liver enzymes?
 

Saw onc. yesterday. My bloodwork shows a raise in liver enzymes..out of normal range. His said that we will keep on eye on it. Should I be more concerned? Are there symptoms I should look for? I really appreciate all of the wisdom from this board. I rely on the support!
Thank you,
Susan C.

When will you see him again? 3 weeks or 3 months? Does he also follow tumor markers? If it were me, I would want to see him every 3 weeks to "keep an eye on it" and if liver enzymes continue to rise (and if he follows TMs and they also rise) at the next 3 week visit, I would ask for scan/PET to look at the liver area.

Since treatment, my LFT (liver function tests) have always been very high. I went for all kinds of tests, all negative. Two-plus years after finishing treatment, LFTs are still high....so this must be my new normal.

Hi Susan,

Many things can cause your liver enzymes to go up- drinking diet soda, some medications (Arimidex, tylenol).

A few months ago my liver enzymes got flagged on my blood labs as being high. Onc said he was not concerned, they were just above the normal range. I looked back at all my reports for the past year and sure enough, my enzymes started in the mid-normal range when I started Arimidex and slowly went up a few points every test (~6-8wks) for a year until they finally went a little above normal.

I cut out all the diet soda and started taking liver support herbs and my last test showed a big drop in liver enzymes almost to my "baseline" when I started Arimidex. Could be a coincidence???

I would ask, if you don't know already, how high the numbers are, and track back to see any pattern. Your liver gets a work out metabolizing some of these meds we are on!

Milk Thistle
 

Mine fluctuates the last one was 70, i think normal is 35? What brand do you take....

Same here; onc said not to worry, he also said that liver has the "amazing" ability to heal itself...should I believe??

Any ideas, comments, suggestions....thanks.

Hey Susan
 

Liver Enzymes
 

SUSAN! Okay, here's my liver tale. NOT that is YOUR liver situation, but something to consider. Don't want to scare anyone but -- knowledge is empowering! May my experience serve as a learning tool to be totally proactive!!

'95 mastec/tram flap reconst + 4AC + 8 CMF. They stopped ev 8 wk CT scans. That floored me. Did ev 3 mnth comprehensive bld work. Didn't get copies of all my reports and tests back then. Do now. Compare everything.

I got a call -- everything is fine. Great. Yes. But, well, there is a *slight* elevation in liver enzymes. Oh??? I wouldn't worry about it. Ok.

3 mnths later -- got a call. Same exact conversation. WHAT COULD BE CAUSING MY LIVER ENZYMES TO BE ELEVATED???? It could be anything. Anything you take. Cholesterol medication, blood pressure meds... But, it's very very slight. I wouldn't worry about it... Ok. (I begin to really worry about it.)

3 mnths later -- got a call. Same exact conversation. OK! CAN I GET A *LIVER* SONOGRAM? I didn't even know what I was saying except that I wanted to check out my liver. Oh, you mean an abdominal sonogram. Well, yes. I guess we could substantiate that. I'll set something up. Or would you rather do it yourself.

Had the liver/excuse me abdominal sono. Many apologies. I just can't be certain what I'm looking at here. I'm sorry. I have to send you for a CT scan. Ok.

Long story short, biopsy followed CT scan. Had multiple tumors in my liver. Tumor markers still in normal range for mnths after began Taxotere. Asked if I was HER2+. This was '98, still in clinical trials. Read my signature for details, or ask away.

I surely pray this is not YOUR scenario Susan. Marie brought your post up and I caught it from late Aug. WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH YOU? Please tell us!

Sending loving energy your way. Praying for good news in your case!
Andi

Thank you for responding to this post. My Onc. says "we will keep an eye on it". Yikes! I don't have an appt. until December. I am going to do bloodwork again in 2 weeks. My Onc. is very laid back...everyone swears he is brillant...He doesn't seem concerned yet.
On another note, do most of you get a mammogram or a breast MRI? I have never had a breast MRI and I was going to push for one.
Any suggestions?
Susan C

WE MUST ADVOCATE FOR OURSELVES (a plain reality of Life)
 

I am not a medical expert. My husband keeps reminding me (as I offer advice). I am a professional patient (for 12 yrs) and have observed and collected much valuable info from other patients, docs and nurses (they are the greatest source of info!). I read, I listen to experts on PBS, Larry King, Today Show, Oprah, wherever. I TAKE NOTES. Yes, and I am obsessive. Guilty.

WITH CANCER, YOU *NEVER* WAIT AND SEE. The sooner you find it, the greater your chances of knocking it out cold! My now retired breast surgeon used to always say re anything in your breast -- take it out. Don't wait and see. When I hear, Let's keep an eye on it -- I SEE RED FLAGS. Excuse me. Not w/me.

