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Joan M · 05-10-2009, 05:04 PM

Missy,

I'm sorry to hear about your subborn liver met.

Why did the doctors tell you that you're not a candidate for radiofrequency ablation?

I had RFA of a tumor in my lung, which is done much, much less frequently than for the liver.

Many times, oncs rule out alternative procedures because the cancer is advanced and not a primary cancer of the lung or liver. That is, they don't like to do these procedures on metastses. They also don't consider them standard of treatment for metastatic bc.

The idea of an RFA for one met in the liver is that the procedure may eradicate the met without you're having to undergo a liver resection. This might well be the case too if it's the same met that went away before, meaning that no others have formed in the meantime.

Generally, a nodule should not be over 3.5 cm.

Many oncs dismiss local procedures in favor of only systemic procedures. Every onc I consulted was against the RFA of the lung. Or they tell you RFAs are reserved for people who are surgically inoperable.

I had the RFA last August and a CT scan last Saturday showed no nodules.

Also, a year prior to having the RFA I had the nodule removed with a wedge resection of the lung, and one year later it recurred, which is why I did the RFA (that is, it wasn't a new nodule, it was a recurrence of the old nodule even though I had clean margins).

Perhaps you can consult a radiation interventionist which is the kind of doctor who does this procedure.

Here are two links:

Radiological society of North American
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=rfa

University of Southern California
http://www.surgery.usc.edu/divisions...yablation.html

Joan

05-10-2009, 05:04 PM	#16
Joan M Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,851	Missy, I'm sorry to hear about your subborn liver met. Why did the doctors tell you that you're not a candidate for radiofrequency ablation? I had RFA of a tumor in my lung, which is done much, much less frequently than for the liver. Many times, oncs rule out alternative procedures because the cancer is advanced and not a primary cancer of the lung or liver. That is, they don't like to do these procedures on metastses. They also don't consider them standard of treatment for metastatic bc. The idea of an RFA for one met in the liver is that the procedure may eradicate the met without you're having to undergo a liver resection. This might well be the case too if it's the same met that went away before, meaning that no others have formed in the meantime. Generally, a nodule should not be over 3.5 cm. Many oncs dismiss local procedures in favor of only systemic procedures. Every onc I consulted was against the RFA of the lung. Or they tell you RFAs are reserved for people who are surgically inoperable. I had the RFA last August and a CT scan last Saturday showed no nodules. Also, a year prior to having the RFA I had the nodule removed with a wedge resection of the lung, and one year later it recurred, which is why I did the RFA (that is, it wasn't a new nodule, it was a recurrence of the old nodule even though I had clean margins). Perhaps you can consult a radiation interventionist which is the kind of doctor who does this procedure. Here are two links: Radiological society of North American http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=rfa University of Southern California http://www.surgery.usc.edu/divisions...yablation.html Joan __________________ Diagnosed stage 2b in July 2003 (2.3 cm, HER2+, ER-/PR-, 7+ nodes). Treated with mastectomy (with immediate DIEP flap reconstruction), AC + T/Herceptin (off label). Cancer advanced to lung in Jan. 2007 (1 cm nodule). Started Herceptin every 3 weeks. Lung wedge resection April 2007. Cancer recurred in lung April 2008. RFA of lung in August 2008. 2nd annual brain MRI in Oct. 2008 discovered 2.6 cm cystic tumor in left frontal lobe. Craniotomy Oct. 2008 (ER-/PR-/HER2-) followed by targeted radiation (IMRT). Coughing up blood Feb. 2009. Thoractomy July 2009 to cut out fungal ball of common soil fungus (aspergillus) that grew in the RFA cavity (most likely inhaled while gardening). No cancer, only fungus. Removal of tiny melanoma from upper left arm, plus sentinel lymph node biopsy in Feb. 2016. Guardant Health liquid biopsy in Feb. 2016 showed mutations in 4 subtypes of TP53. Repeat of Guardant Health biopsy in Jana. 2021 showed 3 TP53 mutations, BRCA1 mutation and CHEK2 mutation. Invitae genetic testing showed negative for all of these. Living with MBC since 2007. Stopped Herceptin Hylecta (injection) treatment in March 2020. Recent 2023 annual CT of chest, abdomen and pelvis and annual brain MRI showed NED. Praying for NED forever!! Last edited by Joan M; 05-10-2009 at 05:06 PM..