Secondary Breast Cancer - Help Please!

andrewjones

Hi All,

 My mum has recently been diagnosed with secondary breast cancer :-( She first had cancer in June 2006, and went through all the treatment. But then came the dreaded news in January 2009 that the cancer had returned. My mum was having lots of hip pain, hence a scan, and then we were informed that the cancer had spread to the liver and a fluid around the heart.  Since then, she has been going through treatment for the second time [very hard to take mentally a second time round]. The cancer had spread to the bone, and the hip was deteriorating. So much so, that the hip nearly fractured and she was taken to hospital in an emergency where she had an in-patient stay and an op to inset a pin to strengthen the hip. 

 She has also been on herceptin, a bone infusion and chemo and radiotherapy. My family really depends on my mum as she is our backbone and we were all v.hopeful that this treatment - second time round - would do the trick. But, this week we had yet another blow; she had a CT scan to access the progress of the cancer and how effective the chemo has been [she was half-way through her chemo sessions]. The scan immediately showed a blood clot in the lung, so she now has to have an injection each night to thin the blood. Moreover, the chemo apparently has not been effective; in fact, the cancer has doubled in size in the liver from 3cm to 6cm. The doctors advice now is to change the chemo drug, and she is now having Xeloda in tablet form for 10 straight days. My worry is that I have heard divergent views on this drug; on the one hand, it has been named a "smart" drug that has cured cancer patients. But, on the other hand, I've heard that it is only a drug to extend the lives of cancer patients [on average, 4 months]. 

 So, that's my situation, I'd REALLY appreciate anybody's input and similar experiences here. My mum is in pain [mainly back...potentially linked to her clot?!] and her mobility is limited. Sorry that I haven't been more specific with reference to medical terminology...it's not exactly my speciality! 

 P.S. Thanks in advance, this website has been really helpful.  

ElaineD

Andrew, so sorry to hear your news.Firstly, on the down side-when cancer recurrs as secondaries, it is not deemed curable. Our oncs aim to extend our lives for as long as possible, and there are many drugs available which can help to do this. Some people respond very well, become stable-some even have spells of NED ("no evidence of disease"). But rest assured that there are many chemos (and hormone treatments if your Mum has hormone positive tumours), which can help-at times, the problem is finding the right one, so inevitably there is an element of trial and error.

For example, like your Mum, I too have mets to the liver (and pleura and bones), and had a fair degree of success on taxotere;but recently had to stop xeloda-as after 5 months, it wasn't working for me. But that is not to say that your Mum will react the same-she may do very well on it. In fact some of the girls here have been on it for several years. It's s relatively easy chemo to tolerate-but please encourage her to moisturise her hands and feet as much as possible, as a particularly unpleasant side effect is dry and cracking skin, and blisters on the feet. Hopefully she'll do well on it-but if she struggles the dosage can be reduced.

Wishing you and your family all the best-it's early days yet for her in finding the chemo which will be effective, so try not to be too despondent. It's hard though-we have our hopes raised, and then dashed if we don't respond. It sounds as though her doc is doing all the right things-and so too are you. She's very lucky to have such a loving and caring son (so am I, as I have one too!).

ElaineD

Also meant to say...have a look at the "stage 1V" board, as there is lots of information there which will be of use to you.