Should we get Neck Ultrasounds??

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staceya
staceya Member Posts: 720
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Anyone having any routine neck ultrasounds to check for blockages, vessel weakness, aliens?
There have been a few threads about carotid rupture that has me thinking.....
Stacey

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  • jim and i
    jim and i Member Posts: 1,788 Member
    #2
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    Stacey, I never heard of
    Stacey, I never heard of anyone getting regular ultrasounds to check for vessel or artery blockage due to radiation. I have researched the rupture possibility and everything says it is very rare so I wouldn't want to get them. Just another test result to stress about in my book.

    Debbie
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #3
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    Aliens....No.
    No aliens....but I do have a skinny guy inside of my body....If I could get rid of the skinny guy, my healthy just the right weight guy would be fine.....

    But since the skinny guy is in me, I weigh more than I should.....little jerk.

    Best,
    John
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #4
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    Hi Stacy
    There is no routine check that I know of but it is something you can do if you want. I did it because I was radiated twice and have damage from the treatment that causes my blood pressure to rise and fall. My heart doctor told me not to worry about rupture, even in my case with all the rads it is a 1 in a million chance of it happing because there are so many other factors involved for the artery to rupture.

    Take care
    Hondo
  • denistd
    denistd Member Posts: 597
    #5
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    Hondo said:

    Hi Stacy
    There is no routine check that I know of but it is something you can do if you want. I did it because I was radiated twice and have damage from the treatment that causes my blood pressure to rise and fall. My heart doctor told me not to worry about rupture, even in my case with all the rads it is a 1 in a million chance of it happing because there are so many other factors involved for the artery to rupture.

    Take care
    Hondo

    Ultrasound check
    I had one last week, ultrasound of both carotid arteries, however, I had my left carotid cleaned out and plaque removed in 2008, was causing small blood clots. But doc said it does not hurt to do it if it is being done for the right reason.
  • DrMary
    DrMary Member Posts: 531 Member
    #6
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    The voice of pessimism
    Back when when the rupture subject came up again, I read a few medical journal articles. They seem to indicate that surgery done to repair weakened arteries due to radiation and dissection was not useful - the surgery was dangerous, and those that did survive had the same rate of rupture as those without the surgery.

    It did seem that they blamed the rupturing on abrasion - the radiation might have weakened the artery, but the lack of padding between the artery and neck muscles (after the lymph nodes are removed) seemed to cause the abrasion that led to thin walls and rupture. The suggestion was that new neck dissection practices would reduce the abrasion and therefore lower the risk.

    Still, it seems that checking for either blockages or severe ballooning would be a good idea. Doug's ENT doesn't seem concerned (despite the fact that Doug had uncontrolled bleeding during his tonsilectomy - they had to keep him under anesthesia for about 18 hours to get it to stop) but it seems like a good idea to ask your ENT next visit.
  • vsudd
    vsudd Member Posts: 52
    #7
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    Ultrasounds
    My husband's doctor had him take an ultrasound. It was because he had radiation in 2006 and then radiation pellets in 2010 on same side of neck. He said sometimes that causes hardening of that artery. He had the ultrasound and was fine. It seems to me like a good idea.

    valerie
  • staceya
    staceya Member Posts: 720
    #8
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    vsudd said:

    Ultrasounds
    My husband's doctor had him take an ultrasound. It was because he had radiation in 2006 and then radiation pellets in 2010 on same side of neck. He said sometimes that causes hardening of that artery. He had the ultrasound and was fine. It seems to me like a good idea.

    valerie

    Think I will go for an ultrasound...............
    I am going to go with the ultrasound, it is not too invasive, I have very high cholesterol, so I can also look for blockages AND vessel weaknesses...
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #9
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    staceya said:

    Think I will go for an ultrasound...............
    I am going to go with the ultrasound, it is not too invasive, I have very high cholesterol, so I can also look for blockages AND vessel weaknesses...

    Cholesterol
    Staceys I know you know this but you need to get that cholesterol level down less than 100. With it being high I agree it is a good idea to get checked.

    Wishing you well
    Hondo
  • staceya
    staceya Member Posts: 720
    #10
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    Hondo said:

    Cholesterol
    Staceys I know you know this but you need to get that cholesterol level down less than 100. With it being high I agree it is a good idea to get checked.

