Cannonball mets in lungs

Hello Liza with a z

Welcome to the Online Community.

I am sorry to hear of your sister's cancer and mastectomy in 2021. I can understand how worrying it must be to find out that she has some cannonball mets in her lungs and enlarged nodes. 

Cannonball mets is not something I am familiar with but if you wanted to speak with one of the nurses then please do consider giving the Support Line a call. The details are at the end of this and they would be able to talk you through what might be happening next for your sister and answer any medical questions you may have.

The online community is divided up into forums concerned both with different cancer types but also with cancer experiences. We do have a family and friends forum which might be of help for yourself. I will pop a link below in case you are interested. It is naturally a worrying time for you and it is important that you know there is support out there for you as well.

(+) Family and friends of people with cancer forum | Macmillan Online Community

I hope that your sister does not have to wait too long to get her results and that a treatment plan can be put in place for her. I personally found the waiting around for the results and not knowing what to expect was the difficult time. Once I knew what I was dealing with and had a plan in place- things felt a bit more in control.

In the meantime if there is anything else that you or your sister need, then please do ask.

Jane

Thank you Jane for your reply. Fingers are all crossed for results on Monday.

I hope that they come through on Monday and your sister can be given an idea about treatment. Let us know how she gets on and also if you need any support yourself please do ask. Good Luck

Hi Jane, the results are not good. My sister has cannonball mets in both lungs and biopsy from clavicle was also positive. As a secondary they cannot remove it but with treatment can hopefully keep the damn thing at bay. She is waiting to see her oncologist to discuss her treatment plan. She is really concerned about the chemotherapy and the loss of her beautiful long hair. I can understand that as a woman but hair grows back again, lives don't. I am trying to support her all I can but I am so scared of losing her.

Hello Liza

I am sorry that the results were not so good but it does sound positive that although they can not remove it, they can still offer some treatment. I hope that she does not have to wait too long to see her oncologist to discuss treatment.

I can understand her concerns about chemo. I had chemo in 2022 and was really scared before hand. What I will say though it was nothing like I had feared. It was tough at time but once I started it was manageable. Yes there are side effects but medication can help. 

With the hair loss, I totally understand. However not all chemo regimes will cause total hair loss, some will only cause some thinning and some do not cause hair loss. It depends on the chemo drugs and the regime. Has she been told which chemo may be used?

I used scalp cooling during my chemo and kept most of my hair, I did not need a wig or head scarves. My hair did have some thinning but without the scalp cooling I would have lost all my hair. So maybe it is something to ask about when she finds out her chemotherapy details. 

If she decides against scalp cooling or if it is unsuitable then she will be entitled to an NHS wig. At my hospital there was a wig lady and hair dresser who would come to the hospital every Wednesday and let you try on wigs and offer support. There were also Macmillan volunteers who would bring scarves and hats etc and show you how to tie them etc. 

Hair loss can be a big thing for a lot of us, its about our identity - I do understand. 

It must be so hard for you to see her going through this and please do give the Support Line a call if chatting things through would help. 

If there is anything else you need, then please do ask

Jane

Hi Jane, still have no treatment plan in  place and it's 10 and a half weeks from diagnosis. Consultant said biopsies not big enough, need more, but no appointments has been made yet. Feel so helpless.

Oh no- I would have hoped that treatment would have started by now. What about getting your sister to contact GP and getting them to contact the hospital directly to move things along and find out why treatment hasn't started. Mine was able to do this for me. I did a list of questions via an online consultation and he contacted the hospital who booked me in the following day. Anything your sister has had in the way of letters/results etc will have been sent to the GP. If nothing else they maybe able to give some explanation about what is happening. You must both be so fed up and frustrated by now. 

Jane

Hi Jane, it is so very hard, I have asked her to do this already and she does not want to make waves, as she said consultant quite literally has her life in his hands and if she upsets him she worries it will delay treatment further.

I do not understand that you take biopsies,  then weeks later say they are not large enough to grade? Why finding out now weeks later? Treatment was planned but postponed because of biopsies and test results  not being in,  then results in consultant not happy so postponed again.

Both my sister and I are now wondering is it because she is stage 4 and not curable are they not bothered because she will die anyway and after 10 weeks with no treatment has it spread and to where?  So angry and frustrated.

Hi Liza

I can understand your sister not wanting to upset the consultant and why. It does not mean as a patient she can't ask questions and ask for an update. Does she have a supportive CNS that she can ask? I don't mean in a complaining way but more in a " we are really worried, we appreciate that the consultant is knowledgeable etc etc but are anxious that the delays mean the cancer is spreading and we want treatment to start"  

With biopsies from what I understand, sometimes they can take what they think is enough but when they examine it in detail they just need more to check to be really accurate. My biopsy for womb cancer only gave so much information and it was only after surgery when everything was examined in greater detail, that they could accurately grade it. Cancer cells can be small and elusive and maybe unfortunately there is just not enough for them to be 100% confident of specifying the grade. The grade could also impact the treatment so although it is really hard maybe on this, its just one of those unfortunate things. However you do need to know when the next biopsy will be done for your sister and I would agree that it does need to be done sooner, rather than later. 

I can understand you are both feeling anxious and vulnerable but I am sure it is not a case of them not bothering because she is stage 4. Could it perhaps be, because it is stage 4 they need to be more accurate with the biopsy because they need to target the cancer more specifically and that they do not want to get this wrong. Stage 4 cancers can have successful treatments and I would hope that the delay is because they want to get this right for her. However what is not right is that they are not communicating with you and not giving and reassurance as to when and how things are going to progress. You and your sister want treatment to start and want to know what is happening. 

Try the CNS? See if you can do it gently so your sister is not concerned it is being seen as complaining- but in a way that you are both worried and need to be kept in the loop. 

There is Pals that you could contact at the hospital, however I understand that your sister does not want to complain at the moment.

If you want to talk this through, then you could give the Support Line a call and see if they can make any other suggestions.

Jane

Hi Jane, 

It is now fourteen weeks since diagnosis, new biopsies done on 20th February,  results not back yet. So no treatment still until receptors known. New three month CT scan shows it has now spread to the liver.

I am speechless, my sister is an absolute star and every appointment she goes to filled with the hope that treatment will begin soon.