
Any advice please?
Hello everyone, i have lurked around here for quite sometime, but never posted before. I am just wondering if anyone can provide any advice? My lovely mom was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, a solitary met on the liver and evidence of disease in 3 out of 21 lymph nodes back in feb 2019. She had a bowel resection which went really well, then chemo followed by a liver resection in October 2019. She had mop up chemo that finished in feb 2020, then scans showed 3 lesions on the liver. They told us this was because the liver resection had been done via keyhole and they had missed the tumours and taken away healthy portions of the liver. She was considered for NAR but it was right as covid took hold, they told us the lesions were too small and they put her on low dose capox holding chemo “in light of the covid pandemic” - she stayed on this until September 2020. We wonder whether this was more a second choice option because of coronavirus rather than she suddenly became unsuitable, as it was a very sudden change of plan.
She had a further liver resection (open surgery) in October 2020 but one of the tumours extended right to the margins. Further scans showed lesions in the same margin and another area and she had a further liver resection in September 2021.
Scans at the beginning of 2022 showed another recurrence of lesions, 3 I think and they put her on a different chemo that meant she lost her hair. She also had treatment delayed as she had a blood clot caused by her picc line, plus another picc line fell out. She eventually restarted chemo and had scans done in April. She was due to have her last cycle of chemo last Monday 6th June. She saw her oncologist first who said the cancer had spread, there were more lesions on the liver plus some around the lining of the stomach (I assume that’s the peritoneum?) He said the cancer had adapted to the chemo and become aggressive and the only option now is trials if available (which she has agreed to) and lonsurf. The last cycle of chemo didn’t go ahead as it was pointless.
My mom left the room and didn’t want to know prognosis, but she allowed my sister to ask, he didn’t want to commit but said months without treatment, with lonsurf (if she tolerates it) and it works it may contain it for 6/8/10 months, but it’s difficult to say.
I have done so much reading over this last week and I feel bamboozled, because really is that it? Other than having no hair she’s ok, she’s 66 but not an old 66, has managed really well since diagnosis and people always comment how well she looks. I’ve read about second opinions, other treatments such as operations on peritoneum mets, avastin etc but I just don’t know where to start? Does anyone have any advice, what to do, what to ask etc as I want to ensure we have exhausted everything that may possibly be out there. She isnt due to start lonsurf until a week on Friday which seems a long time
Thankyou for reading