How are people with liver mets doing?
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good for you kjone. Herceptin and perjeta deal with the HER2+ and tamoxifen deals with the Er+.
I'm on kadcyla now and my big 'un has gibe down by half. Hoping it keeps going that way.
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Good to hear the news, kjones & gritgirl! Thank You, Lord!
:-) Penny
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Oh, ic. Is perjeta easy to tolerate?
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for me, I don't have any side effects that I can nail down to one drug or another. I may have a little fatigue and some nausea...my bowels are crazy so I can't really comment on that either (I take pain meds). For me it is very tolerable and I hope to be on it for years!
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Hello everyone, I am new here so I'll introduce myself and let you know how I am doing with liver and bone mets. I originally had breast cancer in 2006. I had NED for 6 years then bone pain in my sternum was eventually diagnosed in early 2013 as bone mets and CT also showed small spots in my liver and fluids around my lung. I was put on tamoxifen for 5 months but the pleural effusion increased til I had to have over 2 liters drained. So my onc took me off that and put me on Afinitor and exemstane. After 4 months CT scans showed increased size and number of liver mets ( though everything else seemed stable) so now I'm off that and will be starting chemo in mid march -taxol and xgeva. Also been taking prednisone which has tamed my horrible cough. Mentally I am feeling pretty good and my physical symptoms are shortness of breath (may be more from the effusion than bone or liver mets) and a heavy weight feeling in the liver area. Sometimes I also get back pain but Tylenol takes care of it and it only lasts a day. I've been meaning to join this group for many months and sure could have used support during Afinitor which had horrible side effects. Anyway, I hope to give and take support as I continue this journey and was glad to see a topic specifically on liver mets as I do consider this my most serious challenge. Thanks all for listening as I know you all have equally great challenges to deal with.
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Mets are still very er/pr+++, which is great as we will be able to try Aromasin and Faslodex down the track. Also, makes me wonder why Femara stopped working, I guess some cells just become resistant?
Also, good that the biopsy showed some cell necrosis. Tumour markers are down too, so all together a good day of results.
Nobody has ever explained to me adequately why you can't have Chemo and AIs at the same time, anyone know a simple reason?
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Fitzy ... regarding chemo/als together ... I don't know all the reasons, but along the way someone told me depending on the specific chemo/al combo, some together would seriously increase the risk for a stroke.
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Great news Fitzy! I hope that soon this whole thing would be of the best and you would get to be stable
. Generally speaking chemo/ hormone inhibitors don't go together they become a health risk , i asked my onc the same question this last session he said no we cannot give them together you will get aromasin after you finish your cycles. They could be given with biological meds and radiation but not chemo. I stated on femara three years ago while in radiation but not while on ACT . 0 -
Syrmom, how are you? I wish you well
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Hi sjww- I also started with sternum pain which was bone mets and have fluid around my left lung ( 2 litres drained in Oct did not really enjoy that !!) and liver mets. I have just finished 18 weeks taxol and Herceptin and will continue on with the Herceptin until I progress. My scan showed that I had responded well to the chemo with most liver mets gone and the ones left are much smaller. I agree with you that my liver mets are also what worry me the most. I wish you all the best for your new treatment I hope you get great results with minimal SE's . I found the taxol very manageable and continued to work and carry on with home life as normal. xxxx
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Woodylb ... I'm doing o.k., hanging in there! Hoping the liver mets keep melting down/away! Thanks for asking. Completed #17 taxol yesterday ... have the decadron face today!
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sjww,
I am sorry you are here, but welcome to this thread for liver mets, it is sure that liver mets are a serious development, but also many people do well for a long time, i hope we are all among this group. Affinitor is pretty stiff on the body, however, there is a thread on stage IV specific to affinitor, maybe there you can share info with people on affinitor. Chemo, for liver mets is generally well tolerated. I hope you continue to get better and we are here all to help and support whenever you need it. Keep us posted.
