Breast Cancer to Bone Mets to Liver Mets to Brain Mets

[oceanblue]

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in '99. She had a lump on her chest wall. She had a lumpectomy preformed. She received 4 cycles of chemo (Taxol) every 15 days and radiation therapy for 6 weeks.  After this treatment she was NED for 2 years.  Then on Nov. 2001 she was diagnosed with IBC.  From then until this day she is still undergoing treatment.  Her onc. switched her from Tamoxifen to Femara. Then started her on Lupron injections.  Stopped Femara and Lupron and tried Falsodex.

ER/PR+
Nov. 01 Adriamycin and Taxol.
Jan. 02 Taxol Only
April 02 Port-a-cath Inserted
April 02 and Taxotere and Mitoxantrone
May 02 Aredia for bone mets
June 02 Stopped Chemo
Sept. 02 Fluorouracil cream for skin mets
Sept. 02 Halotestin Pills
Nov. 02 Herceptin Only
March 03 Navelbine + Herceptin
April 03 Xeloda chemo pills
April 03 Gemzar + Herceptin
May 03 Low Dose Radiation for skin mets for 1 month
July 03 Cytoxan + Herceptin
Oct. 03 Carboplatin + Herceptin
Nov. 03 Iressa chemo pills

My mother is currently on Iressa chemo pills, Aredia Monthly, Herceptin biweekly, Miltex cream for skin mets
Recently we found out that she has 2 spots on her liver and 1 spot in her brain.
On Jan 5th she will undergo Fractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy for the brain tumor.  And later on in Jan. she will have Stereotactic radiofrequency ablation for the 2 spots on her liver.

My question: What is the most effective treatment of mets to the brain?  If after she has the FSR done and it only shrinks the tumor in her brain  and grows back, then what?

Thank You.

[CCF-RN,MSN-JS]

Dear oceanblue, The goals of treatment of metastatic breast cancer are to control the disease and symptoms.  Metastasis to the brain can be treated with surgery or more often with radiation therapy. Chemotherapy is not used to treat the brain metastasis because, many of the chemotherapy drugs that are used to treat breast cancer cannot cross the body's blood-brain barrier and so cannot get to the tumor in the brain to treat the cancer.  Stereotactic radiation therapy is targeted directly to the specific brain lesion.  What is hoped is that all of the tumor cells are killed with the targeted radiation therapy.  What could be done if this was not effective  would depend on such things as location of tumor, and type and dose of the prior radiation.

[KeepOnSwimming]

My mom also has IBC and last week we found out she has 8 metastisized brain tumors (small). We just started whole brain radiation - is there any other options we can take? It is only in her brain and we heard Stereotactic radiofrequency ablation  might be an option. Are there any clinical studies for that that we may be eligible for - or even to begin treatment?
Thanks.

[Luralorene]

I don't know the specifics of my friend's breast cancer now found in the brain but she just (today) got a port put into her skull and received her 1st chemo while in surgery. I'm sorry I don't know the type of chemo either.

I am going to email her about the stereotactic radiofrequency abaltion. It is in her liver and bones too.

I just finished chemo and am doing radiation for breast cancer. It is a little hard not to get scared.

[hank1966]

A related discussion, liver mets was started.

[chatty65]

A related discussion, how are breast mets found was started.