Metastatic liver cancer inquiry

I am sorry to hear about the metastatic disease and am going on the premise that you are referring to yourself.  Forgive me if that is not the case.  I do not know from personal experience what type of treatment might be available in this scenario, but there are a handful of people who have posted on this site who have had liver mets, so perhaps you will get a response from someone who has dealt with this. 

My knowledge is very limited in this area and the only comments I can make are based on someone else's experience.  I do know of one person who was initially diagnosed with AC and had mets to her liver.  I believe her treatment consisted of Carbo, Taxol and Xeloda.  I do not know her current status, but I believe her treatment was considered a success.  She received treatment in California and her doctor was William Stanton, M.D.   Here is a link to information about this doctor https://www.scripps.org/physicians/5401-william-stanton  Perhaps he would be agreeable to a phone consult with your physican(s).

If I think of any other info I will post.  Best wishes.

Martha 

Again, I am very sorry to hear of your situation.  As someone who will be an 8-year survivor next month, this is quite disconcerting.  I am presuming that you have had biopsy to confirm that this is, indeed, mets from the AC and not a new primary cancer.  It is just hard to wrap my brain around someone having mets after such a long period of time since treatment.  If I were in your situation, I would be contacting Dr. Eng at MD Anderson in Houston.  She seems to be the leading physician in the U.S. for treating metastatic anal cancer.  I have met her at a conference at which I spoke and she seems quite dedicated to her patients.  At the very least, I would ask my local physicians about doing a phone consultation with her.  There are also clinical trials that may be an option for you, so you may want to do a search on those.

I honestly don't remember joining the Yahoo group, but I might have at one time.  I am on 3 support sites, including this one, and it's about all I can handle.  I am also active in my local hospital's online support group. 

I wish you all the best and as I said above, if I can come up with any more information to help you, I will definitely post.  Take care and keep us updated on your status.

Martha

This has really gotten my attention, now that you have mentioned that the biopsy shows adenocarcinoma.  Was that the type of anal cancer you had?  As you probably know, the majority of  anal cancer cases are squamous cell.

Martha

Bellen said:

Liver Mets

Hi Martha - I believe mine was squamous cell.  I do have further questions about the biopsy report - it says metastatic adenocarcinoma. Will ask for clarification when get cancer clinic appt. Confusing to me also, but there's no one to ask until I get an appt.

I am sorry for your dx of liver mets.  Like you have said after so long.  I had anal cancer Stage II NOMO and completed tx on 6-30-09, and a year later a nodule was found in my lung with was removed on 9-23-10.  The anal cancer was squamous and had hpv in it, the lung cancer was squamous and had no hpv, therefore they ruled the lung as a new primary.  I was a 35 year smoker and squamous cell lung cancer is very common in smokers.  I quit smoking on 5-4-09 before the anal cancer tx.  I wish you well, and keep us posted. Lori

Diagnosed anal cancer in March 2014 w. mets to liver. I did almost a year of taxol/carboplatin/avastin combination every three weeks. In February 2015 I was told NED or no evidence of disease in liver. A few months later, unfortunately, mets reappeared in liver. I started chemo combination again. In December 2015, due to chemo resistance, I stopped this treatment. In January 2016, I started erbitux/gemzar combination. Alas, due to lack of response, I stopped in June 2016. I am currently in immunotherapy.

From long experience, I've found very few advanced stage patients via this site. If you are looking for phone support, I would try the anal cancer foundation in Nyc.

Bellen said:

Liver met

Thank you for responding. Hoping the Immunotherapy shows some promise, although I am not familiar with this.  Would you mind telling me whether you lost your hair during your chemo?  And was chemoembolization a possible treatment - my friend has primary liver cancer and has had this over past two years. Not sure if this is a possible treatment when there is metastasis.  Sending you positive thoughts and well wishes.

Hi, I just thought it may be of interest to you to know that according to this article, chemoembolization is sometimes used for mets as well as primary liver cancer.....may be worth further checking....

Chemoembolization

Chemoembolization delivers chemotherapy drugs directly to a tumor, while minimizing exposure to healthy tissues. This delivery method minimizes side effects, like nausea and vomiting, and maximizes the cancer-killing properties of the drugs.

During chemoembolization, chemotherapy is injected through a catheter directly into a tumor using image guidance. The chemotherapy drugs are mixed with particles, called microspheres, which block the flow of blood to the tumor. Without a blood supply, the tumor no longer has the oxygen and nutrients it needs to grow.

Chemoembolization allows high doses of chemotherapy drugs to be targeted directly to the cancerous tissue for a longer period of time, without exposing the entire body to the effect of the drugs.

This method of chemotherapy is primarily used for the treatment of liver cancer, and may also be used for the treatment of cancers that have spread to the liver.

http://www.cancercenter.com/treatments/chemoembolization/?source=BNGPS01&channel=paid+search&invsrc=Non_Branded_Paid_Search_Bing_General_Search&utm_device=c&utm_budget=Corporate&utm_site=BING&utm_campaign=Non+Brand>Treatments&utm_adgroup=Chemotherapy>Chemoembolization>Exact&utm_term=chemoembolization&utm_matchtype=e&k_clickid=2075be73-dc65-4a96-9efb-a7a0cc2229c4&k_profid=422&k_kwid=70366

katheryn

Bellen said:

Liver met

Thank you for responding. Hoping the Immunotherapy shows some promise, although I am not familiar with this.  Would you mind telling me whether you lost your hair during your chemo?  And was chemoembolization a possible treatment - my friend has primary liver cancer and has had this over past two years. Not sure if this is a possible treatment when there is metastasis.  Sending you positive thoughts and well wishes.

I did not lose my hair with any of these drugs. In my case, liver is considered inoperable and beyond chemoembolization treatment. If you haven't looked at this site, try https://www.beatlivertumors.org.