Pulmonary metastases
Metastases also occur relatively frequently in the lungs. Symptoms that may indicate the presence of metastases in the lungs include shortness of breath, chronic coughing and rapid fatigue. In most cases, these symptoms tend to be mild, as the tumour must have attacked a great deal of lung tissue before it becomes noticeable in this way. Whether lung metastases are present is usually determined by X-rays. In order to find out the exact location of metastases, a certain form of computer tomography (thin-film spiral CT) or an endoscopy of the respiratory tract (bronchoscopy) may also be useful.
Liver metastases
The third most common place for metastases is the liver. They often make themselves felt there late and insidiously. The symptoms are caused by the tumour increasingly taking up space and destroying healthy, functioning liver tissue.
The liver can compensate for this until a late stage. Loss of appetite, weight loss, disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract or fever can be possible symptoms, but also occur frequently in breast cancer if there are no liver metastases. The liver is surrounded by a solid capsule, so a tumour that is expanding can cause tension in this capsule, which in turn causes pain in the right upper abdomen.
If the bile ducts are constricted or blocked by daughter tumours, jaundice (icterus) can occur, which, as the name suggests, is first noticed by a slight yellowing of the eyeballs. Dysfunctions of the liver can often be detected by a blood test. An ultrasound examination, computer tomography or magnetic resonance imaging can determine whether metastases are responsible for such a functional disorder.
