life back-I want to be able to take care of my daughter, my dogs, and do all the things I was used to doing for myself before all of this. I wished I could just get my boobs back, at least I'd have something to fill out the dress that I'd be wearing in the casket.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end of what seems like a long book.

carpe_diem

I'm so sorry that you have to deal with all this when you want to be caring for your daughter, but please, please don't start ordering caskets just yet!  Even if the pleural effusion turns out to be caused by mets, you may have many years to enjoy your family. I had pleural effusions even before my bc was diagnosed (never did show up on mammograms ). The fluid showed no signs of any disease, but the biopsy showed bc mets.  That was almost three years ago, and I'm still stable on arimidex.  Since you're ER+, there's a good chance you'll respond well to AI's, possibly after treatment to stop your ovaries.  I've gone past hoping - now I'm planning to stick around for a good many years.  There are lots of treatments available, and more are found every year.

This still could be from an infection, but even mets can be treated, if not yet cured. Goood luck with your tests.

chrissyb

Hi Ali a general xray is a useful tool and if the met was in the area that was photographed, it would more than likely show up but as you are still having this 'unexplained' pain I think it might be a good idea to ask for a Bone Scan which will light up anywhere you have a met and or arthritis.   Don't worry, the radiologist can tell the difference between the two.

It also may be that you have a nerve impingement somewhere which is causing your pain and inability to walk at times.  What ever is going on needs further investigation so I would be insisting other scans be ordered.

Whovian hindsight is always 20/20 but the problem is sadly, we can't go back.  Because the Plastic Surgeons have not had implants placed in their own bodies they neglect? to tell us that the implants will not ever feel like the real thing even though aesthetically they will look fine.  It's a great possibility that because of the trauma and fear of BC we can have a tendency to want to do anything and everything to make our selves look 'normal' so we can feel 'normal'.

Should the testing of the plural effusion prove that you have lung mets it's really not the end of the world and you can still live for many years, time enough to raise you beautiful daughter and create many years of loving memories.  Being strongly ER+ you should respond well to one of the AI's.  

Right now you still don't know for sure so I think I would be trying to do as much of your normal things as possible, look after your little family and enjoy the days that come.........cross the metster bridge when and if you get confirmation of that fact.

I wish you good news and hope you are feeling better as the days pass.

Love n hugs.    Chrissy

ali68

Thanks for reply I don't know what us ladies would do without this forum.  My GP seems to think some physio may help but the thought of anyone touching my back brings tears to my eyes. I have tried hot compresses and very strong pain killers but they knock me out and make me grumpy. I also still have pain in all my joints but I'm thinking the Tamoxifen has a hand in it. I would love to stop taking it but everyone tells me my cancer will come back. ( not very fare ) the problem with my lower back is driving me mad. I can't bend down to unload the dishwasher because it goes straight away and the pain is terrible. I feel like I'm wasting the docs time but can't carry on like this ( since I had my first chemo) so over 18 months of pain. What do you ladies do and take? Also it's putting a strain on my sex life, my DH booked us two nights away in a romantic lodge. The morning we went my back gave way and tears were   Flowing. We went but as you can image it wasn't what I had planned. 

Thanks again, I can't talk to my family as they want to move on from this.

chrissyb

Ali the Tamoxifen will have a great deal to do with your joint pain.   Have you seen a pain management specialist?  It's not going to solve your problem but it will go along way to controlling the pain and making your life a bit more livable.  Not all physio is hands on, they use many methods to get a body strong and moving well.

I think I would be having a very strong talk with your GP as that much pain doesn't come from nothing and really needs to be investigated further and the pain managed in the mean time.

I sure hope you get some satisfaction soon.

Love n hugs.    Chrissy

RosesToeses

Hi everyone, I'm going for a bone biopsy next week. (I'm stage IIIa which is why I'm posting on this thread, but bone scan and PET-CT are looking like stage IV is the logical conclusion).

Can anyone who's had a bone biopsy to the pelvis/hip help me figure out if I should be taking the following day off from work (desk job, half day, no lifting)?  The person who scheduled me wasn't that helpful and I haven't had my pre-op call yet for the nurse to weigh in.

