Secondary Liver Cancer

[MumHadEnough]

Hi Everyone,

Have just found out that my friend who had bowel cancer last year, now has secondary tumours in her liver and ovaries.

This isn't good news is it? Is there any hope for her?

I just have this idea in my head that secondary liver cancer is terminal. Can anyone tell me any different?

They've not (friends) told us any details, and we only spoke to them for a few mins and could tell they really didn't want to discuss it at the minute.

Thanks for any info. She's 49 btw.

What happens will depend on the number of liver tumours and where they . Likely to offer her chemo. A liver secondary tends no to be the death sentence it used to be but the fact that also present on ovaries is worrying.Not an expert on the outcomes though. See if anyone on here is an oncologist.

Very sorry for you and your friend.

Secondary tumours a rarely a good sign unfortunately. It means that there are cancerous cells throughout teh body...and even if the secondary is successfully treated it is only a matter of time before another secondary pops up.

Unfortunately with 2 secondaries diagnosed I would suspect that any treatment will be aimed at prolonging/improving quality of life rather than curing. Liver and ovary tumours can both be prettty aggressive too (or at least have been in teh friends I have known with them).

Sorry, but it doesn't sound good. I would like to be proved wrong though.

Hi - just wanted so say how sorry I am for your friend - life is very hard for some people . I think you are right that cancer in the liver esp. secondary is terminal, she will probably get some chemo , but oulook is grim.

Thank you everyone for your honest input, you have all confirmed what I suspected .

I think they have been told the terminal news today, hence their lack of wanting to speak on the phone (and who can blame them). We'll just need to be there for them when they are ready and they need us.

The sad thing is, she had the bowel problems for about 8 years and had even been referred to a psychiatrist for testing as she was accused of being a hypochondriac. We thought she got lucky that some smart doc eventually checked her bowels and it got found at last. Lots of ifs and buts around the whole sorry tale.

Once again, thanks for your help. xxx

So sorry for you and your friend, MumHadEnough

Sorry to hear your friend's news, MHE.

I am being treated for bowel cancer and have had secondaries on my liver. I am expected to make a full recovery, although absolutely no guarantee as the cells have escaped from their original sites. My secondaries were, however, very small indeed - both thumbnail sized and less than an inch together. I would be very anxious indeed about the spread beyond that to the ovaries (indeed I am anxious about that but prefer to live in happy denial). I understand my latest scan was clear but I'm not in deep enough to denial to pretend that I won't be anxious at every scan over the next five years. As far as I understand, bowel cancer secondaries tend to appear in liver first, then in ovaries and lungs.

Small cancers can be removed from the liver easily. It was a major and risky operation, but done laparscopically and I was doing the washing within three days! Liver surgery has moved on immensely in recent years and is now done by specialist liver surgeons and not general surgeons. From what I understand that has made it a lot safer. I had to travel 80 miles for my op, but better to have a specialist and be away from home. The risk is from the cancer cells having spread from the primary cancer, not that they are in the liver. 70% of the liver can be removed and you can still survive, though I have to say the two patients I know who have had this much done do not look as if they have good prospects.

Shocking she was ignored for so long. I thought I'd had a struggle to be diagnosed and it was only eight months.

You might find more help and info on the cancerbackup website. They have a forum and you can ring the nurse helpline if you feel it may help you help your friend better. It must be very upsetting for you, but try hard to follow your friend's lead about whether she can cope with your crying on her, or whether she wants you to be calm and relaxed.

So sorry to hear your friend's news, MHE. My mother was diagnosed before Christmas with bowel cancer, with secondaries on liver and lungs. Despite the grim prognosis we were given in hospital, her oncologists are very positive about her chances of a 'prolonged life' (whatever that means) with chemotherapy. She is 73, but fit and healthy - your friend is so much younger, so I'm sure there's a lot they can do for her. The chemo isn't pleasant, but Mum is coping well with it - it depends very much on the individual, but an oncologist friend of mine told me that bowel cancer chemo tends not to be as aggressive as, say, the treatment for breast cancer.

Like ThingOne, she also took 8 months to be diagnosed, despite having a number of red flag symptoms .