Liver Cancer Metastasis

Question: Anyone here with breast cancer metastasis to the liver? My aunt was diagnosed and by the time she noticed the lump in her breast it had spread to her liver she has about a dozen lesions on her liver.They haven't done much with the mass in her breast they have said the main concern is her liver at the moment.She is taking chemo treatments every week and the breast mass has shrunk in size and she is doing well considering.Her blood work has been coming back normal every week except last week her white blood cell count was high and she could not have chemo.Iam wanting to talk to people who has went thru this or is going thru this same situation .What was/is your course of treatment? how are you doing? I know this is serious and would lover more info from someone knowledgeable. Also her breast cancer is 98% estrogen positive,mildly differentiated. She goes back for another round of tests wensday since having chemo to see if its working and Im just really worried.She is like a mother to me and I want to be there to support her and just understand all I can. edit sorry i meant*the tumor in her breast is a Grade 2. The cells are somewhat abnormal (moderately differentiated).

Answer: I’m sorry about your aunt, but metastatic breast cancer is not curable, it can often be managed for several years though. She is getting the standard course of treatment and it looks like she is responding well if the tumors are shrinking. It is also good the tumor is moderately differentiated and ER positive, which means the tumor will likely respond to hormone therapy as well. She does have a long road ahead of her. She will still need a mastectomy, possibly more chemo and radiation, before hormone therapy. Best wishes to you both.

Question: is there a cure for liver metastasis from breast cancer? curative treatment not palliative

Answer: There is no cure for stage 4-breast cancer. We are much better able to manage it though, often times for many years.

Question: Liver cancer case-last stage- request opinion of expert-can it still be cured? My close relative has liver cancer,she is in india, Her last investigation report states "A case of Ca. Pancreas with liver metastases" Looking for help, if some expert can look at the report and provide his opinion 1. Is there any hope left? Can it still be cured 2. If yes, what can help. Report Clinical Pathology ----------------- Sport urinalysis Protien 6.7 mg/dl Creatinine 150 mg/dl UPCR (urine protein: urine creatinine ration) 0.04466 mg/dl BIOCHEMISTRY ----------------- refrence range MAG MagnEsium 2.1 mg/dl 1.7- 2.4 CAI Calcium total 9.5 mg/dl 9-11 BSR Blood sugar 90 mg/dl 60-110 PHQ PHOSPHOROUS 6.8 mg/dl 3-4.5 quantitative 24 hr ABDOMEN ------------------------------------------------ Liver(segment 8) > 2.2cm ( 1.2cm in prev study) Liver(segment 6) > 1.9 cm ( 1.1cm in prev study) Liver(segment 5) > 1.5 cm Uncinate process pancreas mass > 3.0cm A case of ca. uncinate process of pancreas with liver metastases Target lesions in regard to liver metastasis have increased in size as well as number, suggestive of disease progression. HEMATOLOGY --------------------------------------------------- TLC WBC COUNT 11540 /cumm 4000-10000 RBC 3.83 million/cmm 3.9- 5.6 HB 10.9 gm/dl 13.5-18 HCT 35.3 % 40-54 MCV 92.2 76-96 MCH 28.5 pg/ml 27-32 MCHC 30.9 g/dl 32-36 platelete count 3.80 lac/cumm 1.5-3.0 Polymorphs 80 % 40-75 Lymphocytes 18 % 20-50 Eosinophils 02 % 1-6 HEMATOLOGY --------------------------------------------------- PROTHROMBIN TIME-PT. 18.1 sec 11-16 LFT- FOLLOW UP. BILRUBIN TOTAL 0.3 MG/DL 0.2-1.2 ALBUMIN 3.7 gms % 3.2-5.3 PROTIEN 6.6 gms % 6.2-8.0 SGOT-AST 29 Iu/L 0-38 SGPT-ALT 53 Iu/L 0-31 ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE 475 Iu/L 108-306 RENEL FUNCTION TEST-RFT. ------------------------------------------------------------ UREA 30 MG/DL 10-45 CREATININE 1.1 mg/dl 0.4-1.4 SODIUM 138 meq/l 136-149 POTASSIUM 4.7 meq/l 3.5-5.0 CHLORIDE 102 meq/l 98-108

Answer: She has pancreatic cancer not liver cancer. Surgery for this cancer is very extensive and not an option in 80% of the cases and certainly not for stage 4 disease. I’m sorry to say this is not curable. Her oncologist is the expert and should have explained this.

