Secondary liver cancer (Primary Lung cancer)

Chrissie · Guest

Hello,

A friend has been diagnosed with lung cancer which has spread to his liver. It happened very suddenly as he was being treated for DVT at the time (which he is still suffering from). He has yet to be told whether or not he will receive chemo or radiation. I would like to know what sort of outcome he can expect and, if treatment is not offered, is there any hope that he could beat this through diet alone? I have been reading about the best foods and supplements to take but I am really wondering what the likely outcome is going to be so that I can prepare myself for it.

Thank you Confused

leo · Site Admin Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1574

Chrissie,

Unfortunately metastatic lung cancer has a poor outcome. Even with chemotherapy and radiation, the tumor may respond, but in all likelihood it will grow again. About your diet/supplements question, as much as I support a healthy diet, there are no diets or supplements that can truly cure cancer, despite what you read around.

regards,
Leo
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Leonardo F - Webmaster Cancer Forums
Disclaimer: this information is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice.

Chrissie · Guest

Thanks for your honesty Leo. I didn`t really expect a very positive reply but I do feel ready now to offer my support without being overly optimistic.

Regards

Chrissie

leo · Site Admin Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1574

Chrissie,

This is one of the reasons I have started this website. To give honest answers to people looking for them. I think the best way to go through this is to treat every day as a gift, and enjoy it as much as possible. We should do this in health, but we only look at it from this angle when it might be taken from us.

Best of luck
Leo
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Leonardo F - Webmaster Cancer Forums
Disclaimer: this information is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice.

AlaskaAngel

Thank you Leo for your sincere efforts to reach out in a very meaningful way to people with cancer and the people in their lives.

AlaskaAngel

Allon Maxwell · New User Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 1

My wife has advanced secondary liver cancer from a primary source in the colon. She probably has only a very few months to live.

Doctors seem extremely reluctant to answer questions about what to expect in the final stages. I think the main problem is that all patients are different, and they can't predict what will happen in a particular case. Also they seem to want to avoid upsetting us. It almost seems as thought there is a conspiracy of silence!

Of course we do know that not everyone is the same. However we are amongst those who really do want to know what the possible range of symptoms could be. We can cope with that far better than not knowing anything at all and just waiting for the unknown to happen without warning.

Is there any information available about the possible range of symptoms that occurs in various cases? eg Can we expect to have to deal with serious pain? Loss of appetite? Jaundice? Mental confusion? Loss of mobility? Metastasis to other organs? Mestastasis to bones? Anything else? What is the frequency of occurrenceof these things in final stage patients?

We have conflicting answers from doctors. We have been told by one source that most liver cancer patients experience almost no pain and few other symptoms apart from gradually wasting away and dying without much discomfort. Others have hinted at things far worse and talk about pain relief, and control of nausea, but won't get specific.

Where can I get information which will tell us the truth about all this? Can someone please help?

Allon

AlaskaAngel

A book that I found helpful is The Liver Disorders Sourcebook by Howard J. Worman, M.D., 1999.

The liver has less ability to sense pain other than maybe pressure due to change in size. I don't know why secondary liver cancer would be any different from primary liver cancer, which according to the Sloan Kettering website,

http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/273.cfm

"Many patients with primary liver cancer have no symptoms at all. In some instances, jaundice (when the skin and the whites of the eyes become yellow, urine darkens, and the color of stool becomes lighter than normal), malaise, or a general feeling of poor health, loss of appetite, weight loss, fever, fatigue, bloating, itching, swelling of the legs, or a sense of general weakness may be present. Abdominal pain or discomfort may also occur."

-AlaskaAngel
_________________
Dx Dec 2001 at age 50
Lumpectomy Jan 2002, 1.6 cm IDC plus some DCIS
Node neg
ER+, PR+, HER2+++
CAF x 6, 35 rads+boost
NED
Tamoxfen 1 3/4 yrs
In 2 clinical trials
bc for mom and 1 sis and 1 aunt and 1 granny
ovarian cancer for 1 aunt

tilo · Regular Joined: 27 Apr 2006 Posts: 21

Allon,
My questions and concerns were exactly what you are expressing in your post.. I too believe it is better to be well informed, and know what to expect than to be blindsided. We received great information from our palliative/hospice care nurses and doctors. They have many resources in print which will help you. Perhaps you could contact them and see what they could provide you with. It has helped our family immensely.
Best wishes
Tilo

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