Lesion on my liver

Hello Kaza 

I am Brian one of the Community Champions here on the online Community. I have noticed you have not had any answers to your post. I can't answer it myself as I have a different cancer, however by me replying your post will be "bumped up" to the top of the page and I hope be seen and answered by other members of the group.

I wish you well with your biopsy on 29 September and any ongoing treatment.

Best wishes - brian.

I have triple negative breast cancer, not colon cancer. During chemotherapy for my primary cancer I ended up having an emergency admission to hospital due to complications. I had a CT scan which found a lesion on my liver. Although I had not had any lymph nodes involved in my primary, the starting assumption was it was a breast cancer secondary. I had a PET-CT to look for spread elsewhere (nothing found) and a liver MRI to look at it in more detail. The MDT decided I should have an ablation procedure. A biopsy was performed as part of that and it was indeed a secondary. 

Hi Coddfish. Thank you so much for taking the time to post a reply. I've read the report again and my 288mm lesion has a least 7 very small friends. Mainly in the LDH. I'm still waiting for the confirmation of my biopsy date, which I thought had been confirmed. I'm not sure how long you had to wait for the biopsy but if it's the 29th that will be four weeks since the scan and another 2 weeks before I get the result and a treatment plan. It seems a long time to wait and it could be even longer. I'm so worried it could get worse in the liver, which is still fully functioning, and or it could spread elsewhere.

I think it’s more common to resect colon to liver secondaries than breast to liver secondaries although I don’t know why. My biopsy and first ablation was about 3 months after the lesion was first seem on a CT scan. They then left me 3 months to see if the ablation had been successful. It had not.  In the end I had a mix of systemic treatment (I have a cancer that expresses PD-L1 so could be treated with Pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy drug, alongside chemo) and further ablation to tidy up. Before starting treatment, there was more time spent faffing around with more scans and tests and this took me from 1 lesion to 2 lesions, whilst the first also developed a couple of satellites. The treatment has put me in remission. 

My overall timeline

Primary cancer diagnosed by mammogram Jan 22

Liver lesion spotted on CT scan Sept 22

biopsy / ablation Dec 22

started pembro / chemo May 23

clean up ablation Feb 24

confirmed in remission June 24

Thanks for these details. It's good to see that you have had a positive outcome even though it did take a long time. It gives me hope. I have now got my confirmed biopsy on 29th at 3.30pm and I'll stay in overnight. I just want to get this started now, then I might be able to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Even if it is a long way off. I hope you stay in remission for ever. Is that possible? I'm so new to this, I haven't even researched remission because it seems so far away at the moment.

I think they always say metastatic cancer is incurable but I am sure there are people who stay in remission for long enough for something else to finish them off first! I hope to be one of them. I live from scan to scan. Currently awaiting results from my latest….

They always need you to stay in hospital overnight after a liver procedure. Hope it goes well. 

Thanks Coddfish. I think you're right. I'm 59 and had hoped for another 20 years as long as I had good health. I'll hang on as long as I can. I've never had any great ambitions but I have always wanted to see the Northern Lights. Hopefully I'll get time to fit them in. I hope your results go well.

Hi,I have secondary liver cancer,about 10 lesions on my liver primary bioduct.In pain .

This is all new to me starting chemo Wednesday and how is that going to be. Can't sleep much and scarred got to keep telling myself to shut up when I start thinking horrible thoughts.

How do I cope

I've not updated since the 29th because the biopsy went horribly wrong. An artery in my liver started to bleed and I lost a third of my blood. Thankfully they were quick enough to react when I said, despite my vitals being good, something was majorly wrong (when you know you know). So overnight turned into a trip to CT a trip back to the procedure room and a night in intensive care and 3 more nights on the ward. Due to the damage by LDH is now through the roof and even though I should be starting chemo on Monday if my liver hasn't recovered sufficiently it can't go ahead. Every time I take a step forward I go two steps back and all the time the cancer is growing and going who know elsewhere in my body. I am so depressed and frightened now I don't know where to turn or what to do.  

Sorry to hear you had complications. I hope your liver settles soon.