How are people with liver mets doing?
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I know what you're saying Freebird! It was gorgeous in Seattle too...but I'm at the tail end of a not-too-bad, could've been worse, but still annoying cold. We had church, a vegetarian Indian buffet & nap & now time to move about. My mind was almost entirely on my sisters here at church today. Sending love, as always, with prayers for healing. Happy Sunday...and Monday, sweet Woody.
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woodylb.....I have been feeling better, always fatigued though. Dh and I actually were able to take the puppy out for a walk on a bike trail today. I have to walk much slower than I used to, but it was a nice walk. The good thing is that I could keep walking and didn't have to stop with any shortness of breath! Was very glad about that. I go tomorrow for a heart echo. Will be meeting my new cardiologist for the first time. I really liked my old Dr, but he closed his practice. The new one will eventually have some office hours in our town, but tomorrow I have to drive to the big city again. Thankfully the weather is good right now, so it shouldn't be a bad drive. How are you feeling? Does your treatment affect the taste of food to you? I am coming up on the week where food tastes a bit better...but most often I have to just make myself eat. Food smells good to me but tastes really dull. The Dr office called last week and told me my hemoglobin level was pretty low. Need to eat some iron rich foods....or they will put me on an iron pill, which is just what I need, another constipating pill!
freebird......I hope you will have a wonderful visit with your friend! Having some company does wonders sometimes. Hope your weather stays nice...that does make a lot of difference... in the winter time especially. A few days of sunshine can sure boost the mood! Glad you are starting to feel better...that adria is a tough one. Have you been able to eat? I hope so.
Ronniekay...Hope you will feel better from your cold soon! I have been lucky so far this winter as far as colds go. Knocking on wood! Talked to my daughter on the phone today and she said she had one that's been going around campus. Hoping I didn't get exposed last week when I was over there! I try to keep some zinc lozenges on hand to take if I am around anyone with a cold....it seems to help. Take care everyone and have a good week. Hugs, love and prayers!
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Jaytee...it's great to hear you had a good walk...I always say slow & steady, so take your time, enjoy the fresh air & puppy love~2 & 4 legged :-) thoughts & prayers for a healthy heart test tomorrow & so hope you like the new cardiologist, too! Downtown tonight!!!! I'm so happy Edith got her baby girl...I cried!!!
Freebird...awesome your friend is coming! I have a few good friends I haven't seen for ages & sometimes, when I worry about time passing too quickly, I think of trying to see them...I will make more of an effort!
G'night all!
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Biospheres done. All we can do now is wait and see what the next scan shows. Thanks be to God for getting us thru all this. I didn't have as much backpain in recovery because he put a metal clip on the right femoral artery so I only had to be on my back 2 hours, instead of 4. Good things happen when you give the day up to The Lord! :-)
Prayers for all,
Penny
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Glad all went well Penny! I'm very glad to hear that the pain wasn't as bad. How soon will you have scans?
The new cardiologist was very nice. The lady who did my echo was a sweetheart.....She told me she has worked for this doctor since 1999 and said she thinks the world of him. That is very reassuring. My echo wasn't bad...about the same number as the last one, so that was good too. Ronniekay, I had a dilemma last night....the new season of The Walking Dead started too...dh loves that show, so I didn't get to see Downton Abbey....hoping I can catch it another time this week as we don't have a Dvr. If something good happened for Edith though, I will be thrilled.....I want her character to find some happiness so badly!
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Ronniekay, missed you my dear friend, i hope the weather changes soon and then you can walk around and enjoy the day. I love Indian food, the turmeric in it is anti cancer lollll. I am no longer sure what is or not good for this disease. My son is sick this week from the cold which swept through lebanon when i was there. Poor baby , it is the first time he gets sick and i am not around , he s taking meds i hope he gets well soon. The weather here is nice and still good , i am thinking of asking my MO if i can go swimming at the beach, if i go i will send you pics so you can feel the warmth and the see breeze. I am praying a lot these days specially around three in the morning everything is very quite i feel i can almost touch the heavens and ipray for all of us. Lots of hugs some ray of sunshine will be heading your way soon. .
