Metastatic Breast Cancer Symptoms - Fever and severe bloating

Rustysmom

My sister, who was diagnosed denovo with Metastatic Breast Cancer in 2012 has run thru most all tiers of treatment, and has now had two rounds of chemo. She has mets to the bone which recently spread to her liver. She developed a fever a couple weeks ago, and severe abdominal bloating, and her onc has stopped chemo until she is better able to tolerate it. She is scheduled to have a PET scan in a few days Has anyone else experienced anything similar? A scan about a year ago showed a small build up of Ascites, but the doctor didn't seem concerned at the time. Could this be that? I'm sick with worry.

Bug

Rustysmom, I don't have an answer for you but wanted to tell you that I'm very sorry your sister is having to go through this. Very best wishes to her. Please let us know how things go.

MarcieB

Of course you are worried, this is heavy stuff. I really don't know if this will help, but I am wondering if your sister is being treated with AC? I had four AC treatments followed by Taxol, but when I was on AC I had a very hard time controlling my temperature. I could go from 97.5 to 100.01 in a minute flat - it was maddening. I had a fever more than not. Then I noticed it would get worse when I drank an iced drink? Our fridge has a filter system for the water that makes ice and it had been quite a while since we changed that filter. So we replaced it with a new one and the fevers stopped. I think maybe we are especially vulnerable to any microorganism that we might encounter when we are enduring those strong chemo drugs. Maybe take a close look at what your sister is ingesting? And I echo Bug - please let us know how she is doing.

Rustysmom

Thank you Bug and MarcieB. She isn't getting AC. I know what you mean about that combination of drugs, though, as I had the same protocol. I got to thinking that about a year ago a scan showed she had Malignant Ascites in her abdomen, but her onc wasn't too concerned at that point. Since she has since developed mets to the liver, I'm thinking that may be exacerbating the Ascites, and causing the severe bloating. From what I read, it can also cause fever. Her next scan should be able to confirm my suspicion. This is not good news, since this happens as the cancer becomes very advanced. I understand that they can drain off some of the fluid and give her some relief. I hope that is the case, because she is too weak for chemo right now and needs to muster up some strength if she is going to be able to resume any type of treatment. Did I mention how much I HATE this Fu**ing disease?