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I am a survivor of MAJOR liver mets. Had HUGE tumors plus numerous small ones that covered over 1/2 my liver. They developed in 3 months time! Talk about scared (I thought my goose was cooked)... but I put my trust in my med onc and God.
At that time I asked my onc about a stem cell procedure. (He was one of the leading early researchers for transplants with breast cancer here at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.) After years of this research, he left this aspect and came back to treating patients with the new chemo and investigational drugs. He feels that this is now so much more effective (I am one walking, breathing result.)
My chances (with standard therapy) were given as "less than 50% to live out the year" - I was dx with the mets in January of 2001. He had a new trial to enroll me in and I did everything he said and had a COMPLETE response. I took Taxol, Navelbine and Herceptin for over 7 months weekly. Hard on me, but not as hard as a transplant and not as expensive, were the words of my med onc.
My outcome has helped blaze the trail for others who find themselves with very aggressive mets. The study was lead by a very prominant woman onc who I have met twice and she regards my case as "a poster child for Navelbine."
Herceptin every 3 weeks is enough to keep me NED for 19 months so far (just had clear brain MRI and abdom CT).
The only women I know in the Seattle area who now get transplants are ones with very low expectations like with inflammatory or other worse kinds of cancers. Liver mets can be dealt with in any number of ways very successfully now. I would think twice about the stem cell procedure.
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