Any Advice ...Please!!!!

Hello Everyone...
I am new to the board and Iamlooking for any and every bit of information that I can get. My 70 year old mother has just been diagnosed with Metastatic Carcinoma and after a petscan yesterday...there was no primary found. They said there was so many spots in her liver that there were too many to count. She is starting Chemotherapy next week: Taxol and Carboplaint coctail once every 3 weeks for 9 weeks, then they will do another CT scan to view the results. She is a very spiritual person and has a tremendous belief in God. My mother has suffered her whole life with Asthma and Emphysema and was recently diagnosed with Spinal Stenosis with means her spine is deteriorating..but through this she is still positive...beautiful spirit and an all around great person. The blood tests however, makes no sense to me. They said that her blood tests came back strong and really good but they detected markers in her blood that are related to Ovarian Cancer...she has a full hysterectomy over 20 years ago. My parents just lost everything to hurricane Katrina and we felt so helpless. They are staying at my brothers house and she went to another doctor in another town to check op a hernia in her stomach and that is where the doctor noticed that her liver had spots...My mother averages 10 doctors visits a month and has had every test known to man and about 1 surgery a year and I am floored as to why this was never detected. I am trying to be as strong as she is about this, but it is so hard living with the unknown. I live in Alaska and my whole family is down south so I really feel disconnected with everything. I am just needing one story of hope from someone who has beat the odds with the same liver cancer that has lived past the 6 month to a year prognosis...this can give me some hope that she can come through this. Thank you for letting me ramble on...everyone on here seems to have great strength and it is nice to know that there are people who we can lean on during this fight through life! God bless each and everyone of you...

Sandra:
I am sorry to hear about your mother. I was diaginosed with breast cancer in 2003 I went through chemo and radiation a year later it had spread to my liver, I did chemo and herceptin and I have been in remission for little over a year. Nothing showed on my scans the last two times, I have blood test done every four weeks to check tumor markers. My doctor stopped my chemo after six treatments because no cancer was found I still go weekly for herceptin infusion. I think I have a great attitude and will not let this cancer beat me. I have changed what I eat I get lots of excersise and I read everything about my cancer that I can find. I love reading. I also try to give support to new patients at my infusion center I have met some wonderful people and we are support for each other. I have found people that have cancer know and understand all the feelings and ups and downs we go through better then anyone. I hope your mother can keep her good attitude and joins or finds someone that can relate to her cancer. Hope this helps you in some way, just hang in there and remember it's okay to have a pity party day every now and then.
Julia

hello julia,
it's been a year for me too and my doc found something in the same breast last week. i went for the mammogram and ultra sound and the radiologist couldn't tell if it was cancer or scar tissue. how did you find out yours had spread to your liver?
Kim

Hi Kim:

I started having a pain in my side, I didn't feel it all the time but, it was a sharp pain I described it as when you run and you get that stitch in your side that's kinda of what it felt like. My tumor markers didn't go up right away. I had my scans done and I had tumors all over my liver and a few small ones on the tip of my kidney. The pain was from the membrane on my liver stretching because of the tumors.I am having my scans done this week, I had my pet,cat and muga done I have my bone scan tomorrow. This is the most stressful time for me. I pretty much don't think about it until it's scan time which I get done every six months.
I have learned to ask lot's of questions and don't be afraid to complain about anything. It doesn't make us bad patients to complain. We know our body better then anyone. I will keep you in my prayers.
Julia- --- Message edited by CancerCompass staff: for personal protection, email address removed. Please review CancerCompass Member Guidelines at http://www.cancercompass.com/common/guidelines.html ----

Julia,

I will keep you in my prayers. Thanks for the advice.
Kim