Cancer has spread

Hello valletta66 . I can understand your fears but I think your husband needs to get some facts from his CNS or oncology team before going down a rabbit hole. It is normal to have blood tests before each round of chemo to check how the body is coping with it. One of the tests is to check liver function as the liver filters the blood and can get stressed. In my husband's case the first round of chemo caused quite a few side effects which meant that the dose and administration were adjusted for future cycles, plus he was given more supportive drugs so that future cycles went OK and he managed to complete the course. It is common practice to delay the next round of chemo for a few days if the bloods show that things have not settled down sufficiently.

I hope that once you have all the facts things will not be as bad as you fear and your husband can carry on with treatment. My husband had a job understanding some of the information he was given and as this is very much a couples disease he agreed with the medical team that I could have full access to it which reduced the stress for both of us. In any event let us know how you get on.

Thank you alwayshope. I didn't understand when he first told me what they told him.  Its difficult when its always by phone and i was at work at the time. They did say his liver should settle down and that's why they would try a different type of chemo.  But knowing its spread to the liver has really changed how he's feeling.  He was hopeful before that he would feel better but this has brought it home to him.  Unfortunately we don't have a CNS or much of an oncology team but he's going to call the hospice today who manage his pain relief and hopefully they can tell him more.  Thank  you for explaining the process to me.

Hi valletta66 , you say you haven’t got a cancer nurse specialist number, so who called yesterday?  Can you call them back to get a clearer picture?

Along the lines that Alwayshope mentioned, prostate cancer can spread to the liver but it is normally confirmed by scan or biopsy.  I don’t think it can be confirmed by a blood test.  Chances are that the liver is under stress caused by the chemo not necessarily that PCa has spread there.  

Thanks David.  The call was from a doctor in the oncology team; not someone he's spoken to before.  My husband had a CT scan about 8 weeks ago so they may have got the info from there. I understand the liver being stressed as we were told originally that's what the blood test before his chemo was for.  He's been in more pain the last few days so i think he'll call the hospice today for help and advice.