Bowel cancer spread to liver

[kid]

A friends mum has received test results recently that show she has bowel cancer and that it has already spread to her liver.

I know it all depends on size and what treatment the hospital decide to use. But, realistically, what will her future be like?

I have done a quick search and have seen a few threads from a few years ago and can see that its quite common for bowel cancer to spread to the liver.

[leesmum]

Im really sorry for your friends Mum, My Dad had Bowel Cancer and that spread to his liver, I know every case is different but we were pretty much told that because it had spread to the Liver it then became "Terminal". My Dad's was found quite late on though and i think with all Cancers early detection means a better chance of recovery.

I hope she is ok and that all treatment is sucessfull x

[kid]

One of my dh's relatives was diagnosed with bowel cancer a few months ago. They removed the large bowel but further tests revealed that it had already spread to his liver, lungs and pancreas. He has been told he has months to live

I don't know which treatment they intend o use but of course they are all expecting the worst at the moment.

[leesmum]

That must be horrible for you all, unfortunatly i understand what you are going through.

My Dad had Chemotherapy, then a Colostomy, and ended up having Radiotherapy but it wasn't enough and he passed away 13 months after first being diagnosed. I dont know if the treatment actually did any good because he was in constant pain all the time and his quality of life was poor. He went from being a Marathon runner to looking like an old man in the space of a year, so sad and so unfair.

By being there to help and listen is about the best thing you can do x

[usualsuspect]

cancer is a bastard

[kid]

Dh's nan has lung cancer. She was diagnosed 7 years ago and as it's a slow growing, non aggressive form
of cancer, the hospital pretty much leave it alone. It's checked a couple of times a year and she has had some radiotherapy but it has not effected her daily life. So, we've seen 2 very different cases of cancers.

(not that it makes much difference, but relative has spleen cancer not lung. I know it's spread to 3 places, I just mix them up sometimes)

[camdancer]

I can give you a positive story. My FIL was diagnosed with bowel cancer that had spread to his liver. He wasn't given a terminal diagnosis but the 5 year survival rate was less than 5%. 4 years on he is still with us. He has gone through an awful lot of chemotherapy and also a colostomy but now they say that the spots on his liver aren't changing anymore and are small and the bowel is clear.

It is a bugger though 'cos there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. Why did it work for my FIL but not for leesmum's Dad? It all seems very random.

[kid]

It's good to hear a positive story but until the hospital give a prognosis, I won't try and get friend's hopes up.
I do hope the hospital can speak to them before christmas so they know what's happening and what to expect.

Not enough is known about cancer. Too many people are dying and suffering because of this dreadful disease

[sphil]

Some people can have liver surgery to remove the affected parts, if the tumours are small and/or confined to a small area. the Macmillan site has good Info on this, ESP the bowel cancer forum. Sadly this wasn't possible for my Mum, whose bowel cancer had spread to her liver and lungs on diagnosis. she lived for 17 months and had a good quality of life for the most part.

[ThingOne]

I had liver secondaries from bowel cancer. My primary tumour was removed three years ago. Two small secondaries were found in my liver. They were removed by keyhole surgery. I had 25% of my liver removed - I understand they can remove three times that. It regenerates quickly.

Two and a half years later I have an essentially normal life. The qualification is because of a complication of surgery rather than cancer.

I don't have an "all clear" but I do not have cancer. I live life assuming I am well but I fully understand there are no guarantees.

[Eleison]

That is tremendous Thing One. It is good to hear such a happy outcome. My mother had bowel cancer, diagnosed late, with secondary liver cancer, and died within about three months of the diagnosis. She was moderately well for the first half of that time, and the worst thing was the chemotherapy, which on reflection did her no good. I wish that we had had the resolve to help her decide against it. I think she tried to squeeze out a few more months of life for our sake not hers, and it might have been better not to go through that.

[kid]

Thanks for the positive stories, it's really good to hear them. My friend and her family will be meeting the drs today to find out what will happen next.
Fingers crossed they get some positive mews x