Blood work - liver question

NWGirl

Had chemo today and my blood work shows that my liver marker is getting higher each time they check it. I'm sure that's not technically what they call it, but you get the picture. After my next chemo treatment (which will be my 4th) and before they start radiation, the doctor wants me to have a CT Scan to check it out and get a baseline CT before I start radiation. He said it could just be the chemo or it could be the cancer has spread to my liver. I was diagnosed stage 2 in November (but turns out I was really stage 3 with 20+ lymph nodes affected); surgery in November and on chemo now. My question - has anyone had this experience with their blood work? If it has spread to my liver, what can they do? Of course I will ask my doctor these questions, but I know this early on he doesn't want to scare me so he won't offer up info unless I question him. From reading the posts here I know that liver/lungs tend to be common areas for colon cancer to spread to, so I am a little concerned about what they can do if it has spread.

shmurciakova

I don't know for sure what is going on with your liver, but I would think that when you are on chemo your liver is really working to get that stuff out of your body, so it does not surprise me that your liver enzymes are going up. If the cancer is in your liver and it is only confined to one or two tumors you can have a liver resection done. Otherwise they will put you on some form of chemo until they can operate. I would not worry about that though until you know what is going on. Like I said your liver is doing double duty right now. I don't know whether or not it happened to me. I never asked about it.
-Susan H.

NWGirl

shmurciakova said:

I don't know for sure what is going on with your liver, but I would think that when you are on chemo your liver is really working to get that stuff out of your body, so it does not surprise me that your liver enzymes are going up. If the cancer is in your liver and it is only confined to one or two tumors you can have a liver resection done. Otherwise they will put you on some form of chemo until they can operate. I would not worry about that though until you know what is going on. Like I said your liver is doing double duty right now. I don't know whether or not it happened to me. I never asked about it.
-Susan H.

Thanks Susan. I hope that's all it is. He said he wanted the CT done before I start radiation and now I'm wondering if they use radiation to treat tumors on the liver(?) Of course I thought of all of this after I left his office. The radiation I'm scheduled for right now is to treat the area where the tumor was surgically removed back in November.

KathiM

shmurciakova said:

I don't know for sure what is going on with your liver, but I would think that when you are on chemo your liver is really working to get that stuff out of your body, so it does not surprise me that your liver enzymes are going up. If the cancer is in your liver and it is only confined to one or two tumors you can have a liver resection done. Otherwise they will put you on some form of chemo until they can operate. I would not worry about that though until you know what is going on. Like I said your liver is doing double duty right now. I don't know whether or not it happened to me. I never asked about it.
-Susan H.

I agree with Susan's sage advice. My liver functions were screwy during my chemo....straightened out after....

Hugs, kathi

hopefulone

Hi Susan. First of all it's important to say that the rise in (most likely cea) may not be related to liver mets , but of course there is the possibility that it may be. Radiation is not an option for liver tumors, but there are other options depending on how many there are (IF, and I stress IF you have them) and where they are located. Resection (removing the portion of the liver affected may be an option, RFA(radio frequency ablation may be an option(where they are sort of "micro-waved" if you will, sir-spheres(thereaspheres may be an option), cryosurgery(freezing them) and of course chemo may also cause the mets to disappear. The important thing to remember is that there ARE some options sometimes available and if any are ruled out at the beginning of treatment , they sometimes are an option after chemo treatment ( such as my husband's case, initially unresectable, but after 9 treatments, underwent liver surgery much to the doctor's surprise). Be sure to ask your oncologist a lot of questions and anything you don't understand, or aren't satisfied with the answers, ask again. Keep us posted and God Bless.
Diane

NWGirl

hopefulone said:

Hi Susan. First of all it's important to say that the rise in (most likely cea) may not be related to liver mets , but of course there is the possibility that it may be. Radiation is not an option for liver tumors, but there are other options depending on how many there are (IF, and I stress IF you have them) and where they are located. Resection (removing the portion of the liver affected may be an option, RFA(radio frequency ablation may be an option(where they are sort of "micro-waved" if you will, sir-spheres(thereaspheres may be an option), cryosurgery(freezing them) and of course chemo may also cause the mets to disappear. The important thing to remember is that there ARE some options sometimes available and if any are ruled out at the beginning of treatment , they sometimes are an option after chemo treatment ( such as my husband's case, initially unresectable, but after 9 treatments, underwent liver surgery much to the doctor's surprise). Be sure to ask your oncologist a lot of questions and anything you don't understand, or aren't satisfied with the answers, ask again. Keep us posted and God Bless.
Diane

Thanks to everyone who replied. I really appreciate it. I'm worried of course, because I seem to have had bad luck so far in that this disease hit me at age 43 and all the tests showed no nodes affected (turns out 20+); so I'm a little paranoid. The CT Scans and PET Scan I had back in Oct/Nov 07 showed the cancer had not spread, but with so many nodes affected, who knows what will happen and when. I'm hoping for the best, but want to have some idea what to expect if it has spread. There's nothing better than hearing from people who have been there. Thank you, everyone. I'll keep you posted.

cjf2006

Ask for copies of your liver tests, actually any bloodwork. I do. I have had elevations in liver enzymes and I have had decreases in them. My understanding is that these tests are a reflection of liver function. Liver function is labeled in various stages (eg I, II, III, IV) and shows how well your liver is holding up , because chemo is rough on your liver. My kidney function also gets tested. When I see my primary care physician, I ask her what all those numbers mean. And I have looked on the internet under liver function tests. True, they can also be an indicator of liver disease, including cancer. But I'll bet it's the chemo. PS I am Stage IV with liver and lung mets. I get a CT scan this coming Monday to see how I've done since Nov.

NWGirl

cjf2006 said:

Ask for copies of your liver tests, actually any bloodwork. I do. I have had elevations in liver enzymes and I have had decreases in them. My understanding is that these tests are a reflection of liver function. Liver function is labeled in various stages (eg I, II, III, IV) and shows how well your liver is holding up , because chemo is rough on your liver. My kidney function also gets tested. When I see my primary care physician, I ask her what all those numbers mean. And I have looked on the internet under liver function tests. True, they can also be an indicator of liver disease, including cancer. But I'll bet it's the chemo. PS I am Stage IV with liver and lung mets. I get a CT scan this coming Monday to see how I've done since Nov.

Good luck on the CT. I will be praying for you. Thank you very much for your input.