Liver mets are back....after only 3 months!

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SMitch
SMitch Member Posts: 9
edited April 2017 in Stage IV/Metastatic Breast Cancer ONLY

Hi Ladies, I received a lot of support with your positive stories when I posted in January and I am reaching out to you for this again. I frequently log on to the discussion forums but I do not post.

I was diagnosed in July 2014 at Stage IV. Tumour in right breast was 5cm+ with mets to liver and bones. Having undergone six rounds of chemo the liver and bones spots were no longer visible and the breast tumour shrunk following tamoxifen and fifteen radiotherapy sessions... This was as at Easter 2015.

Now two liver lesions have returned... I start chemo on Wednesday for six cycles followed by ovary suppression and then I will move on to post menopausal meds.

My fear is that my first line treatment has only kept me going for such a short time and this does not stand me in good stead for future treatments.... Really appreciate any positive stories to help me through again.


Best wishes to all you lovely ladies.


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  • blondedoris
    blondedoris Member Posts: 197
    edited June 2015

    Hey Mitch - sorry to hear you've got new lesions. My onc told me that if one chemo fails me it just means that wasn't the right one for those tumours and it's time to try another one; it doesn't follow that because one has failed you they all will.

    {hugs}

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  • blainejennifer
    blainejennifer Member Posts: 1,848
    edited June 2015

    Ovarian suppression is going to help lots. Don't be upset at one chemo not doing the job. There are plenty of chemotherapies left. Depending on your disease's individual genetic composition, some chemo will be amazing and some won't do a thing. Precision pathology is coming along to help stop throwing chemo at patients like throwing pasta on the wall to see if it will stick.

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  • Lauralind5
    Lauralind5 Member Posts: 220
    edited June 2015


    hi Mitch-- so sorry to hear your news.  I agree with what both blonde and blaine said, so I have nothing new to offer, just a note of support !  hugs !

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  • SMitch
    SMitch Member Posts: 9
    edited June 2015

    thank you for your replies and support ladies much appreciated as always. I MUST keep positive.

    Best wishes to you

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  • Bestbird
    Bestbird Member Posts: 2,818
    edited June 2015

    I'm sorry to hear that you're dealing with stubborn liver mets but want to reassure you that there are many options for treating liver mets in addition to systemic chemo!  An excellent overview of liver-directed therapies is: http://www.beatlivertumors.org/Liver_Directed_Therapies.html

    Wishing you a great response!

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  • steelrose
    steelrose Member Posts: 3,798
    edited June 2015

    Mitch,

    I agree that the ovary suppression is going to be a benefit. You're following a similar path to mine. I was diagnosed in 2010 with mets to bones and liver. I was NED for four years after ovary removal and starting Anastrozole (Arimidex). I know it's scary, but try to stay focused on each step… one day at a time. Wishing you the best!

    Rose.

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  • nancyh
    nancyh Member Posts: 2,644
    edited June 2015

    Hang in there, I agree with others that ovarian suppression will open doors for additional drugs like letrozole, anastrozole, and faslodex. It seems like, based on what I read here on the boards, those endocrine therapies are all "stronger" than tamoxifen (using quotes because tamoxifen works well for some, but it sure didn't do anything for me, whereas letrozole worked great for over a years). Anyway, take heart, there are lots of treatments, sometimes it takes a little trial and error to find one that does the trick. Best wishes to you!

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  • buras54
    buras54 Member Posts: 30
    edited June 2015

    Hi Mitch:  I have one aggravating liver met that won't leave me alone.  As soon as I'm finished chemo it's starts growing again. My doctor put me on 2 faslodex shots  a month now to see if that will keep it under control. I was on 6 rounds of abraxene and when I did my pet scan the tumor was still hot. Now he just started me on  Halaven, I just started last week so we will see how that one does. I was first diagnosed with 1 met to the bone in April of 2012 and in September of 2012 1 met to the liver. I did 4 rounds of the red devil and 4 rounds of taxotere. I was good for 1 year and it popped back up so I had ablation on it. Doctor that he burned it all out but it grew back in 6 months so that is when I had the 6 rounds of abraxene and as I said that didn't shrink it completely. I know there a lots of drugs out there for liver mets and the only reason I'm not nuts is because I read these boards and they give me hope. My doctor says Robin we have lots of drugs for the liver and they are always developing new drugs, we just have to find the right one for you to keep that tumor from growing. I go with the flow. when I was first diagnosed with Stage 4 I thought it was a death sentence but it's not. Keep the faith. They will get it right! Oh, I was diagnosed with BC in October of 2007 and 4 1/2 year later the mets came. Stage 1, estrogen positive, . tumor less than 1 inch big.

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  • Bestbird
    Bestbird Member Posts: 2,818
    edited June 2015

    One thing about liver mets (and mets elsewhere) is that they can have a different ER, PR, and/or HER2 expression than the primary tumor and even other mets.  Therefore it may be a good idea to discuss a liver biopsy with your doctor to see whether the cancer's profile has changed in the liver.

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  • ShetlandPony
    ShetlandPony Member Posts: 4,924
    edited April 2017

    Bestbird, are you saying that a receptor change is more common in the liver than in other places? Do you know how common various changes are; for example, Her2 neg to pos, or ER pos to ER neg, etc.?

    (I know the last post was in 2015.)

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