Been told today that my radiotherapy and chemotherapy tablets have not been successful. And they have discovered it’s in my liver so are going to start me on chemotherapy.
Stay strong , your team is fighting this with you . Give it a name ( i called mine albert who now had the nerve to have a family ). tell he or she your tougher than them when the nerves and worries start I find it helps me focus . Sending hugs
Welcome to the forum Armygirl . What a lot to process . When it spreads to the liver they are inclined to switch to stabilising the disease and getting that done as quickly as possible. This is pretty universal with the aim to prevent further spread and hopefully some shrinkage .
If you click on my user name you can read more about how my mum’s team treated the spread to her liver .
Do you know your cell type ?
Some spreads can still have surgical or radiotherapy options .
I was only told yesterday, I know it’s not going to happen straight away but it does weigh on my mind as to whether or not it will get worse while I wait
Totally understandable . I am not sure if there is a standard time . My mum gets an oncologist appointment then a couple of weeks later treatment starts so it can take 3-4 weeks . My mum has had a spread to her liver and lungs over the 14 years and it has taken longer than a few weeks to start becoming more of an issue .
What do they plan to do with the rectal cancer ? Is it a problem just now when going to the toilet ?
I was fitted with a stoma in March so I don’t have a problem going to the toilet. all they said to me yesterday was that the tumour hadn’t reacted to the radiotherapy and that they found it in my liver
They then said that I will need chemotherapy and an MRI scan so the liver specialist can decide what to do
Hi Armygirl I’m sorry to hear you’ve had a spread to the liver. I was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2019, and a spread to the liver was picked up in my routine scan in 2022. My specialist hospital decided I should have surgery. Trust that your team will advise you on what is best for you. Even in the last year, hospitals have changed their approaches, and often go with chemotherapy first. Wishing you lots of luck for a positive outcome. Give yourself time to get your head around everything you’re going through. As Court has said, it’s not the case that a couple of weeks will change your outcome for the worst. If you know what chemotherapy you’re going to have why not join the chemotherapy group too? I’m also on there as it gives you a wider range of people and experiences. Talk to your specialist nurses about anything that’s worrying you, and post on here when you have questions you’d prefer us to answer. It’s good to get a professional opinion, but just as important to hear from those of us who are going through treatment, or have come out the other side.
I have included the Nice guidelines and further down is the guidelines for treating metastatic liver disease . The MDT meeting will gather all the scans together and decide the best approach for you .
With the liver , location and size can determine the appropriate approach.
The liver surgeon took 73% of my mum’s liver away . It regenerates. The chemo also played its part . Did they mention how involved the liver was ?