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Penny ,mi am so glad your procedure is done with less pain this time. How soon will they scan? And you are right when you leave everything up to him with strong faith he will take all your worries away.,wishing you excellent scans and wonderful results. Hugs.
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Jaytee,
I am glad your echo is still the same at least it is not worst, which means you can continue with the meds. Which blood is low the red i presume since you are talking about iron. I do not think you should take iron pills anyway usually they are not gove with chemo. I do not get why you are so fatigued how much are you getting on the reduced dose? My fulls dose was 80mg per square meter of my weight they reduced ot to 60 after my first session because it tired me so much and lowered my blood, they had to postpone the next one. At low dosage of taxol i am feeling ok. I have a little anemia but not enough to get me so fatigued, i just get a bit tired mainly because of my lack of sleep. Also the low dosage is not effecting the efficiency of the med. ask your doctor about this. The food does not taste good to me specially i cannot taste salt , so add more sices to make it appealing, my appetite is fine but i am not likng the food so much but i eat anyway. Instead of iron tr to eat liver , it is know to strengthen the blood , lentils, spinach these foods are know to strengthen it. Also have from time to time a glass of red wine , it is a lood booster and not harmful if taken spearingly. From your SEs i am guessing they are giving you docetaxel ? If so then the side effects are warranted because when i took it at my first dx it was horrible, then really the food becomes tasteless and you get tired. I am getting paclitaxel it is much kinder .
I am though and so proud of you of the little walks you are taking, and little by little is not so bad it will build up your strength and boost your immune system specially that you are breathing well. This is wonderful. I am glad you like your new cardiologue and i hope he benefits you and follow you meticulously.
Keep taking these small walks as they are good for the body and the soul and try to eat better don't weaken your body from lack of food. My love and prayers are with you and my our sweet lord help through this treatment and all God's willing will not be in vain and you will get good results. Hugs.
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Hi ladies,
Just checking in this morning and catching up.
Ella, I am sorry to hear about the lesions. I agree with others here who have said it is a positive sign that surgery is an option. I hope surgical intervention removes them completely. Do you have a date yet for your procedure?
Carla, I hope you are enjoying your friend's visit and the better weather in Idaho. I was surprised to read that you had nausea and vomiting after your last chemo. There are so many drugs out there that can control this. If it were me, I would speak to my oncologist about trying an alternative medication.
Jaytee, I hope the change in your diet helps your Hb levels. If you do have to take iron supplements, they can cause a metallic taste. Also, take them with orange juice. The vit C enhances absorption. I am pleased that you like your new cardiologist. It makes things so much easier if we like and trust our doctors.
Penny, congratulations on getting the spheres treatment done and with less pain than last time! How long do you have to wait before they scan again?
Woody, I am looking forward to the promised pics of the beach. It is no where near warm enough to contemplate doing that here but yesterday the temperature reached 53F and I sat outside in the sun for about quarter of an hour. It was almost spring-like but as it is still February, there is still time for more snow.
Syrmom, How are you doing? I think you were going for your second infusion yesterday.
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Springwatch, i promise if i am allowed to go you will get the pics
) . How are you doing on carbo /gemzar ? got the same treatment last year i was well till the fourth cycles and then all hell broke loose. Low platelets, low red blood cells and low white , one transfuion and one cancelled session the last two reduced. I hope you do better than me , my doctor told me the anemia is not caused by food ot is the med itself which emans iron will not do much. But still i ate well and got a lot of red meat and specially liver , lentils. And dark greens. Love and prayes to all.0 -
I'm a farm girl who grew up eating liver & onions....of course, with a whole lotta fried potatoes on the side
...you know how to make my mouth water, Woody! I've had a few bouts of anemia in my lifetime, not chemo related, but I remember being so stopped up...ugh. I actually had the shot...much easier, but I doubt that's something they'd consider while on chemo. Hope it improves Jaytee...and so glad your heart is staying strong! Yes...you'll be happy for Edith & we don't dvr either so catch up after jeopardy most nights! So happy your procedure went better and is done, Penny!!!! Now to heal!!!
Woody...hope you son is well soon...hard to study & attend classes when you don't feel well...but glad you escaped the germ!
