[agness]

I'm very sorry for your progression news Mishka. In the absence of digging very deep know that excess copper in your system is stored in the brain and liver -- and copper/zinc dysregulation is at play in most breast cancer patients. HER2 particularly seems to have an affinity for low zinc and elevated copper, as does TNBC.

Can you get them to test your serum zinc and copper and ceruloplasim levels? Those are what my naturopathic oncologist has been tracking for me. When HER2 disease escapes radiation for instance, they are finding that it is doing so using the copper pathway -- so we really want to shut that down if there is something there. I did this in my body by taking extra zinc piccolineate which boosted my zinc levels and chelated out the excess copper (which was sky high when I was first diagnosed). This stuff isn't "standard of care" but it is scientifically based, even if mainstream oncology ignores it.

I agree that you are demonstrating a mutation of your original BC, and really one wants to know what they heck it is. Liver biopsies are frightening but usually they go without a hitch. Since you have been strongly ER+ it seems likely that the cell line could have mutated in that direction but really data is going to be more valuable.

The liver does have an amazing regenerative ability as an organ so the trick will be to figure out what is going on with this mutation and to shut it down.

There are some different therapies to consider in treating the liver: chemo, radiation, and interventional radiology (using ablative techniques). I'm not familiar with the medical system there but I have learned from experience that you have to be talking to the right person with the right background -- pressing to speak to specialists if needed -- to find out what your real options are. A surgeon might say cut it out, an MO would likely look at chemo options, an RO would say give it rads. An interventional radiologist though might say let's freeze the sucker -- but since these are developing practices and IR is a "newer" discipline, your docs might not go there on their own. You might need to seek private consultations which could be more expensive -- but standard of care isn't necessarily better and, sorry to say but I've been thinking about this a lot since my brain mets were found last year, not being here is a LOT more expensive.

Ask me questions and I will answer to the best of my ability or I will go look for more info for you.

Hugs,

Ann