Metastic Cancer

Overview

Metastatic cancer is a cancer that spreads from the first cancer source to other areas in the body. All types of cancer are capable of being classified as metastatic cancer. For example, if someone has lung cancer and the cancer in the lungs is spread through the blood stream into other areas of the body, whatever cancer is developed as a result is metastatic cancer. If cancer appears in the stomach or the brain as a result of the lung cancer, the stomach cancer and brain cancer are categorized as metastatic cancer. The most common parts for metastasis include the bones, lungs, liver and the brain.

Types

There are a number of types of cancers and is capable of beginning in any tissue or organ in the entire body. There are primary types of cancer and secondary types of cancer. Primary cancer is the original tumor that originates in the body and secondary cancer is any cancer that spreads to other organs and tissues in the body.

Symptoms

Some people who have metastatic cancer will not experience any symptoms and the metastases have to be found through x-rays and other scans of the body. There are symptoms of metastatic cancer that can occur, based on the location of the metastasis and the size of the cancer. For example, when metastatic cancer appears in the bones, the result is usually bone pain and degeneration. Metastatic cancer in the liver may appear as yellowing of the skin or jaundice and abdominal swelling.

Symptoms of metastatic cancer include:

• Coughing
• Coughing up Blood (Hemoptysis)
• Pain in the Chest and Back
• Shortness of Breath

With metastatic cancer, patients will have symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss and decreased appetite.

Causes/Risk Factors

Metastatic cancer has only one cause. Metastatic tumors always begin as cancer cells that are present in another body part and then these cells travel through the blood stream and attach themselves to other organs and tissues in order to create new cancerous growths.

Tests/Diagnosis

Most people will be aware that there is a primary cancer in their body by the time the metastatic cancer is found and physicians will regularly perform diagnostic tests to make sure that the cancer is not spreading. Sometimes metastatic cancer is detected and assumed to be the primary source of the cancer until the primary source is actually found. Some of the common tests that diagnose metastatic cancers are x-rays, CT scans and MRI scans.

Treatment

There are a number of treatments that you can use in order to combat metastatic cancer. Some of these treatment options include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, biological therapy, surgery, hormone therapy, cryosurgery or a combination of a number of the treatments. Choosing the right treatment for your metastatic cancer typically depends on the location of the cancer, the type of the cancer and growth. Chemotherapy is often the treatment of choice and is given as palliative therapy that helps to prolong survival and decrease symptoms. In rare instances, particularly with testicular cancer metastatic to the lungs, chemotherapy may be curative. Surgical treatment of cancer metastatic to the lungs may also rarely be curative.