Off to send Valentines to little people....sending one to you via airwaves!!
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Yes, Springwatch, Infusion #2 yesterday, so far, so good. It's usually days 3-5 that suck, but who knows, that might have been from the left over Adria still in my system. Hoping for a better week. Next week is my week off - yea! Keeping my fingers crossed with the neuropathy - taking L-Glutamine, faithfully.
Penny, glad to hear your procedure went well, rest & heal!
Hang in there, sisters.
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I saw my onc today and asked him was if he thought it was possible the HER2 changed (from - to +). He said he hadn't thought of it, that it was a good question and it would be a good idea to biopsy to check. So now I'll have a liver biopsy and then start Navelbine. Great, another procedure to scare me. Though truthfully, the thought of being HER2+ and NOT treating with Herceptin is a lot more frightening. Has anyone had a liver biopsy? What is it like?
I must add that I'm impressed with my doc's humility. Not only did he seriously consider the HER2 question, he also said at one point that he should have thought of it. Not a lot of docs will say that to a patient!
Leah
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woodylb.....I am getting taxotere (docetaxel). It's definitely a rough one...maybe not quite as rough as adriamyacin though. My dose got reduced by 15 mg if I remember right. The fatigue isn't so much that I am homebound or too tired to get out of bed, but it's more of a constant tiredness that makes it hard to do my normal work without feeling exhausted. A trip to the grocery store wipes me out. I am used to a much more energetic life and I miss it. When I went to have labs drawn today, my onc added some extra things for them to test for.....vitamin B levels, iron, seems like there was something else but I can't remember. On the way home, I stopped at a little meat market and got some liver. When I was a kid, my Mom got all of us to like it...sounds like she made it similar to Ronniekays Mom...lots of onions and I remember fried potatoes with it too. Dh hates it so I haven't made it for a long time, but a friend from work likes it and she is coming over for a liver lunch tomorrow! Told dh about it and he made the liver hater' s face!
My friend is going to bring a spinach salad so that will be good too. I am exactly like you, woody, I can't taste salt either.....makes everything taste so dull! Spices do help, you are right about that. Thanks for all the good suggestions. I hope your son feels better soon. My daughter has been going through the same thing at school too...lot of sickness and colds going around. Prayers for them too! Hope you get to have that swim ....sounds heavenly!Syrmom....take care and may you be over the hump of those worse days after treatment very quickly! These weeks are going by so fast...seems like I just had a treatment and another one is coming up again next week!
Prayers for all tonight....thinking of everybody.
judy
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Leah, i am so happy you thought of asking this question and it is valid . As you well know i turned HER2+ also after two negative FISH test. Liver biopsy is not scary, i didn't have any pain or sedative with it. It is a CT guided biopsy, he will choose the easiest and the least dangerous to biopsy and guided by the scan he insets a gun like needle and take a sample from your liver. For me it took like 30 min and i went home for three days i did not wash the biopsy site , there was a slight discomfort but no pain. How come they didn't biopsy from before? My doctor told me yesterday the latest european studies on cancer it shows that most cancersare mutating, normal testing is not showing the gene mutation, so we get treated as if it is the. Primary cancer . The fact is , it is the same type but with a twist which could save your life. Good luck on your biopsy . Keep us posted and hurrayyyy to your doc it takes a great man to admit he was wrong. He is a keeper.
) my prayers are with you. 0 -
Jaytee,
Adriamycin did not bother me much , but docetaxel did it. I felt exactly like you are feeling now. Don't pay too much attention to it even though it is criplling your daily life. They cannot give it to you forever , when you stop it everything gets back to normal and you will go back to being yourself again. As for your DH well you make your liver and make him a steak lollll. But seriously liver is excelkent for the blood i ate at least twice a week while on carboplatin. But i get the motton liver it is very tasty and while in the states i ate beef liver with lots of onions like you and Ronnie said with potatoes , it is good your friend is coming over to eat with you , it will make you eat with appetite .
RonnieKay , a woman after my own heart with food lolllllll.
Good night my dear friends, love and prayers to all and a wishing star that things will get better for all of us !