I burned through so much PTO already with the first diagnosis and it looks like there may be more to come, I hate to take off a day if it's not really necessary.

chrissyb

Hi RosesToeses I haven't had a bone biopsy but the procedure is usually done under light sedation and a local anesthetic so on the day its not wise to drive because of that sedation.  The area that is biopsied will be a little achy for a day or two but shouldn't be enough to keep you off work.

Good luck with your biopsy and hopefully you won't get the stage IV talk.

Love n hugs.    Chrissy

RosesToeses

Thanks, Chrissy, I appreciate your input.

[Deleted User]

Ali, I'm on arimidex the "estrogen sucking drug" for those of us who have already gone thru menopause. It also causes bone pain. In my case it mostly affects my back. I take generic Claritin (Loratidine) to combat this pain. It really takes the edge off. My onc knows and approves of this.

I hope it works for you. I get a 10 day supply at Walmart for less than $3.

Paula

Moiralf

Ali I too had a lot of back pain and at  the time most of mine was nerve related(before cancer). Physio did help but I had a physio who had treated my back for years. I worked in early childhood and all the lifting and twisting was hard on my back after 20 years. So I had a lot of trust in her and she used exercises, similar to yoga to help ease my spine/vertebrae, nerves all back in line. For me that fixed me in the time before cancer. After my dx cancer was found in one of my bottom vertebrae but it wasn't painful and never has been. Go figure!!

When the mets came in my hip in 2010, pain and more pain developing over about three months. I had rads and then I was sent to a pain specialist, not my GP and not my onc, they are not the people who know this stuff best. A bit worryingly the pain specialist is often based with hospice. Can be a bit freaky, but it is not hospice they just run alongside each other. So when you say you are taking strong pain meds, who prescribed them and what are they?  I ended up with three different types of pain meds. One for bones, one for nerves and one for muscles and general things. Then I was closely supported as too how I was doing and if they needed to increase levels, which they did a couple of times. When the pain was under control  they kept in touch to make sure I was ok. About 6ish months later I started reducing the amount I was taking and in the end I didn't need any of them.

Like Chrissy said you do need more than an exray, in fact for my back I have never had an exray. I've had CT, MRI, bone scan and bone biopsy. It took all of those to finally get a definite dx of cancer cells. Before that they were sitting on the fence and unsure as each scan might have been or maybe not. Bone scan said No it wasn't cancer. Just to be sure they did a bone biopsy and guess what...... cancer cells!. So I know the benefit of being totally thorough  and am thankful to my onc for not stopping at the bone scan.

Even if it is nerves in your vertebrae or your discs there should be some pain relief you can get while you explore if physio might be helpful.

With the hormonals, which I have been on Tamox and femara, I didn't get joint pain but many women who do say they find gentle stretching and exercise actually reduces pain. Sounds wrong doesn't it. Swimming or aqua jogging is really good too. I do that when I'm not doing chemo.

Sorry for the long post but I have been there, done that, so thought some ideas of what has worked for others might help.

If you are in pain, don't take no for an answer and a doc's shrug is not ok either. There are many options but you have to find the right people who know their stuff and can prescribe and monitor you properly.

I'm in New Zealand so some of my labelling of people might be different where you are but close enough I think.

Push and keep pushing until you get what you need. Pain is not acceptable  unless every avenue has been exhausted.

Moira.

bevin

HI there, just some input on what Moira shared.. there are Physiatrists in the USA who specialize in pain management. Often using nerve blocks, epidurals, etc to ease and eliminate pain. These folks are not related to Hospice but are generally attached to Neurologists offices etc too. Defintatly push for the appropriate scan and if the reason for the pain is not found, a neurologist who has a physiatrist on staff would be a good next place for pain management. Good luck, I pray it's nothing cancer related.

AlyonA

Hi! How are you ladies doing?

My mom had an MRI
today. We were going in for a brain scan, because she has trouble walking, aka
she can not walk AT ALL. Turns out it’s Taxotera toxicity. It can be reversible!

