scared but strong - secondary liver cancer after bowel cancer
1 minute read time.
FormerMember
I have a 3 year old daughter and as a working Mum I have been lucky enough have relied on my 66 year old Mum to care for her since she was 3 months old and they have such a wonderful connection I need to do all I can to ensure my daughter doesn't lose the experience of having the most wonderful and loving Nana at such a young age. Please help!!
We have a history of cancer in my family and as a result aged 65 my Mum insisted her GP arranged a full colonoscopy in Sept 08 but all biopsys came back clear. In May 09 she was diagnosed with a gallstone which as a result of following a low fat diet to avoid the associated pain if she ate anything with fat in led to her losing weight. On morning of her gallstone op end of July 09 the consultant cancelled as she had low haemoglobin count (7) and this indicated a tumour but she had had no symptoms such as rectal bleeding. Over a rollercoaster of the past 4 weeks since, she has had a CT scan which showed a mass in her abdomen plus shadows on her liver & lungs plus enlarged lymph nodes. Had an laparoscomy exploratory then a week later a right hemi colectomy to remove the mass which I believe was on outside of bowel wall which may explain why previous checks did not highlight it sooner but her consultant has confirmed yesterday that in his opinion it is cancer and has spread to her liver and possibly a lesion on her lung. Not quite sure how many tumours on liver but I think there are multiple. We are waiting for test results on whats been removed in about 2 to 3 weeks time but in meantime I need to know anything and everything regarding secondary liver cancer as will fight and push til my last breathe. Please please any help or advice would be greatly appreciated x x Louise
FormerMember
Hi, I dont know anything about your Mum's type of Cancer but I have just found out my Mum has Breast Cancer and it's one of the most scary things ever!! I'm watching my Mum go through Alot and most of the time i dont know what to do or how to react when she is having a really bad day...My Mum is my best friend aswell and the thought of loosing her kills me. My older Sister Kerry has two Children and they love my Mum to bits!! The thought of them growing up without a Nan Kills my Sister also...So if u ever need to chat i'm always here
Thanks Lauren. I only found out on Thurs evening and I'm pretty much all over the place but having to hold it together in front of my 3 year old. Think I was in shock the last 48 hours as just felt numb and no tears but the very real possibility of losing my Mum possibly in a matter of months is kicking in and I'm not having a good day so far today and its only 9.30am! I'm an only child so although I have a loving husband and family supporting me I feel very, very alone - like you my Mum is my best friend. I really appreciate you getting in touch and I'm really sorry to hear your Mum having a tough time. Our Mums have always been strong for us so its now our turn to takeover and be strong for them.
Welcome to the site no one wants to be on. I am sorry to hear of your mum's diagnosis. I am 61 and I have bowel cancer with liver and lung mets. I was diagnosed in December 08 and had 4 cycles of chemo then a combined liver and bowel op. I had 2 lesions on my liver and they were in a good place - on the outer edge. I lost half of my liver. I am now back on chemo for 8 cycles and then they will decide what to do about the lung lesion. It is quite small so they will do RFA if the chemo doesn't chase it away. I have been fine on the chemo but the first lot didn't shrink anything but I think it stopped it spreading further.
There are lots of us with bowel/ liver on the "Trips and friends- new beginnings -lets go " thread so do join us there if you want to.
I don't know what else to say except good luck and keep in touch. Feel free to e mail or send a pm.
Hi Jen, thank you so much for your advice & support. Mornings seem to be the worst time for me as I'm unable to sleep at night, my mind doing overtime but a couple of hours on this site reading about people who are still here and fighting this dreadful disease gives me hope and strength to tackle the day ahead. Funnily enough when I first looked at this site I was going to contact you as if Mums diagnosis was cancer then you seemed to have very similar to what she may have and I was going to pick your brains regarding treatment. You seem to be very brave and are coping really well with the treatment especially after reading about your fear of needles, dr's etc - I must say it did make me chuckle! I'm hoping that like you, the liver tumours are located where it can be operated as that appears to give the best chance of a longer survival. Where did you have your surgery? I'm researching if it is operable, what I can do to get her referred to the best possible surgeon - I live in Kent but so far this appears to be Prof Lodge in Leeds.
We have been told that my hubby Martin's consultant, Mr Ashley Dennison based at Leicester General Hospital is one of the best liver specialists in the UK.
He has successfully removed 2 tumours from Martin's liver in the past 2 years, both were on situated on the side of his liver, so that part was removed & it just regenerated itself.
This year Martin was diagnosed with 2 tumours on his lungs, 1 on each side plus another 1 on his liver. Both consultant's felt that they were operable from the scans, Martin had the 2 removed successfully from his lungs in May & was in Leicester just last week for his liver. Unfortunately, this 1 is in the centre at the back of the liver & we've been told that it is bigger & more spread out than originally thought, at this stage it is inoperable but he has been referred for Chemo. If it works & they can shrink the tumour Mr Dennison may be able to have another go.