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Woody, I am doing alright on gem/carbo at the moment. This week is my week off treatment and I am looking forward to feeling a bit better by the weekend. I have had 4 cycles so far and will start my 5th next week. My bloods are holding up - just. My Hb has been low and I have been short of breath especially in the week following the carboplatin infusion. My onc suggested a blood transfusion last week but I was reluctant to give up a whole day to spend in hospital. If my Hb is still down next week I will probably go ahead with the transfusion. It's doing a good job on my cancer and I would be very upset to have it pulled because my bloods were poor.
I hope your son is feeling better and you get the OK for that trip to the seaside.
RonnieKay, I don't like liver. I have tried it several times over the years and have come to the conclusion it is not for me. The way some people can't stand Brussel sprouts, which I love. My father didn't like it either but it was one of my mother's favorites, although she rarely cooked it. My mother grew up on a farm, too, so maybe the outdoor life was a contributing factor in her liking this food item.
SyrMom, I guess you will shortly know if the Adria hangover is responsible for your side effects. I hope that you enjoy your week off. I so look forward to mine. What sort of cycle on you on for your treatment? Two weeks on/one week off?
Leah, My onc makes always biopsies any patient that returns to see him with MBC because of the concern that the hormone or HER2 profile has changed. I share your concerns about not treating with herceptin if the tumor is now HER2 positive. Well done for raising this with your doctor. We need to be our own advocates. Changes in receptor status are well documented.
Jaytee, I am glad you have found someone to share your liver and onions. I can happily munch through the spinach salad, though. Now I want some.... must remember to add it to my shopping list.
Take care everyone.
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Springwatch, i got breahtless and tired too because of the red blood cells and it was after the fourth session just like you. My doctor forced me to get the transfusion he said he cannot afford to let go down further. So i listened and i had the transfusion and it helped. I hope you keep doing well specially that is is working on you cancer , as for me it got me only 20% shrinkage and they could not continue for more than six cycles . It would have been very harmful plus i got the most of it , getting more would not have made a difference.
Too bad you don't like liver lolllll it is very healthy for the blood but so is spinach and lentils so bon appetit . Enjoy your spinach salad.
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ladies ,
Does anyone of you know Rebecca, Raro on BCO? If any of you do , i am sad to report that she is now in home hospice and is not doing well. I got to know her in the last month and she is a wonderful lady , her daughter is updating her state on the thread raro update . She is attending to her mother and having a difficult time. Our prayers are with her and her family in these trying times , the prayers have been pouring for Raro for a month from around the globe. Please join in the prayers so her days are pain free and calm forher and her family.
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Hi Woodylb.......have been praying for Raro. She has been through so much the last couple of months.....I was so sad to hear she hasn't been doing well. It's good that she is with family and I will keep them all in my prayers.
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Leah- I had a two liver biopises. Mine were done by and IR and was done only with the US, no CT. I actully went to the holiday party I planned right after my biospsy so it wasnt that bad. I was a little sore but tylenol took care of it. So you can do it. Good luck
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Leah-- I recently had a new liver biopsy, because of the reason you stated. My onc told me it was time to re-check to be sure the cancer hadn't mutated. She was actually excited with the results because it hadn't changed-- still ER+/PR+, HER2-. In fact, she describes my BC as "highly estrogen receptor positive," and put me on Fasolodex as a result of the test because Xeloda was too hard on me. My tumor markers dropped 30 points after only being on Fasodex since mid-November, and she's planning new CT scans next month to look for shrinkage.
My biopsy was done with a CT for guidance. The doctor took samples from 3 sites and I was on the table for close to an hour. It's a long needle and he did a topical anesthetic first, but I still felt some pressure and a pinch when the needle grabbed the tissue samples. The weirdest thing was he warned me that sometimes people experience pain in the shoulder during the biopsy and that actually happened to me! That was worse than the actual biopsy-- LOL! There was a video screen just to my left, showing a live CT picture of my liver. I actually turned by head and watched the whole procedure on the screen. I was fascinated!
I didn't really have any bleeding or bruising afterward-- just a dull ache at the site, like someone had punched me under my right boob! I went right back to work the next day.