And then – the bad
news with the rest of the scanning. Posterior ends of ribs from Th8 to Th10 light
up – on both sides. Suspected infiltration of cancer it is. Welcome to stage
IV!

Scintigraphy is the
next stop. The radiologist, cool as a cumcumber, said – well, radiation won’t
do much, since it’s the end of the ribs, they are inside the joints of the thoracic
spine. And what I’m thinking is – are there any met girls with such rib mets? Because
I have no idea if I should push radiation for my mother or if there is really
no help for it. Also – why is scintigraphy needed to confirm these deposits? Isn’t
it usually the other way around – you get a bone scan, and then you confirm it
via MRI or CT? X-rays were clear, but –
eh, no luck for a clear scan.

Scared as hell,
because it so close to the spine, and we are already having so many
neurological problems.

Waiting patiently for
your input!

All the best,

~D

ali68

Thanks ladies you are all so kind and I have taken some tips. I'm on 30mg of Co-Codamol but have been taking 60mg a day. They bung me up and then I'm taking senok to go to the loo. I try not to take it but I find it's the only thing that works. Spoke to my GP today and she said on the x ray there was a gap between my lower back and tail. Nothing to worry about ( not sure what that means) anyway I go to physio every few weeks have done since my surgery. I have swelling on my scar, shoulder and neck pain. Am going this thursday so my GP says she will ask them to look at my back. I have a lovely lady everytime who has helped me so fingers crossed she can. 

I'm not going into work ( work with DH own business) as I can't use the comp or lift files. I have put another hot compress on my back and moving as much as possible. Driving makes it worse so only doing that when I really have too. Will speak to the physio lady and ask her what she thinks. She knows me and my history and I'm sure she will be frank with me. 

I know backs are difficult to deal with but as my GP said - if you pee or poo yourself it could be a trapped nerve. If that happen's give me a ring - well thanks for all your help doctor !!!!!

chrissyb

Hi Alyon so sorry to hear that your mom is so badly effected by Taxotare........those symptoms are reversible over time so long as she doesn't have any more.  As for the Bone scan (scintigraphy), it is quite a normal thing to do a bone scan to confirm bone mets.  Radio therapy is usually done more for pain control with bone mets but if your mom is not having a great deal of pain it is not usually offered until later or if her spine is actually involved.  

Here's hoping the bone scan shows no more than is already suspected.

Ali about that gap between the base of your spine and your tail bone.........did you fall or sit hard or in some other way hurt that part of your anatomy?  If that is where your pain is it can be excruciating.   Many years ago I broke my tail bone and I couldn't walk, sit or stand with out pain and I ended up having a series of cortisone injections to keep me moving..........I'm wondering is something like that may help if that is where you pain is coming from.........as your doc says, nothing to worry about but it still needs to be treated.

Love n hugs.    Chrissy

ali68

Chrissy, that made me laugh what  you said. About five years ago I was roller skating with my kids i fell over and landed on my roller skate on my bum. Omg, the pain was terrible and for weeks I couldn't do a thing. Never felt pain like it! Here comes the funny part. I went to the doctor's and just my luck I got the most handsome doctor going. I was so embarrassed I had to drop my pants and touch my toes with him behind me. Omg, I still remember it and I never went roller skating again. 

AlyonA

Thank you, Chrissy!

Sadly – that’s the
rub. Since mom’s therapy is based on chemo sensitivity testing in vitro, it is
her optimal treatment. Only reactions with over 80% of cell death are
considered valid for using treatment, and she reacted well to Cytoxan, Xeloda
and Abraxane. She had Cytoxan and Xeloda, 4 circles, but it’s neither here nor
there if it worked since her markers have elevated (just a tiny bit, and they
are under the normal range, so the doctors are not labeling it, they say it
could be a variation, or due to therapy), but her calcium level has dropped (it
was a small elevation, but it has dropped to normal range after therapy). She
has just started, had her first circle that is, of Taxotera, as a valid
substitute for Abraxane (it’s not on our countries list of reg. drugs as of
yet. ) – since her in vivo results show a better result for Docetaxel than for
Paclitaxel. All other drugs were under 60% effective, as in = only 60% of
cancer cells experienced cell death under those drugs, and are thus considered ineffective.

