Confused about type of cancer .... help

FormerMember
FormerMember
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Ok so my mum has a large tumor in her liver and local lymph nodes show cancers cells and one further away in her chest from pet scan. We were told this was none respectable at the monoment but the door not closed on this following chemo. So a liver biopsy was taken in order to confirm what they suspected to be bile duct cancer chlongiocarcinoma however heat is my confusion ... they have said the cancer is Adenocarcinoma classes under somthing to do with the billary tract and pancreas even though it’s not in the pancreas ??? Treatment is still chemo and no surgery... but when I am trying to find out more about this adenocarcinoma in the liver it comes up with everything but the liver ... what I want to know is does this change chances of treatment working better and more options for treatment with it being a more common form of cancer or does this make no difference ? 

  • Hi , I hope you and others here don’t mind me popping in here from my usual melanoma group, it’s just I noticed you hadn’t had a reply yet. I must admit to having trouble following your post probably because I’m not familiar with some of the terminology used. When I had my metastatic melanoma diagnosis in 2015, I was just as confused, I had no primary site and the melanoma cells had been found in my pelvic and abdominal nodes and then later in my ovary. The type of cancer, not where it was found was what dictated my treatment. Before my diagnosis I had heard of chemotherapy and radiotherapy but was surprised for my type of cancer neither of those are used very often and I had targeted therapy drugs and then immunotherapy. While you wait for a reply from someone who may have first hand experience I wondered if it was worth you posting in the ask an expert section or to phone the Macmillan help line, they may be able to better talk you through what treatment may be available for the cancer that your mum has, I’m just not sure if you are saying that is pancreatic cancer. 

    I’ve put the link in for ask an expert where you will find the ask a nurse.

    https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer_experiences/ask_the_expert/

    Best wishes

    Take care KT

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to KTatHome

    Thank you, yes I found the ask an expert bit after I posted x