Stage IV Colon Cancer Met to Liver

Yztkhhn
Yztkhhn Member Posts: 4
in Colorectal Cancer #1

My sister who is only 52 has been diagnosed 2 weeks ago with stage IV colon cancer.  Never had any symptoms except a pain in the top of her stomach between her rib cage.  She went to the doctor and they did a CAT SCAN and was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer that had spread to her liver.  Her doctor told her her he wanted to do about 3 months of chemo and then try and do surgery.  She is severerly depressed and feels like she has been handed a death sentence.  She just lost her husband past January to lung cancer.  Is there hope that she can beat this?

Comments

  • Chelsea71
    Chelsea71 Member Posts: 1,169 Member
    #2
    Yup, there is hope.  Stage

    Yup, there is hope.  Stage four colon cancer is tricky to beat.  A cure can happen though.  If the tumor(s) can be surgically removed from her liver with clear margins, it's possible the cancer may not return.  A lot depends on how many tumors are in the liver and how many lobes are involved.  There are other ways to treat the liver besides surgery, but a liver resection is her best chance for a cure.  Hopefully the chemo will shrink the tumors to make surgery easier, then they will do several months of "mop up" chemo.  

    Bestif luck to you and your sister.

    Chelsea

  • lp1964
    lp1964 Member Posts: 1,239 Member
    #3
    I'm sorry for the news.

    Thank you for reaching out in your sister's name. She just has to ignore all the statistics and percentages and do what needs to be done. The first few months of treatment is pretty routine a lot of people go through it. Lets hope for a good resolution. 

    One thing your sister has to do is owning her situation. She has to reach out too as soon as she is ready. She is gonna have to learn to be her own advocate, but trust a whole bunch of people, treatments and medication at the same time. That is half of the healing. 

    Please, tell her to contact local support groups and or sites like this.

    Let us know how it goes.

    Laz

     

     

  • herdizziness
    herdizziness Member Posts: 3,624 Member
    #4
    Yep

    when I was diagnosed at 50 years old with Stage IV colon cancer, I had mets to liver, ureter, lungs and elsewhere.  Almost 4 years later I am still here.

    I too did chemo first and then had surgeries.

    i went to a two year college after being diagnosed and graduated from there while doing chemo and I between surgeries, so life isnt over yet!!  Tell her to keep plugging away, life is worth living!!!

    Winter Marie

  • devotion10
    devotion10 Member Posts: 623 Member
    #5
    Your sister has been dealt a couple of very challenging

    life events ... in a short period of time.  I am sorry that these things have befallen her, but I am glad that she has you as a loving brother to comfort her.  The death of one's spouse and a cancer diagnosis, whew, I am dealing with only one of those and often feel like I am falling apart. 

    Once she begins treatment there may be a feeling of empowerment. Instead of helplessly worrying about the disease she will be able to do something in an effort to eradicate the disease.  There is also the additional comfort that comes from the attention, often quite compassionate, of caretakers in the oncology center who will know what she is experiencing.

    Depression may not be avoidable during such a time, but couseling may be helpful if her hopeless feelings continue over an extended period of time. Grief from the loss of a loved one and disease is a difficult combination.

    Can she beat this? ... Yes. There are many survivors diagnosed with mets to the liver who have had chemo designed to shrink the tumors, had surgery to remove existing disease, and then follow-up treatment to eradicate further spread.

    Best to you and your sister.

    Peace. ~ Cynthia

    When you have lost hope, you have lost everything. And when you think all is lost, when all is dire and bleak, there is always hope.

     

  • annalexandria
    annalexandria Member Posts: 2,571 Member
    #6
    I'm sorry to hear about your sister.

    But there is still cause for hope.  If she responds well to chemo, and can get to the point of having surgery, she may be in remission for a significant amount of time, or even achieve a cure.  I am stage 4, and after five surgeries to deal with multiple recurrences, have been NED (no evidence of disease) for two years.  There are no guarantees, of course, but there is definitely hope!  Please tell her that from me.  And keep us posted on how she's doing.  If there's anything we can do to support her, and you, we will!

    Big hugs to you both~Ann Alexandria

  • janderson1964
    janderson1964 Member Posts: 2,215 Member
    #7
    There is a lot of hope for

    There is a lot of hope for your sister. I was diagnosed stage IV over 8 years ago and am still going strong.

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