I did it again and didnt realise this was a secondaries thread.I have removed my irrelevant postxx
Hi Jane
about the average expectancy for those with mets - does it break the figure down according to where the mets are? Mine are in lymph, bones and liver - and i’m sure it must differ according to what is where, so to speak? Jayne
No the Susan Love figures don’t break down re type of mets. And yes you’re right of course…so much depends on what, where and response to treatments.
Jane
JaneRA - I’ve actually got the latest edition of Dr Susan Love’s book but just hadn’t thought to look in there so have just had a peep at it.
It still says that the average survival from time of appearance of the metastasis is between two and three and a half years according to most studies. Apparently 22% of patients with mets will live for 5 years, about 10% live with mets for more than 10 years and between 2% and 3% are cured.
She does stress that these are averages and there will always be women above average and goes on to quote how one woman had mets throughout her bones, had hormone treatment and was well 24 years later although they have no idea why.
Jayne - the figure being referred to isn’t broken down according to where the mets are. Dr Love goes on to state that the main factors to predicting who will live a long time tend to be (she states these are not absolute) the length of time between original diagnosis and the metastasis; whether the tumour is hormone-sensitive or not and how many places it has metastised to. She also says that mets to the bone or the skin is less serious than mets to the lung or liver.
Just a stat quoted by my onc a few years ago…14% of women with bone mets never get other organ spread…I realise they don’t live happily ever after…but interesting stat.
Belinda - I’ll settle for being in that 14% !! And I did get hold of Helen re genetics on private message so thanks.
My surgeon and oncologist have both said they feel bone mets are ’ easier ’ than liver and lung to control so I’m going along with them !
Like JaneRA says tho - there are no conclusive figures when on herceptin, which I am. They must be starting to accumulate some disease breakthrough figures soon tho wouldn’t ya think. Just checking on the website tonight looking to book a cruise (I would not have found them remotely attractive before all this!), but not the thought of too much uncomfortable travel, and being in countries where the medicine is not quite what we’re used to (a bit of Joyce Grenfell there!) is a tad unsettling.