When all this is taken
in to consideration, the doctors stated that our options are to

a)Continue
with Taxotera in a smaller dosage and manage consequence later on

b)Discontinue
treatment

c)Use one of
the innafective treatments, just for the hell of it, toxicity aside.

I feel like we are
stuck between a rock and a hard place, and am leaning toward the continuance of
Taxotere. I really dislike the proximity of those mets to her thoracic spine.

Mom is 100% positive
and going along the lines of ‘Come one! No brain mets! Yay!’, and is all on
board with fighting. But, due to the neuropathy, lack of movement, blah di blah
blah, she is really weak, eating less, and feeling poorly. This factors in to
both options – giving her more aggressive therapy that she is reacting to badly can make her overall
state worse, and on the other hand, the fact that she is in poor health can be a path to a
decline.

The burden of the options
are just killing me. I have no idea what way is the right way…and frankly, the doctors
are very fatalistic when it comes to metastatic disease, and told me to ‘send
her off to a permanent care center for palliative care’. Hell to the no. I will
carry her around with my bare teeth if I have to. And really, what’s the rush?
He heart is superb, her overall testing is good – liver, lungs, etc. Brain is
clear, and bones of the head are clear, plus, the spinal column is not yet
involved in metastatic infiltration.

It's horrible of me to
burden you ladies, but…what would you do? On an overall scale?

Tomboy

Alonya, i love it that you said 'hell to the no"! i dont know if i am supposed to be trying to help here but the docetaxel is good, and less toxic to normal cells and nerves than paclitaxel. methotrexate is good to and also increases appetite. dont give up on your mom yet, and how wonderful for her that she has such a good advocate in her daughter! blessings upon you both.

Moiralf

Excuse me Alyon,

But does YOUR mum just have bone mets. I made that as a  sort of highlight cos to my way of thinking that is no where near a state to give up on. 

Some drugs that have lower % response may still work. What if she was one of the ones who fell into the successful group. Lots of cancer drugs have quite lowish response rate if we but knew it but it's the best we have right now. My onc told me Taxol has only a 30 % response rate, sadly for me I hit the 70% boo hoo but now I'm trying FEC which has a 50% rate. Still not the 100% we would all like. And Taxol has been very successful for lots of women. It's just the way the cookie crumbles.

Back to the ribs, Chrissy is right, rads are used more for pain. Apparently I have mets all up my spine, numerous ribs and both hips. I have had rads to both hips when at one point they became painful. Other that had I have no pain at all from any of the others. I don't even know which ribs and I don't care while they are not causing me any pain. When they do or a rib breaks or does something hellish wrong I will be screaming outside my onc door for getting it fixed now now now.

Your onc seem a bit standoffish and pessimistic to me but that is only from hearing what you have told us. Do you have the option of seeking a second opinion.

Not all treatments will result in worse SEs and check with the onc or pain specialist as to what can be done to alleviate her pain, or weakness. Seems from what you have said that she is willing to try.  Look for food she can eat and enjoy. Small and often worked for me with Taxol when it gave me a hard time. Onc reduced dose by 20% and most of that disappeared. Didn't work for me but them's the breaks. At least I didn't have to do 13 weeks of trying with nausea and heartburn. FEC which is highly emetic(vomit making) is completely controlled by my anti nausea meds. I thank them every time I take one.

Don't give up. You sound strong both for you and your mum. Push a bit harder and insist they try new things for her. Or get them to tell you where else to go to get the answers you want. If it  is only in her bone yet as I think you said so, most of what she is going through is being caused by her treatments not her cancer or at least that is how I am reading it.

