Hello my lovely dad was diagnosed with stage 4 liver Mets 2 months ago he finally had his first round of immunotherapy 2 weeks ago ( Nivolumab relatlimab).
it was a battle getting the first treatment he was unwell due to kidney failure and had it postponed. His liver function tests are declining considerably in the last 6 weeks. The oncologist told me that if his liver function continues to decline his prognosis will be only months but then mentioned targeted therapy? Does anyone have any information on targeted therapy as I’m wondering if his liver function declines rapidly will they still give him it ? Hoping he can make it to the 2nd treatment in two weeks of the immunotherapy but at the moment he’s sleeping a lot and keeps getting pain in his liver which he won’t mention to the helpline. He keeps telling the hospital is fine when he is deteriorating infront of me it’s so sad I think he’s scared they will stop his treatment if he tells them how he’s really feeling ? I read that steroids can help with the liver pain? Is this true ? Thanks to anyone listening from one worried daughter
Hello Frenchiedog2038
I am so sorry to hear that your Dad has secondary liver cancer and has been so unwell.
it must be so hard to see him being affected by the immunotherapy and to deal with his diagnosis.
There is some advice here.
Nivolumab (Opdivo®) | Macmillan Cancer Support
I understand that he is scared to tell them how unwell he is feeling because he does not want them to stop the treatment. Has he got a supportive CNS that you could have a chat with? To say that he is feeling unwell but wants to carry on with the treatment at the moment. They may well be able to give him some medication to help with the liver pain. I am not sure whether this would be steroids or something else but they would be able to make suggestions. I also wonder whether its worth talking to Dad and saying that it would perhaps be better to tell them how he is feeling to get things sorted, to enable him to be fitter for the next cycle in 2 weeks time.
You asked about targeted therapy. I will pop a link to some info.
Targeted therapy | Macmillan Cancer Support
Can I recommend that you give the Support Line a call. It is important that you yourself also have support. it can be really hard to watch someone you love going through cancer. Sometimes it helps just to talk things through. If you speak to one of the nurses they would also be able to answer any medical questions about the treatments that you have and what may happen next. They can also do a search for you and see if there is any support in your local area for your family and sometimes people find that can make a real difference.
I hope that Dad's side effects can be got under control so that they are more manageable.
In the meantime if there is anything you need, please do ask.
Jane
It must be a very hard situation to cope with. I understand Dad's fear and I know that when you have cancer, everything can feel really out of control. Maybe show him the info about the side effects that are expected and then it might make him think that if they are expected, then its ok to speak about them.
I hope that you have support for yourself within your family.