Question: Could someone please explain to me what the following means about a liver cancer patient? I have an 80 year old man whose FNA tests say that he has Adenocarcinoma, Malignant Epithelial cells whose features suggest glandular formation. An abdominal scan had sad said intraabdominal malignancy with hepatic metastases. He was given expensive medication such as Xeloda. His legs are very swollen, why? I do not understand what all this means. Could someone please explain to me and tell me how long I should give him till death. The doctor said the site of origin is not known. How long can he live?what does all this medical vocabulary mean?please

Answer: Hello, I'm sorry about this. My translation is: There is a cancer ("carcinoma") which originated in some glandular ("adeno-") tissue, somewhere within the abdomen. It has spread secondarily ("metastasized") to the liver, ("hepatic"). There may be some obstruction by the bulk of the cancer, to lymph fluid return from the legs; or alternatively, he may haver a disturbance of his blood proteins, which is causing the legs to remain swollen. The cancer cannot be removed surgically because (a) there is no diagnosed primary tumour to be removed, and (b) it has spread to the liver and you can't remove that. It's difficult to know how long he is going to live. He is likely to lose weight and waste away; he may get jaundice from the loss of proper liver function; he may get a bowel obstruction from spread of the cancer within the abdomen; the cancer may spread to somewhere else dangerous, like the brain; he may get so weak that he gets a serious infection like pneumonia. From this distance I would hesitate to guess. His doctor should be in a better position than me. If you pressed me, maybe several months, or more if he responds well to the treatment. I hope this is of some help. Best wishes, Belliger (retired uk gp)

Question: Metasyases Breast Cancer spread in LIVER now detected JAUNDICE is it curable OR only relieved? any medicine? My sister is suffering from Metastases Breast Cancer stage IV,she was advised for Oral Chemo & she started the doses but while routine blood test it was found that she is having JAUNDICE infection in LIVER.[ The cancer is already spread in her LIVER,BONES.] so Drs stopped her all medicines & aked her to take heavy diet food [ mostly sweets] .. is there any alternative medicine for this? please suggest. Can anybody tell what is the life span of this patient?

Answer: Bhumiamla (Phyllanthus niruri): Charaka mentions the plant. In ayurveda the expressed juice of the fresh plant is given for a sluggish liver and also for chronic liver diseases. It is commonly and widely used for dysentery and intestinal colic. It is safe lipotropic drug and its primary action is on the liver. Blumberg showed in inhibition of DNA polymerase of Hepatitis b virus and a viral-agglutinating activity. Ghritkumari (Aloe vera) : Used for liver & spleen disorder. Promotes & regulates menstrual period. Hair vitaliser. Liver disorder: Indian aloe is a form of cactus. After peeling the hard skin, the pulp to be cored from inside. Take a leaf from the pulp with black salt and ginger juice every morning for 10 days. Kakmachi (Solanum nigrum): Parts use for : leaves, whole plant, fruit. It is used for: Viral hepatitis Swollen joints. Diet : Go for the boiled & spiceless diet. With vegetables- radish leaves, tomato, lemon . And dry fruits- dried dates with almonds & Cardemoms Have plenty of sugarcane juice, orange juice, bitter Luffa and barley water.This enhances urination which helps eliminate excess bile pigments in the blood.