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Hi Jaytee,
I know she was really having hard time breathing and moving ,many times to the hospital. Yes she went through a lot. It breaks my heart , i hope she finds peace and god be woth her family.
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Woody, I am very sad that raro/Rebecca is now on home hospice. I posted on her daughter's update a few days ago sending my prayers for her and her family.
I am having my spinach salad today.
Queen of Hope,
You wrote that you had a new liver biopsy. Does this mean it is a second biopsy since you were diagnosed with mets? If this is the case, how long was it between the two biopsies?
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Thanks, everyone, for your experiences with liver biopsy. It's going to be US guided, not CT. The biopsy will be on 23 Feb. I'm trying not to think about it too much so I won't stress so much. Yeah, right.
At least I have a lot of good stuff to distract me before that. This Monday is my DGD's "Prayerbook Party". In first grade in the religious schools when the kids have finished learning the alphabet and are on their way to reading they receive their first prayerbook. The "party" is the children doing songs and dances for the parents/grandparents. My DD said she's had a preview since my DGD has been singing them for weeks.
On Tuesday I'm going up north for 3 days. There is a support organization for women with cancer here called Beit Natan. Every winter they have a 3-day retreat. I've been in the past, and it's a wonderful program. There are all kinds of sessions that bring us together, and it's wonderful to connect with other women going through the same things I am. It's also wonderful to be spoiled by the hotel!
Navelbine txs will start 26 Feb. The onc wanted the biopsy before any tx started. Since I stopped Xeloda last week I'm getting a tx break. No objections from me. It's not so long that I worry about it but long enough that I'll be without SEs for a bit.
Leah
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Leah, Enjoy your chemo break. You have so much to look forward to especially your granddaughter's party! The retreat sounds very attractive.
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Hello All - Interesting comments about 2nd biopsies to see if receptors have changed. I'll be 6 years in June, and since Taxol only worked 6 months, may be time to re-check. To Leah and those getting a week off, this was my week off and I definitely appreciated every minute. QueenofHope - I love your screen name!
Can anyone suggest foods that are good for liver - besides liver?
(My liver-haters face Jaytee!) I know spinach, but is it true that cottage cheese and apples are good for the liver too? I searched on the internet and not getting solid answers. And turmeric - I've heard conflicting reports as it can contradict the effects of chemo. Has anyone read otherwise?I start back on Adria tomorrow, I'm trying a new attitude. I wish all of you a good weekend and little side effects!
Laura
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Leah , have a nice chemo break , and enjoy you time with you grandaughter . The retreat seems as a very nice idea .
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Hi Laura ,
When I was diagnosed with liver mets I did a lot of research on diet and 2 of the best foods are garlic and onions. Also, broccoli , kale, cilantro and artichoke hearts.
There are also foods that are hard on the liver- alcohol, caffeine , excess sugars, trans fats and artificial colors.
I don't have any research about turmeric , but I took it when having taxotere and I had good results.
Hope this helps
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Benjnate.....I did a search on bing for 'liver healthy foods' and apple's were on the list. Didn't see cottage cheese, but some of the other foods were beets and carrots, avocados, dark green leafy vegetables, grapefruit, lemons and limes, onions and garlic as lauriesh shared, Olive oil, green tea, walnuts and a few others that I can't remember. Turmeric was on there too and they called it the livers favorite spice. I know I have always heard its good for inflammation and is thought to help prevent Alzheimer's as they see a lower occurrence in countries where they use a lot of it. Liver is definitely not everyone's cup of tea! It's always been a wonder to me that my mother had all 4 of us eating it...her story was that she told us it was ham when we were little....it worked! My husband on the other hand just remembers his mom fixing it and telling him that he had to eat it all....He said he dunked it in ketchup and swallowed it whole, probably after sitting there a long time! That was a bad food memory for him! Hope all goes well with your treatment tomorrow...Will be thinking of you.
Leah....Hope the biopsy goes well with little discomfort. Let us know when you get the results. I wonder how often the her2 status changes? In the meantime have fun at your granddaughter' s party and enjoy the retreat. Sounds like it will be a very nice 3 days. A chance to make some new friends and find support! Sounds wonderful!
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