Food wise, I found things like porridge, mashed potatoes, custard, yoghurt, dry crackers with a little cheese were more settling in my stomach. I called it my white diet. Some use shakes and powder drinks but what I had worked for me so I left them. I hated drinking all the time too and then I found I could easily take popsicles and that gave me fluid and a bit of sugar. I stuck with lemonade but fruit juice might be tasty too. I did still have to drink and I found rather than drinking just out of glass, a drinking straw actually made me drink more. Just the way my mind worked I guess but it helped me get enough fluid in.

Long post but hope it helps in some ways.

Moira

AlyonA

At this point – they are
saying yes, it’s only bone mets. Liver is clean, and brain is clean. Lung are
clean on X-ray and no water or mass seen on ultrasound, so they are considering
them clean as well. They haven’t looked for more bone mets, aka they haven’t tested
limbs and pelvis, but she doesn’t feel any particular pain in other spots, so I
am hoping all is well. It’s a jumbled mass of sporadic tests because they are
trying to cover the cost via insurance. I will cough up money to do a PET later
on – when we finish with chemo, and deal some more with neuropathy. I don’t
think she needs demoralization at this point, the rib mets are shock enough,
and it wont change the course of treatment for now.

I know I’m very involved,
I live with my mom…heck I even post here – basically in her name – about all
the problems we are facing with this cancer. But at this point, when we faced
the shock, I just feel like we need to dig up anything and everything that can
be thrown at this. I need to be informed. It’s crazy, I know. And you are right
– non of her current problems are met related. They are all toxicity. She has
very little to no pain in the thoracic area where the mets are. She only feels
pain when I lift her out of the wheelchair (it’s right in the area where you
are supposed to lift, so I try to do it more upwards), but it’s not a worrisome
or persistent pain. I see a lot of ladies on breastcancer had rads for spot
treatment unrelated to pain, and even had some improvement due to them. I don’t
actually know anything about it, that’s why I’m asking for experiences. If
it is primarily for pain, I don’t want her to reach her radiation maximum just
now. She may need rads later more than she does now.

She has mayor salt
cravings. Her taste buds are all over the place, and she doesn’t really feel
like something is salty, but she wants salt. Which is a vicious circle combined
with water retention. I have no idea what the salt craving is about, frankly.

The oncologist is not
really one person. It’s a European thing - you get a team, and they interswitch.
It’s called an oncological consilium,
and you get everybody – from internist specialists to radiologists sprinkled with a few oncs. I don’t
really like it, it makes it all de-personalized, but we deal. It’s not all bad.
You get all your doctors sitting in a room and debating about the course of
action, so it is good in some ways.

As for probability of
reaction, the doctors were not talking about general probability. The
probability and sensitivity testing was done for her specifically. What they do
is, they take your tumor cells from the primary tumor and from your blood, and
they make little tumor cultures in a petri dish. Then they use chemo agents to
kill of those cells. When they calculate cell death via specific agents, then
they give out percentage. The percentage is about the amount of cancer cells
that will be killed off in a circle of therapy. Therapy with lower % are not
considered effective, because the spread is faster than the killing. Anyway, as
I said, mom reacted to very few drugs. Thus, not a lot of options. I don’t want
her to get treatment that we actually know will be ineffective. But then again……….spinning
in circles.  

AlyonA

P.S. Thank you for your thoughts! They mean a lot.

chrissyb

Alyon can you tell us what your mom's dx line is? e.g. er/pr status, her2 status, stage, grade and nodal involvement yes or no?

It sounds like your mom is really having a very hard time of it but even if she is stage IV, quality of life is very important.  You say you need to lift her from and into a wheel chair........is this something to do with her cancer or another problem all together?   Sorry for all the questions but it does help to get a bit more of the basic information.

When it comes to treatment for this disease, there is no right one or wrong one there is only the ones that work for you and that can mean trying a lot.  Some will be more effective than others and ones that are not supposed to work well can often be the best it's just a matter of trying.

Love n hugs,   Chrissy

AlyonA

I…is it not in my
signature? I see it, and I set it to public, but maybe something is amiss.