My chemo mate Myrna is gone. She had a similar med hist as me, but she never went into remission. She was in *a study*. I think docs hands are tied when you are in a study. Must follow protocol. I don't know. But, when Myrna's liver tumors were spreading -- ON CHEMO -- you need to switch to another weapon. Her onc said, Let's wait and see (meaning wait 8 wks for next set of CTs). I was alarmed!!! Then 8 wks later -- same exact scenario! I was gently prodding, w/my UNPROFESSIONAL advice. Paul was trying to stifle me. Myrna went downhill from there on. And now she is gone. And my heart is broken. So, I do offer my UNPROFESSIONAL opinion a lot, for whatever it's worth. DO NOT WAIT AND SEE. DO NOT KEEP AN EYE ON IT. MOVE... with prudence.

Sent w/love and genuine caring, BE WELL. Be actively involved in your own wellness -- that's my motto.
Andi

Thanks Andi....I am going to do the blood test today. I will push for answers! Sometimes we need nudging and sometimes we need a shove.
:)
I will let you know the results.
Thank YOU!

My liver story started this past June. My situation is totally different, because my liver failure was due to graft verses host disease from the bone marrow transplant. This is an extreme case, but I'll tell it because I think it's important to know what can happen. No one told me that chemo could cause leukemia, but I did read it some where on the internet long before being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. I think everyone should be told that one!!! Anyway...One day, I noticed that I was tanner than usual. Since I don't lay out in the sun and haven't for years, this was weird, but I put it in the back of my mind really quickly. My next blood test showed a rise in my liver enzymes and bilirubin. Since my lab work is done every week and I take an awful lot of medication that could have caused the rise, we did the watch and wait. I got a cold and a fever. Spend 2 days in the hospital. By the next week, the numbers were too high and a big concern. I was put back in the hospital and given a liver biopsy that came back inconclusive. By this time, my eyes were yellow and my tan was even darker. My bm's had changed color (sorry to tell you that, but it is an important sign to watch for). I had a CAT, MRI, sonogram and another biopsy. I left the hospital to attend my son's graduation then checked myself back in when I realized my eyes were glowing and my skin looked like Frankenstein (green). I was then treated with ATG/horse serum that was given every other day for six treatments. My numbers responded ever so slightly, but they sent me home to see what would happen. Thank God I responded because a liver transplant is pretty much out of the question for me, and this was my best chance at recovery. My numbers are back to normal and my skin/eyes are normal colors again. Tylenol can effect your liver numbers. So if there is something seriously wrong, look for signs of pain in the right lower area under the ribs and a change in bm/urine and skin color. I now take Milk Thistle ( with my doctor's approval). Many people swear by it and I do too...

Milk thistle
 

Maryann, Thanks for all that important stuff to watch out for. We must all learn from one another's experiences. So sorry, you went through what you did. But, wow, you are a STRONG Soul! Can't mess w/you.

What does milk thistle do?
ANDI

A word from my experience with liver enzymes (bilirubin to be exact) - I will know more on Friday when I see my onc... but I had a 1/10th of a degree higher than normal bilirubin level 3 weeks ago. I worried a little, but the doc didn't. He wanted to re-run the bloodwork, so I won't know until Friday what the result is... HOWEVER, we have learned in the meantime that I have been exposed to carbon monoxide for going on a month in our new house (a small leak at the dryer connection) and that I had mild CM poisoning. What a relief to learn that my increasing fatigue and general malaise, lethargy and non-descript flu-ish symptoms were not from Tykerb/Xeloda... They were from CM poisoning!! OMG. So now we are assuming as well that the liver enzymes were up because my liver was trying to detox the CM from my body. I have felt SIGNIFICANTLY better in the 10 days since they sealed the leak. But, liver enzymes can go up due to toxins in the body and not always because of cancer...

Omg, Brenda!
 

Please tell us how you discovered the leak? And the CM poisoning...!!

ANDI

Andi - I posted this in another thread, but I'll repeat it here again for you...
Milk thistle is a supplement supposed to help in cleansing the liver. I have taken it in the past, but when I had the bone marrow transplant, I had to stop all supplements. Since the liver failure, I have taken it religiously. Did it help?? who knows and who cares - I am better!

"Milk thistle ( Silybum marianum ) has been used since Greco-Roman times as an herbal remedy for a variety of ailments, particularly liver problems. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries physicians in the United States used milk thistle seeds to relieve congestion of the liver, spleen, and kidneys. Today, several scientific studies suggest that active substances in milk thistle (particularly silymarin) protect the liver from damage caused by viruses, toxins, alcohol, and certain drugs such as acetaminophen (aka - Tylenol) (a common over the counter medication used for headaches and pain; acetaminophen, also called paracetamol, can cause liver damage if taken in large quantities or by people who drink alcohol regularly.)
Many professional herbalists recommend milk thistle extract for the prevention and/or treatment of various liver disorders including viral hepatitis, fatty liver associated with long term alcohol use, and liver damage from drugs and industrial toxins such as carbon tetrachloride."

Susan C.
 

Please don't forget to keep us posted! Thinking of you...

ANDI

My liver enzymes always run a little bit high during chemo. The issue seems to resolve itself when I am on a chemo break. My doctor does not become too alarmed, but does check to make sure it goes down during a chemo break. I sometimes take milk thistle, also.