Question: Metastasis from kidney cancer? Hi my mum had kidney cancer in Dec 07 and had her right kidney removed in Jan 08, her ct scan in Nov 08 was all clear, but in march thia year it showed a spot on her liver after an MRI they confirmed it was metastasis (secondary) from the kidney cancer. She is deciding whether to have half her liver removed, but doesn't really want to go through a major op. Does surgery cure metastasis cancer or does just pro long things a bit till a reappears, she won't be having any chemo. Hope some one can answer this.

Answer: Aaron gave you a great answer. There's one thing about the liver no one has mentioned. The liver is the only organ in the body that will grow back. My niece had a very rare liver disease. She needed a transplant. She got a live donor. Believe me, anyone that would donate half their liver to another person to give them a life of hope, is a super special person. She had the transplant 5 yrs ago. Now she has a full grown liver and the donor's liver also grew back. So if she has this surgery, to me it's worth it. The cancer will be gone and eventually, her liver will return to it's normal size. I wish your mom the best. Blessings.

Question: is there any chance who has cancer and its already metastasis can survive? he is 62 he has intestine cancer had an operation but doctors can not touch liver which already have two tumour

Answer: The best course of action is going to be determined by this persons doctors. Depending on the stage, type and location of the cancer, treatements will be decided from there. Chemo and radiation will prolong the persons life, but if the tumors cannot be removed, the chance of remission is not likely. That being said, I have a cousin who has been battling breast cancer that metastisized through out her liver, bones and elsewhere. She was diagnosed over 10 years ago...they gave her a few years. So never give up fighting and the person who is ill should also be in the mind that he is going live as long and happy as he can.

Question: How long has cancer been present in the bowel before diagnosis? Scan & surgical reports state my husband has stage 4 bowel cancer with multiple liver metastases, he had a bowel resection done 12 months ago. The cancer has now spread to the bone & returned to the bowel. There is so much publicity regarding early detection and screening, I want to know how long the cancer had been present before this diagnosis, some doctors say 2-5yrs others say 5-7yrs, I emailed 2 researchers who could not give me an answer, If these experts can't help me who can? Anyone out there with expertise and/or an intelligent answer of where to access the info, Thank you

Answer: We do not have a way to examine a tumor and know it’s age so no one can tell you as it pertains to your husband. There are several factors to consider in guessing however. Generally it takes a year or two before a tumor can be seen on radiology and at this point the patient does not usually have symptoms. This is basically true regardless of the location of the tumor if it is not on the skin or just under it. Typically colon cancers are slow growing, the rate of growth is determined on the grade of the tumor. Colon cancers that occur in the right colon have a poorer prognosis and are often found at a late stage because they are far more advanced before they cause symptoms and therefore have been there longer. For colon cancer to be found on colonoscopy it would have to be there for a minimum of 3 years and even then it would be very small and not look like cancer. Any polyp found on colonoscopy is removed and examined. Sometimes when cancer is found it is at the margin of one of these polyps, so the procedure must be repeated to be sure no cancer is left behind. I have seen this happen at various intervals. Even as late as 2 years later there is little to no growth at the biopsy site and yet cancer can be found. I know this answer is probably not as straight forward as you would like, but I hope it helps you to understand the discrepancies in the timeframes you were given. I am sorry you and your husband have to go through this. Best wishes to you both.

Question: I have an 80 year old man said to have intraabdominal malignancy with hepatic metastases. What is this? After imaging he was told it was intraabdominal malignancy with hepatic metastases but no ascites. I wonder what is this. The patient had been feeling dizzy and swolen legs sometimes. It is said it has to do with the liver. Is this a cancer or what? What happens from now on in treatment and his health?

Answer: This sounds like colon cancer that has spread to the liver. The usual treatment is surgery followed by a course of chemotherapy. Why do doctors have to use this jargon instead of plain English? There will probably be anaemia and that would case him to feel weak and dizzy.

