What size was your tumor?

CessnaFlyer
CessnaFlyer Member Posts: 110
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
In another topic, a couple of posts discussed tumor size, and that got me wondering what size tumors the rest of the people in the group had, and how much colon was removed. I’m stage IIA and the size of my tumor was 8.5 x 7.5 x 2.5 cm. The surgeon said it was the size of an orange. They took 20 cm of the ascending colon. Did your doctor tell you that larger tumors reduced your chances of survival? I’ve been told that in colon cancer size doesn’t matter, but I’m not sure if that is correct.
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Comments

  • lizzydavis
    lizzydavis Member Posts: 893
    I never had a tumor.
    Two years ago I had my first routine colonoscopy. A malignant polyp was found and removed. For two years, I had sigmoidoscopies every 3 months - all good. On March 10, 2009, the colorectal surgeon felt something he could not identify. He said it could be scar tissue or something else. He recommended outpatient surgery. I had outpatient surgery (transanal excision of a rectal lesion) on March 20, 2009. A cancerous lymph node was found behind the benign scar tissue. On May 15, 2009, I had a COLON RESECTION. Six inches was removed and another positive lymph node was found out of 16. Staging is Stage III due to the lymph node.

    NO Tumors.
  • dianetavegia
    dianetavegia Member Posts: 1,942 Member
    Less than 2 cm and I was
    Less than 2 cm and I was Stage III.
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member
    Good question Cessna
    I'm glad you asked this question because I know I have been confused about all of this. I was told only that I had stage II CC and when people state they had Stage II A or B etc I become confused.So, ok, here is my info and if someone can help interpret I'd be grateful.

    Path Staging: Primary Tumor pT3 a/b (what does this mean, II a or II b?)

    Original question you asked: tumor size 7.5 x 4.6 x 1.4 cm
    Specimen length 42 cm

    Reading this path report for the umpteenth time I just now noticed that I had a separate benign tubular adenoma of the ileocecal valve. Never noticed that before.My brain is mush....;(

    -Pat
  • CessnaFlyer
    CessnaFlyer Member Posts: 110
    Jaylo969 said:

    Good question Cessna
    I'm glad you asked this question because I know I have been confused about all of this. I was told only that I had stage II CC and when people state they had Stage II A or B etc I become confused.So, ok, here is my info and if someone can help interpret I'd be grateful.

    Path Staging: Primary Tumor pT3 a/b (what does this mean, II a or II b?)

    Original question you asked: tumor size 7.5 x 4.6 x 1.4 cm
    Specimen length 42 cm

    Reading this path report for the umpteenth time I just now noticed that I had a separate benign tubular adenoma of the ileocecal valve. Never noticed that before.My brain is mush....;(

    -Pat

    “Path Staging: Primary Tumor pT3 a/b (what does this mean, II a
    Pat, the T in T3 describes how far the tumor has grown into the wall of the intestine and whether is has grown into nearby areas. T3 means the tumor has grown trough the muscularis propria and into the outermost layers of the colon, but not through them. It has not reached any nearby organs or tissues. Stage IIC is if you have T4b, N0, MO in the path report, which means the cancer has grown through the wall of the colon and is attached to or has grown into other nearby tissues or organs. It has not yet spread to the nearby lymph nodes or distant sites. It's a little confusing that they staged you at IIC, since you had a T3 and not a T4. Perhaps they gave you the IIC because of the benign tubular adenoma of the ileocecal valve. As for stage IIB, that means the tumor has grown through the wall of the colon and is attached to or has grown into other nearby tissues or organs, but it has not yet spread to the nearby lymph nodes or distant sites.
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member

