Anyone with Lung cancer that metastisized to the liver??

[kristinalee]

Hello everyone, I have reading your messages for quite sometime now...just not ready to post until now.

My name is Kristina and I am from the San Diego area. My Dad, 63 years old was diagnosed last August with lung cancer. At the time, dad ended up in ICU, on a ventilator, severe Vena Cava Obstruction. At that time the Dr's told us it could be days to weeks. Here we are over a year later, dad has been through Chemo and radiation and has been doing fairly well until recently.

Dad's PET in July showed stable disease. At that time his Oncologist said let's wait on the Chemo. So with that being said...the results of the PET and CT scan are in. The original mass in his (R) lung has grown and is not active again but also there is a 6.5 x 2.8 oval shaped CM mass in his liver.

I am so lost for words, I just want to cry. We are waiting til thursday when dad meets with the radiologist to see if he is a candidate for the radiosurgery/gammaknife.

My questions are this, has anyone exerienced this? what was the outcome? what are the chances that this could get a lot worse very quickly?

My Dad is my best friend, we are extrememly close. My heart breaks to know that every moment that he breathes he is thinking about his awful disease. I lost my mom to the age of 58, it was a very difficult time for all of us....now my dad.

Thank you all for letting me tell me story. All of you on this board are truely amazing.

Kristina

[dano]

Kristina, I'm so sorry to hear the news of your father, he is still pretty young yet. I'm not sure whats on the mind of doctors as a whole as to how they make decisions on treatment. I some ways I think it goes with the money they can get. I had good coverage and got very good attention. I'm sure I have been taken care of better than most in countries like Canada. Did your dad get a second opinion on his condition? I was asked to by my siblings so I did and found out that my cancer center here in Hawaii was pretty good. My oncologist has kept me on treatment for two years now and it has kept my cancer in check and has allowed me to go back to work. From what I hear having mets in the liver is a real problem to control, maybe someone here has some positive results but I have not heard of it. PBJ might have some better insights. I hope get can get the Gamma knife works on him. This is a disease that is nearly impossible to beat, so fighting it off is what we do until the end, but on our way out I'm looking to get the most out of my relationships.
God Bless
Dan

[tbean]

Kristina, my MIL was diagnosed with stage 3B NSCLC in September of 08. A few months back it metastisized to her liver. She has never been a canidate for surgery of any type. She also has never received radiation. She is on active cycles of chemo and has been since shortly after her diagnosis. Some have worked better than others as the cancer spread to her liver while on treatment. She is doing fairly well and experiences more symptoms from her lung mets than she ever has her liver. Her drs are watching her very closely and have said that the growth rate of the liver met is top priority for monitoring. We are told that is more life threatening than what's going on in her lung. Very rarely she feels mild pain where her liver is. It is common for NSCLC to met in the liver and in the brain. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Best wishes for your difficult journey.

[OldBenC]

Goodness gracious. My wife and I were there recently with much the same circumstances as your father. Stage 4, both lungs. Cleared up completely for a while. Came back to the liver and then spread to the lungs. My suggestion - educate yourselves and be prepared to insist on the best possible care and if you are a believer in God, then take advantage of that belief and in knowing that it is truly in His hands. Now if you do not believe...

Anyway, my wife took the time to educate us in what to expect throughout her journey with lung cancer/liver. Everyone is different, but she also concluded that it was a very difficult road ahead. We tried 3 different treatments before the bad news was given to us. During this time though, our belief in God and in each other got us through our daily trials. Her strength was the basis of my strength. The outcome probably will not be good; but now is the opportunity to take the time to come to terms with the past, the present and future. Mutual support and faith together goes a long way toward helping those involved.