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Joan M · 03-27-2010, 03:31 PM

Patricia,

Don't worry about venting if it makes you feel better.

I haven't had mets to the liver but I had one to the lung, with a recurrence after a wedge resection. I had an RFA of the lung for the recurrent tumor.

After you're feeling better you might want to check out whether you can have radiofrequency ablation or cryoablation of the the liver mets if the chemo is not working or if it's causing you to have blood clots. RFA and cryoablation are done frequently in the liver, much more than in the lung.

I wouldn't leave any stone unturned, and it doesn't hurt to ask your onc. But keep in mind that many oncs don't care for these local procedures and prefer chemo. If you're interesting in finding out whether they might be plausible, you would need to speak directly to an interventional radiologist, which is the doctor who would do RFAs and cryoablations.

I'm sending you a lot of hugs and hoping you'll be feeling better soon.

Joan

03-27-2010, 03:31 PM	#15
Joan M Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,851	Re: how much more? Patricia, Don't worry about venting if it makes you feel better. I haven't had mets to the liver but I had one to the lung, with a recurrence after a wedge resection. I had an RFA of the lung for the recurrent tumor. After you're feeling better you might want to check out whether you can have radiofrequency ablation or cryoablation of the the liver mets if the chemo is not working or if it's causing you to have blood clots. RFA and cryoablation are done frequently in the liver, much more than in the lung. I wouldn't leave any stone unturned, and it doesn't hurt to ask your onc. But keep in mind that many oncs don't care for these local procedures and prefer chemo. If you're interesting in finding out whether they might be plausible, you would need to speak directly to an interventional radiologist, which is the doctor who would do RFAs and cryoablations. I'm sending you a lot of hugs and hoping you'll be feeling better soon. 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!!