Hello,
My mum was diagnosed with breast cancer triple negative for the 1st time in 03- 2013 and it was already in stage 4, mets to brain & lungs.
The doctors gave priority to the lesion in the brain, & did a brain surgery and had the lesion removed, she was then given keppra for some time along with focal radiation to get rid of the small spots that had appeared in the brain as well.
They got her started on Xeloda as well, as systemic chemotherapy a week on, and a week off.
We all were optimistic that things will go very smoothly, but suddenly she gets a seizure, we do the MRI and the doctors say they see more small spots in the brain, they advised us to do WBRT, which we did in 10 sittings, they said the tumors will start to shrink over time, my mum started to feel very weak.
suddenly again after a month she gets another seizure, we do an MRI and there is a 0.4cm lesion in the brain which effects her speaking abilities, and there is a lot of swelling as well.
My mum is not able to speak know, the doctors are saying that we should wait, to identify what caused the seizure, is it the swelling or the tumor, and shall we remove the tumor with focal radiation or another brain surgery.
While the breast tumor on the other side has grown a little bit larger, and they just did the CT for the breast yesterday, they probably would change the chemotherapy from Xeloda to another combination.
I was just confused what are the changes she will recover from the brain metastasis, and again which is a better option Brain surgery again or focal radiation, as per my belive ( a non medical profession ) I was suggesting for focal radiation and then some technique which could draw out all the swelling from the skull in the that specific area, rather than another surgery.
Am really confused and cant see the person who was my strength, teacher and everything I have, to suffer this much, I would really appreciate if anybody could help me over this, and again if there are any other n
Reply # - September 15, 2013, 10:00 AM
Reply To: Breast Cancer Triple Negative stage 4. Help in making
I'm very sorry about the situation she's facing. Unfortunately, her situation sounds like one in which nobody who is just involved online by hearing a thumbnail sketch could provide any meaningful insight. This is a very unique situation that requires careful judgment, not a stock answer from someone who has access to only a minority of the true depth of her case.
There is nothing miraculous, no new cures to suggest here, I'm sorry to say. Right now, I think the best judgment you're likely to get is from the neurosurgeon +/- neurologist, as well as radiation oncologist who are directly involved in her care. The fact that these are both viable options illustrates that either would be considered a reasonable choice, so as people not involved in the nuances of her case, we couldn't say which would be preferable for her specific situation.
I'm sorry we can't offer more insight right now. Good luck.
-Dr. West