Question: Aren't they all the same? Mrs. T has liver cancer. Her doctor did an initial molecular diagnosis and put her on targeted therapy, and the tumor shrank by almost 75%. Two years later, the tumor was growing again, and this time it didn’t respond to the drug. Last year she received a diagnosis of metastases in her femur (thigh bone), and those have not responded to the drug either. She wants to know why they stopped responding. Aren’t they all the same cells?

Answer: No. The cells were different, at different locations, at different times. The concentration of the drugs were different at different times and at different places in the body. Too much drugs would have killed the patient instead of the cancer(s). (there may have been more than one kind of cancer and precancer cells.) The body has many different tissues, and in many tissues there can be a dead end where cancer cells may rest. A person's immune system can vary in strength over time.

Question: Liver cancer case-last stage- request opinion of expert-can it still be cured? My close relative has liver cancer,she is in india, Her last investigation report states "A case of Ca. Pancreas with liver metastases" I have four page scanned copy of her last report, looking for help, if some expert can look at the report and provide his opinion 1. Is there any hope left? Can it still be cured 2. If yes, what can help. Few details from report Liver(segment 8) > 2.2cm Liver(segment 6) > 1.9 cm Liver(segment 5) > 1.5 cm Uncinate process pancreas mass > 3.0cm HEMATOLOGY PROTHROMBIN TIME-PT. 18.1 sec LFT Alkaline Phosphate 475 Iu/L PHQ PHOSPHOROUS quantitative 24 hr 6.8 mg/dl god bless you all

Answer: It may be possible to slow down the progress of the cancer's spread through chemotherapy and radiation treatments. This may add months or even years to the patient's life. However, not all patients respond to treatment. Unfortunately, once metastasis has occurred there is no viable way to eradicate the cancer. Best wishes to your entire family.

Question: I have an 80 year old man said to have intraabdominal malignancy with hepatic metastases. What is this? After imaging he was told it was intraabdominal malignancy with hepatic metastases but no ascites. I wonder what is this. The patient had been feeling dizzy and swolen legs sometimes. It is said it has to do with the liver. Is this a cancer or what? What happens from now on in treatment and his health?

Answer: Yes it is cancer, but it is not liver cancer. Intraabdominal means within the abdomen, so he has cancer within the abdomen that has spread to his liver without any surrounding fluid build up. The next steps would be to do a biopsy to determine the primary site, run some tumor marker tests and do other radiographic exams to determine if there are any other metastatic sites. When this is complete then the doctors will be able to discuss treatment options and prognosis. It is not possible to answer those questions without knowing what kind of cancer he has.

Question: please help these are my last questions.? 1: What is the leading cause of death in the United States? Cancer Heart disease Car accidents Strokes 2: What is the second leading cause of death in the U.S.? Cancer Heart disease Car accidents Strokes 3: Together, these two are what percent of death in the U.S.? 42% Over 50% About 25% 67% 4: What does pasteurizing mean? Killing the bacteria in foods Heating liquids to temperatures high enough to destroy bacteria Straining contaminants out of milk Boiling milk to remove diseases 5: A tumor is: A cancerous growth of cells An overgrowth of cells A fluid-filled sac that develops near glands An overgrowth of tissue that spreads to other areas in the body 6: A benign tumor is NOT which of the following: Harmless A lump-like structure Spreading to other tissue Effective to remove 7: A cancerous tumor is NOT which of the following: Caused by metastasis Harmless A lump-like structure An overgrowth of cells 8: Which of the following is NOT a reason it is dangerous to drink and drive? Because people can become reckless when drinking Because people have slower reaction times when drinking Because people may lose consciousness when drinking Because people may develop liver disease from drinking

Answer: 1. heart disease 2. car accidents 3. 67% (thats a guess) 4. heating liquids to tempuratures high enough to kill bacteria 5. a cancerous growth of cells 6. spreading to other tissue 7. harmless 8. liver disease