    “Path Staging: Primary Tumor pT3 a/b (what does this mean, II a
    Pat, the T in T3 describes how far the tumor has grown into the wall of the intestine and whether is has grown into nearby areas. T3 means the tumor has grown trough the muscularis propria and into the outermost layers of the colon, but not through them. It has not reached any nearby organs or tissues. Stage IIC is if you have T4b, N0, MO in the path report, which means the cancer has grown through the wall of the colon and is attached to or has grown into other nearby tissues or organs. It has not yet spread to the nearby lymph nodes or distant sites. It's a little confusing that they staged you at IIC, since you had a T3 and not a T4. Perhaps they gave you the IIC because of the benign tubular adenoma of the ileocecal valve. As for stage IIB, that means the tumor has grown through the wall of the colon and is attached to or has grown into other nearby tissues or organs, but it has not yet spread to the nearby lymph nodes or distant sites.

    my mushy brain
    isn't functioning today Cessna. Are you saying that I am stage IIa or Stage IIc according to my report?

    Primary tumor:pT3 a/b
    Regional Lymph nodes:pN0( 26 nodes negative)
    Distant Metastases:pMX

    Tumor extends through the full thickness of the bowel wall into the pericolic fat.

    I'm curious plus a touch paranoid...is this something my doctors should have made clear to me in layman's terms or is it much ado over nothing? I guess I still think I am doing the right thing by having the chemo.

    -Pat
  • dianetavegia
    dianetavegia Member Posts: 1,942 Member
    Here's a diagram that shows
    Here's a diagram that shows the layers and the fat.

    Click for diagram
  • CessnaFlyer
    CessnaFlyer Member Posts: 110
    Jaylo969 said:

    my mushy brain
    isn't functioning today Cessna. Are you saying that I am stage IIa or Stage IIc according to my report?

    Primary tumor:pT3 a/b
    Regional Lymph nodes:pN0( 26 nodes negative)
    Distant Metastases:pMX

    Tumor extends through the full thickness of the bowel wall into the pericolic fat.

    I'm curious plus a touch paranoid...is this something my doctors should have made clear to me in layman's terms or is it much ado over nothing? I guess I still think I am doing the right thing by having the chemo.

    -Pat


  • CessnaFlyer
    CessnaFlyer Member Posts: 110
    Jaylo969 said:

    my mushy brain
    isn't functioning today Cessna. Are you saying that I am stage IIa or Stage IIc according to my report?

    Primary tumor:pT3 a/b
    Regional Lymph nodes:pN0( 26 nodes negative)
    Distant Metastases:pMX

    Tumor extends through the full thickness of the bowel wall into the pericolic fat.

    I'm curious plus a touch paranoid...is this something my doctors should have made clear to me in layman's terms or is it much ado over nothing? I guess I still think I am doing the right thing by having the chemo.

    -Pat


  • CessnaFlyer
    CessnaFlyer Member Posts: 110
    Jaylo969 said:

    my mushy brain
    isn't functioning today Cessna. Are you saying that I am stage IIa or Stage IIc according to my report?

    Primary tumor:pT3 a/b
    Regional Lymph nodes:pN0( 26 nodes negative)
    Distant Metastases:pMX

    Tumor extends through the full thickness of the bowel wall into the pericolic fat.

    I'm curious plus a touch paranoid...is this something my doctors should have made clear to me in layman's terms or is it much ado over nothing? I guess I still think I am doing the right thing by having the chemo.

    -Pat

    You should ask your doctor for clarification
    Pat, there is a difference between IIA and IIC, in terms of 5-year survival. I’m of course not a doctor and you need to speak to your doctor for clarification. I'm not familiar with a primary tumor classification of PT3 a/b. As far as I know there is only a T3, but there is a T4a and T4b staging. BTW, I also had 26 nodes negative, which is very good. The MX simply means they don't have enough info.
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member

    Here's a diagram that shows
    Here's a diagram that shows the layers and the fat.