    Wishing you well
    Hondo

    100 may be a bit optimistic........................
    It was 240 when I was 88 pounds..now that I am back to my whopping 105 baseline I am now at 272, which I guess is good for bowling but not for cholesterol, actually my bowling score would be a good cholesterol level, I am sure it is WAY less than 100.
    My diet is as good as it can be, I am on, as many of us are, the "slippery" diet, which means I eat whatever slides down easily..
    I am not on any meds, and am concerned about side effects, but certainly do not want to have a stroke!
    Any thoughts from those on cholesterol lowering meds?
    Stacey
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #11
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    staceya said:

    100 may be a bit optimistic........................
    It was 240 when I was 88 pounds..now that I am back to my whopping 105 baseline I am now at 272, which I guess is good for bowling but not for cholesterol, actually my bowling score would be a good cholesterol level, I am sure it is WAY less than 100.
    My diet is as good as it can be, I am on, as many of us are, the "slippery" diet, which means I eat whatever slides down easily..
    I am not on any meds, and am concerned about side effects, but certainly do not want to have a stroke!
    Any thoughts from those on cholesterol lowering meds?
    Stacey

    cholesterol
    My heart doctor has me on a very low cholesterol level due to all the side effect of the rad treatment twice to the same area and blood pressure problems. This all because of damage to the Carotid Artery in my neck. When he did the ultrasound he found about 40% blockage in the right side where I did most of my treatment. But he was not concerned about it as long as my cholesterol levels stay low.

    Also I am not on any cholesterol meds I do it all through diet, a lot of times diet can change it but others times it is from your ancestors.

    Wishing you the best my friend
    Hondo
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member
    #12
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    staceya said:

    100 may be a bit optimistic........................
    It was 240 when I was 88 pounds..now that I am back to my whopping 105 baseline I am now at 272, which I guess is good for bowling but not for cholesterol, actually my bowling score would be a good cholesterol level, I am sure it is WAY less than 100.
    My diet is as good as it can be, I am on, as many of us are, the "slippery" diet, which means I eat whatever slides down easily..
    I am not on any meds, and am concerned about side effects, but certainly do not want to have a stroke!
    Any thoughts from those on cholesterol lowering meds?
    Stacey

    Stacey, I'm struggling with the cholesterol issue.
    My cholesterol level is very high - actually only the bad cholesterol reading is off, and the good cholesterol reading is excellent. (Probably due to all the olive oil I now eat...) My blood pressure is quite low, and my inflammation levels are zero (I forget what that reading is called, but it is important too.) My weight is low-normal. Both my parents are in their eighties, and have had the same high cholesterol levels all their lives. So, this is a hereditary thing. Parents are currently not taking cholesterol lowering meds. Not sure why, but I did read an article that said if you are over 65, high cholesterol levels correllate with a longer life span, not a shorter one.

    Anyway, I am not comfortable taking the daily cholesterol-lowering drugs. I read that cholesterol is actually a repair molecule, and I'm wondering if it would play any helpful role for the arteries damaged by radiation. Any ideas, anyone?

    I'm not sure I buy fully into this idea that, absent any other risk factors, I must force my cholesterol down to what would be an abnormally low level for me. I come from a very long-lived line of hardy New Englanders, and I am curious about the role that cholesterol played in that.

    Deb
  • staceya
    staceya Member Posts: 720
    #13
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    D Lewis said:

    Stacey, I'm struggling with the cholesterol issue.
    My cholesterol level is very high - actually only the bad cholesterol reading is off, and the good cholesterol reading is excellent. (Probably due to all the olive oil I now eat...) My blood pressure is quite low, and my inflammation levels are zero (I forget what that reading is called, but it is important too.) My weight is low-normal. Both my parents are in their eighties, and have had the same high cholesterol levels all their lives. So, this is a hereditary thing. Parents are currently not taking cholesterol lowering meds. Not sure why, but I did read an article that said if you are over 65, high cholesterol levels correllate with a longer life span, not a shorter one.

    Anyway, I am not comfortable taking the daily cholesterol-lowering drugs. I read that cholesterol is actually a repair molecule, and I'm wondering if it would play any helpful role for the arteries damaged by radiation. Any ideas, anyone?

    I'm not sure I buy fully into this idea that, absent any other risk factors, I must force my cholesterol down to what would be an abnormally low level for me. I come from a very long-lived line of hardy New Englanders, and I am curious about the role that cholesterol played in that.

    Deb

    Thanks
    Thanks all for the info!
    My high cholesterol is definitely hereditary. I can't imagine much diet adjustment, mine is ok, all things considered..I will check in with the doctor, maybe see if there is a lot of carotid plaque and/or blockage and go from there...
    Stacey
  • waywest
    waywest Member Posts: 44
    #14
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    neck ultrasounds
    Hi Stacey,
    My husband was the one with the carotid artery embolism and the doctor did say it was very rare (I think he said less than 1%)for a major artery to be so impacted by rads.
    They were very reluctant to perform surgery but had no alternatives since it would not clot. Surgical intervention carries enormous risks and he did suffer a minor stroke because of it but again, my poor guy just drew the short straw.
    It seems to me, a number of people here have experienced excessive bleeding form aterial walls weakening but in most cases it resolved itself.So, I have to agree that life is just too short to worry about every eventuality. (tough talk from someone who goes into panic mode every time her husband sneezes):)

    Way

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