Expert: Claes-Gustaf Nordquist, M.D. - 10/29/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hi there,
one of my dearest friend was diagnosed metastatic breast cancer 2 years ago .at the time of diagnosis she had bone mets ,lymph nodes and 2 in lungs which went away with the medication and radiation.recentry dr changed her medication cause previous one was not working well.she had spinal cord compression 2 1/2 months ago and she is not able to walk due to that.(had Radiation)just 2 weeks ago she had 2 same kind  of seizuers in which her left arm shaking her facial muscles changed .we found out that she has brain tumor from skull that grew and pressed on brain .she had adema too and she has a bump on her right side of the brain.she had radiation for a5 days.had little confusion in the begining but getting better now.i just wanted to know is whole brain radiation benificial for her and is it going to do more gud than harm and what are her chances of getting better shes also taking anti siezure medication.(has diabeties aslo0
Thanks

ANSWER: Yes the whole brain radiation is beneficial within the limits of what is possible to do - which unfortunately in this situation usually is not much. It will give her temporary relief of her brain related symptoms and extend her survival time to some extent but that is all. It can not cure her. Nothing can in this situation. Nor can it change the fact that this unfortunately will kill her. Probably her remaining life span can now be measured in months. I'm sorry I have nothing better to tell you!



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---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hello again,
Thanks for the quick response although its heart breaking to know that she has few months lo live.but there is still some hope .....i have read online i know most of the stuff is not true but most people live  years after brain tumor is it true.i forgot to mention her age which is 64..
i will try to spend as much quality time with her as possible u take care and God bless u,,Thank you

Answer
This is NOT a brain tumor, it is a breast cancer that has invaded her brain. Furthermore the lifespan of primary brain tumor victims is correlated with the GRADE of these tumors (grade = how malignant they are). Low grade tumor patients (low malignancy) can live rather long periods. High grade tumor (high malignancy) victims do not live long at all. Thanks!



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