    Click for diagram

    Size of tumor does not necessarily determine stage;
    consideration is also given to extent of the cancer's spread beyond the inside of the colon or rectum. Staging usually determines treatment; location of main growth was factor in my Tx. I thought it was the best spot in the world, at the end of my ****:"Just cut it out and thats that!" I smilingly told the surgeon when we first met; he was not laughing. It was the worst location as there would not be enough healthy me at "the margins"; once tumor was removed, no way to reconnect therefore permanent colostomy. I forget its size but tumor was supposedly huge, even tho reduced by preop chemo and rad but behind it, once I was cut open, surgeon found growth going in opposite direction that no one knew about(?). Anyway. hopefully he got it all and current chemo ensures that......Got kinda chilly here today.....; went out for walks anyway......steve
  • greybeard64
    greybeard64 Member Posts: 254
    I read all these and so many other posts on here and I think to myself, how can you not know these things (the YOU of course meaning ME). I dont remember the size of the tumor, or for that matter how much of me was removed. I have a general idea but...I also dont remember the types of chemo treatments I got by name, I remember them by side the side effects.I am going to go through my med reports as I am feeling rather stupid now.I either have an amazing ability to block/forget things or I suffer from a severe case of "mush brain" as Jaylo called it, lol.
    grey
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member

    I read all these and so many other posts on here and I think to myself, how can you not know these things (the YOU of course meaning ME). I dont remember the size of the tumor, or for that matter how much of me was removed. I have a general idea but...I also dont remember the types of chemo treatments I got by name, I remember them by side the side effects.I am going to go through my med reports as I am feeling rather stupid now.I either have an amazing ability to block/forget things or I suffer from a severe case of "mush brain" as Jaylo called it, lol.
    grey

    Speaking for myself, I was so terrified of colostomy.....
    (any operation really; just being in a hospital with all those germs,etc)I told surgeon just do it, don't need to tell me what you're gonna do, just keep me alive!!He did explain,both in words and by sketching diagram but my head was spinning and my stomach achurning. Knowing my chemo names and type of rad was one thing, the surgery and what/how much removed I'll find out eventually (still have stuff from hosp I haven't been able to read).....Important thing to me is that I'm here.....steve
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member

    I read all these and so many other posts on here and I think to myself, how can you not know these things (the YOU of course meaning ME). I dont remember the size of the tumor, or for that matter how much of me was removed. I have a general idea but...I also dont remember the types of chemo treatments I got by name, I remember them by side the side effects.I am going to go through my med reports as I am feeling rather stupid now.I either have an amazing ability to block/forget things or I suffer from a severe case of "mush brain" as Jaylo called it, lol.
    grey

    Speaking for myself, I was so terrified of colostomy.....
    I was so scared, I repeated myself.....steve
  • Nana b
    Nana b Member Posts: 3,030 Member
    coloCan said:

    Speaking for myself, I was so terrified of colostomy.....
    I was so scared, I repeated myself.....steve

    Stage 4
    November 2008 About the size of a golf ball. 6 inches of up upper colon removed, about 7 about 14 lymph nodes had cancer. Surgery then then 3 months of Folfox chemo. Learned that it metatasis to the liver. Added Avastin to the cocktail. Finished 3 months of chemo, rested for 6 weeks then Liver Resection 60%. Waited two months then 3 more months of chemo, Folfox. NED since August.
  • RickMurtagh
    RickMurtagh Member Posts: 587 Member
    I don't recall the size
    I blame chemo brain for not knowing now, but I have pics of them to share. My daughter won't even touch my iPod (that is where I store them). Cancer certainly is ugly, in just about every way imaginable.
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    tumor
    My rectal tumor was located just 3 cm above the anal sphincter muscle. The size was 3cm x 2 cm, but had grown completely through the bowel wall and was sticking out the other side. That, apparently, makes it more serious. Since my cancer was already stage IV right at diagnosis, I first had systemic chemo for 6 months before any focus was even put on the rectal tumor. Although it was still there after all that chemo, it shrunk some and all my symptoms of bleeding and pain were then gone. At that point, I had six weeks of radiation on the rectal tumor. I had a complete response- the follow up ultrasound/sigmoidoscopy showed nothing- not even any scar tissue & the biopsy showed negative for cancer. I made a decision with my doctor at that point that most people don't make- I did not have the colorectal resection surgery. I went on to have a liver resection and then lots more chemo. The PET/CT scan I just had in February showed that I've now had a recurrence in my rectum. Actually, I could have had a recurrence there even if I had the surgery, so I am actually glad that I went without having it the past 2-1/2 years. I'm now having more chemo because I've not only had the rectal recurrence, but have also had a recurrence in my already resected liver of 4 new tumors, plus growth in my lungs. I'm still feeling good & have no pain, so I'll just see what happens now with chemo.

