Mum's Stage 4 Colorectal cancer and liver metastases

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We have had confirmation today from MRI results that my Mum has Stage 4 Colorectal cancer with liver metastases. The cancer in the liver is spread over both halves of the liver. Presently it appears not to have spread beyond the liver.

The MDT meeting resulted in the first treatment to be Chemo to try and shrink all areas of the cancer. However, this is complex as my mum has Myasenthia Gravis and the cancer has had a real affect on this and has made her incredibly weak. We do not know if she is strong enough to have chemo (or even if she will be willing to try it). It might be that giving her treatment may make her worse.

We are meeting with the surgeon and cancer nurse tomorrow and wondered if anyone could offer any advice/tips ahead of our discussion of treatment options.

Thank you and sending big hugs to you all.

Coddfish 1 month ago

It might be helpful to understand how many lesions she has in the liver, where they are, and how large they are. A procedure called microwave ablation can be used to burn out small lesions, provided they are not near major blood vessels and are few in number. It sounds from what you have written that it’s not likely to be an option for your mum, but it’s worth checking. If it does turn out to be suitable, it’s done under general anaesthetic with a 1 night hospital stay. Recovery takes a couple of weeks. I have had it done twice.

If it’s a question of no treatment I think you would want to be understanding the things to look out for and how pain and other symptoms can best be managed. If you are thinking of asking about timelines, please make sure your mum is comfortable with that. I had an issue when my husband wanted to ask those sorts of questions and I didn’t want a use by date over my head.

Hoping you have a positive meeting and find a way forward that your mum is happy with.

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