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lollll good i am happy to learn you are well, i too hope your mets continue to decline and never stop , hang in there..my prayers are with you and all of us always. Next week i have my scans , i hope i will have some good news to share...i had my gemzar 2 days ago
This my face with neulesta lolll. 0 -
Welcome sjww. These woman are amazing. I have same progressions and currently on taxol/Gemzar regime not sure the number of treatments but have 3 weeks on and one week off. Onc said 4months and scans after 2. I wish you regression forever
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Thanks very much for your replies and support Maureen813, Woodylb and thekiwikid. It means a lot to me as I haven't found any women in my support groups with liver mets. I'll follow the discussion here and contribute my support to the group as well.
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how are you doing on the affinitor? Onc wants me to finish chemo then go on that and aromasin I started on aromasin back in 2011 but the se were rough for me so they changed to femara. Funny though my friend started on the femara and couldn't take the se so switched to aromasin and is doing great 6 yrs later I guess you never know. What part of the world do you live? Hope it's warm
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Maureen813, my onc is thinking of giving me aromasin after i finish chemo, i was on femara for 3 years, i tolerated ok with some bones and joints pain what is the main SE of aromasin?
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I had bone pain. Think there is a thread on here for that ai too. Everyone is different best of luck to you
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Woodylb ... good luck with your scans next week ... keep us posted. By supporting each other and keeping each other informed, it continues to give me hope and going in the right direction. I've learned more from these boards than from anywhere. We can do this - together!!
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thanks maureen to you too.
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thanks Syrmom, I like you , learned so much from these wonderful ladies that my onc made fun of me telling me i passed Bio 101 lollll. I hope we all beat this beast , with our strength , laughter and love for life, and most of all support for one another. xxx
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Hope you stay well sjww and have better luck with taxol and xgeva.
Thanks for the answers to my Q on why Chemo and AIs cant be given simultaneously.
Keep well everyone.
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Thanks kiwi kid. You are so right about the draining. I wasn't expecting anything as barbaric as shoving a hose down my insides without anesthetic (except where the tube was inserted). It was the most painful thing I have ever experienced. Anyway that was last September so onward and upward. I am heartened by your good results on Taxol. My next step is to get a port put in before chemo starts. I really didnt want one as I get a lot of scar tissue with even minor surgery, but my veins are done in at this point. Our situations seem similar except I am her2neu negative so am not getting herceptin. I wish you continued improvement.
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sjww ... once that port is in and healed, don't think you will regret it. I love my port!! Have a power port, so it can be used for scans too!! Yeah!
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Thanks Syrmom. What's a power port?
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It's a port they can use for scan contrast as well as chemo, labs, etc. Helps to save the veins, for sure! I'm not certain, but believe most anyone getting a port now would be getting this type as it can be used for many things. An upgrade, if you will, to the original ports.
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Hi all, Just diagnosed two months ago with lung, liver and bone mets. I am 65 but in good health otherwise and definitely not ready to go! I am encouraged by the women who are still here 10 years! No one but God knows how long we will be here. Mine started out stage 1 three years ago . I was shocked to find myself stage 1V when I was told that it was a small tumor and I really did not need chemo. My mother had the same thing and died of something else 26 years later. Oh well, that's life I guess. Anyway I told my Oncologist that I am determined to live as long as possible or die trying! She got a kick out of that. I am on Taxol and going to do a Liver biopsy which I'm scared about. Is it bad? Any info any one has would be helpful! Thank you!
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lukesnana--sorry you are joining us. To answer your question about the liver biopsy...I had mine through my front, between the ribs because of the location of the tumors. Some people have the biopsy done on the right side/ back area. For me, they did a ct or ultrasound (I can't remember now) guided biopsy. They drug you up pretty good. I was kind of in and out. It is uncomfortable. Would not want to do it again, but I made it through fine. I also had my node biopsy and port put in at the same hospital visit, so I'm not really sure what after pains I had...not sure what I can attribute it to. So glad you are feeling strong with your go-get-em attitude! Best of luck to you!
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lukesnana. Ask for conscious sedation. That's not something I want to be awake for again. Not horrible, just not pleasant
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lukesnana,
I had a liver biopsy back in december, it was done ct guided , i got only local anasthesia and it was frontal close to the stomach because of the location of the closest tumor. I didn' t feel anything and the biopsy went smoothly. Just a tiny discomfort at the location of the gun insertion and then it was gone. I hope yours goes smoothly , best of luck.
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