It was ER positive, PR
negative. The HER2 is up for debate. CISH testing declared her HER2 positive.
But we did fine genetic testing – the chemo sensitivity testing and fine
genetic testing are part of the program for the same laboratory we used – and they
said that it is NOT HER2 positive but HER1 positive. It is a human epidermal
growth factor receptor, but not the same, and thus it is working less with
Herceptin. On her chemo sensitivity testing (as I explained earlier, that is a
in vitro test of how the culture of you tumor cells respond to different
therapies) the tumor was really not dying of all that much on Herceptin.

She was diagnosed as
Stage IIIa, with nodal involvement 7 out of 14 nodes with tumor present. Grade
was 2, but it was a bit hard to determine, since it was cribriform in most
places. It was asymptomatic in general, and thus the late diagnosis. Wasn’t
caught on the gynecological exams, etc. Plus, it was in the upper left quadrant
of the breast, so it just dived in to the axila right of the bat.

The problems – the wheelchair,
the lack of motor skills in her legs, the decreased sensitivity, is related to
the cancer. Not related to the spine, but related to the Taxotere toxicity. It
was pretty rapid. She is not able to walk, but there is no help with that, or
at least, they said physical therapy, and let us hope for the best. They are
also hoping that it is reversible with time.

Stage IV is not really
up for debate, or at least that is what the radiologist said. MRI lit up like a
tree light in those places, and there is really nothing else that would be so
bright in her posterior rib endings. Sad, but fact.

chrissyb

Alyon, thank you, it is now showing in the dx line.  Why I asked was has she tried any of the AI's? They are much gentler but still very effective.........do you know if they were tested or just the chemos?  I am surprised that the docs are still continuing with the Taxotere knowing that your mom has had such a bad reaction.  I do hope that they reduce the amount a little to give her a bit of a breather.

Her salt craving may be due to loosing natural mineral salts due to the chemo........have you tried giving her some of those sports drink which supply the electrolytes and salts?   It may help her craving without affecting the fluid retention.  It is so very difficult for both of you I know and I do hope your mom gets some relief soon.......... and yes, sometimes it does feel like you are going around in circles.

Love n hugs.    Chrissy

kirstensmum

Hi everyone. I have a query regarding tumor markers. I saw my oncologist today and he has told me my ca153 was "elevated". He didn't elaborate but organised for me to have a CT CAP first thing tomorrow morning. Last week I went to the GP because I have been nauseous and pain under right ribs. My blood test came back liver function is ok but on exam my liver is enlarged. Last year I had a CT and it showed "severe hepatic stetanosis ", this wasn't noticed by GP until this latest issue. My question is does the elevated markers mean I have mets of some sort. 

I hope someone may be able to shed some light on this.

Thanks

Jennie

chrissyb

Hi Jenny, having raised markers is a bit of a worry but it depends on how raised they are.  If it's not by much, it's very possible it's nothing to worry about.  Markers can be raised by inflammation (and it sounds like you have some in your liver) as well as infection even having a slight fever can make them rise.  I know its very worrying when you see them up but as I said, there are many reasons this can happen.

Hoping your CT results are good.

Love n hugs.   Chrissy

kirstensmum

Thanks Chrissy for replying so quickly. I'm annoyed with myself for not asking "how elevated" but I was surprised because the LFT was ok. I see my oncologist on Thursday for the results, so I don't have long to wait. This is so much quicker than the original diagnosis.

Thanks

Jennie

mammalou

I was wondering if elevated liver enzymes is a symptom of mets.  I am being worked up now for this and all the blood work for other liver diseases is coming back negative. 

chrissyb

Hi mammalou, yes elevated liver enzymes can be a symptom of liver mets but there are also any number of other things that can push them up as well.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you that it is indeed something else that has pushed them up.

Love n hugs.   Chrissy

mammalou

Thank you Chrissy.  With every test that comes back normal, I get more nervous.  I have an ultrasound in 2 weeks so I just have to hang on. 

chrissyb

Mammalou it may be that your liver is just stressed but will show negative on the blood tests for other things.......anyway, still hoping that all's clear for you!  Hang in there, two weeks can fly by.

Love n hugs.   Chrissy