    Lisa
  • Aud
    Aud Member Posts: 479 Member
    Tumor size
    I believe my tumor was 1.7 to 1.8 cm. not sure but close enough. As someone else said on this thread, tumor size does not necessarily mean it hasn't spread to lymph nodes. The tumor was T2, had gone into the muscle but not through the muscle wall. Because I had transanal excision of rectal tumor (just above the dentate line), there was no way to actually examine the lymph nodes. Ultrasound and PET scan show probably no lymph node involvement. So there is some anxiety as to whether radiation/oral chemo took care of anything that may have been lingering, and my surgeon felt that there were probably some cancer cells left after surgery. I had positive margins (lateral to the tumor) the first surgery, then a transanal re-excision with clear margins the second time, although those clear margins are questionable to me since my surgeon could only go so far to obtain margins without damaging the anal sphincter.
    Rectal cancer has a higher incidence of recurrence than colon cancer. I try not to think about it too much; just keep my appointments and my hopes up.
    (I really should plan that vacation though!)
    Aud
  • CessnaFlyer
    CessnaFlyer Member Posts: 110
    lisa42 said:

    tumor
    My rectal tumor was located just 3 cm above the anal sphincter muscle. The size was 3cm x 2 cm, but had grown completely through the bowel wall and was sticking out the other side. That, apparently, makes it more serious. Since my cancer was already stage IV right at diagnosis, I first had systemic chemo for 6 months before any focus was even put on the rectal tumor. Although it was still there after all that chemo, it shrunk some and all my symptoms of bleeding and pain were then gone. At that point, I had six weeks of radiation on the rectal tumor. I had a complete response- the follow up ultrasound/sigmoidoscopy showed nothing- not even any scar tissue & the biopsy showed negative for cancer. I made a decision with my doctor at that point that most people don't make- I did not have the colorectal resection surgery. I went on to have a liver resection and then lots more chemo. The PET/CT scan I just had in February showed that I've now had a recurrence in my rectum. Actually, I could have had a recurrence there even if I had the surgery, so I am actually glad that I went without having it the past 2-1/2 years. I'm now having more chemo because I've not only had the rectal recurrence, but have also had a recurrence in my already resected liver of 4 new tumors, plus growth in my lungs. I'm still feeling good & have no pain, so I'll just see what happens now with chemo.

    Lisa

    I'm very proud of all of you.
    It's amazing what we all go through. I'm very impressed of how so many of you are fighting the good fight and keeping a positive attitude. I've read many stories here about how people have turned this thing around and have gone on to live a long, happy life. I'm very proud of all of you.
  • jen58
    jen58 Member Posts: 34
    husband's tumors
    my husband had 2 tumors -- 1 in the cecum and one at the splenic flexure -- the cecum was 5 cm (but 2.5 cm was inflammation) and staged IIIb (2 lymph nodes) and the splenic flexure was 2.5 cm but I believe Ia.

    He had his entire colon removed (total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis).
  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member
    does size REALLY matter?! :)
    I don't remember the size of my initial tumor that blocked almost all of my colon, but I do remember the size of the tumor from my 2nd recurrence! They said it was the size of a soccer ball! YEP! Would have come in handy if i'd a been preggo at the same time, it could have given the kid something to do when bored! :) Needless to say, I LOOKED pregnant at the time!
    mary