Bert's Scans & Plan for Mom

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Unknown
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edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi Everyone:

I know I have not posted in quite some time, but I just have not been able to rally myself to do so...I've had a real bad few weeks. But I
have been reading posts whenever I "wanted to deal with cancer (LOL)and I again want to thank everyone for the comments, support, and
loving wishes.

Okay, I have decided to take Mom to a major cancer center as I just don't think sitting around waiting for a 1.5 cm recurrence in her
lung as a result of her primary lung cancer tumor that is now completely gone is the way to go. Many folks, including other oncologists agree with me and that's the plan in place. She has an
appointment at a major cancer center, same place where Bert is going, on February 6. We will take it from there but I just feel better knowing that like Bert, she is getting the best possible treatment that I know of how to get for her. She is so full of life and although she knows there is no cure for her, perhaps she can get some
good time out of her fight.

On to Bert. The news we received today was mixed, to say the least. His CEA did drop to 6.0 from 7.7, but obviously there still could possibly be something going on and it is now definitely not a false reading. I know that some people, for whatever reason, will sometimes get an elevated CEA that seems to stay there even though nothing is found on any of the scans. I pray real, real hard that Bert is one of them.

The CAT scan came back with nothing going on in the abdomen but all of a sudden, out of nowhere considering he had his last one in mid-November, it shows multiple 2-8 mm nodules scattered in both lungs that are too small to characterize. They don't know what they are. A few have been definitely identified as calcified and not a
threat...I'm thinking it's the larger ones. Bert used to be a smoker....quit many years ago and this could be remnants...even the onc said that and it was the first thing he asked when he saw Bert today in an attempt to explain these nodules. However, now definitely we will do a PET which is scheduled for February 2. There is also a "nonspecific borderline" right paratracheal lymph node. If any of these nodules or the node is cancerous, the PET will tell us.

Once again I play the waiting game and pray with all my heart and soul that the very tiny nodules that the CAT could not define are also tiny calcifications.

Warm hugs to you all,
Monika

Comments

  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #2
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    Hi, Monika -

    Thanks for the update. Glad to hear you have a solid plan in place for your mom. I have to agree, I would go out and get some tests done rather than play the waiting game. If nothing else, you are empowered to fight and not just passively sitting on the sideline waiting to get thumped on the head.

    WRT Bert, glad his CEA is on a downward trend. Glad also to read that you are going in for a PET scan. Better to ensure those spots are just calcifications or scars rather than lesions - remember what I mentioned in an earlier post about a woman who was a lung cancer survivor, went in for a CT scan, and was told she had multiple mets only to find on the second opinion that the "cancer mets" were because she had the flu and there was no cancer.

    Hang in there - I know waiting is tough. We're all behind you and Bert - tell the old salt I said ahoy.

    - SpongeBob
  • 2bhealed
    2bhealed Member Posts: 2,064 Member
    #3
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    ((((((monika))))))

    Hang in there honey. You are in my prayers (you both...all three!)

    I go to Mayo Feb 5 so all around the same time we will be going through our various battery of tests.

    Sometimes it really sucks that this is our reality and others outside the gate in that other world of no cancer just don't get it. So we trudge off to our cancer centers with hope in our hearts that somehow we will be victorious.

    As for me, I am glad I have "battle buddies" here that I can hang with....your mom and Bert are blessed to have such a trooper on their side.

    I hope you are treating yourself to something...like a massage or a facial....I just had one the other day (massage) and it's amazing how the cares are just rubbed right off! :-)

    peace, emily
  • efw
    efw Member Posts: 20
    #4
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    2bhealed said:

    ((((((monika))))))

    Hang in there honey. You are in my prayers (you both...all three!)

    I go to Mayo Feb 5 so all around the same time we will be going through our various battery of tests.

    Sometimes it really sucks that this is our reality and others outside the gate in that other world of no cancer just don't get it. So we trudge off to our cancer centers with hope in our hearts that somehow we will be victorious.

    As for me, I am glad I have "battle buddies" here that I can hang with....your mom and Bert are blessed to have such a trooper on their side.

    I hope you are treating yourself to something...like a massage or a facial....I just had one the other day (massage) and it's amazing how the cares are just rubbed right off! :-)

    peace, emily

    emily,

    Not to change the topic away from Bert and Monika's mom, but your comment about our reality as cancer survivors is so true. Even my closest friends and family don't grasp what my husband and I are going through. It's like they all think that now that I'm done with treatment, it's time to get on with life, while I'm still trudging off to get my port flushed monthly, my blood tested every other month, and CAT scans every few months. This is all still a big part of my life! It's like our worlds are altered after the diagnosis, and we're never going to see the world as others do ever again.

    So there's my diatribe.

    bug
  • StacyGleaso
    StacyGleaso Member Posts: 1,233 Member
    #5
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    Hi Monika!

    You are such a pro-activer little trooper! I agree that playing the waiting game sucks, but small price to pay for piece of mind. PET scans are painless and SO efficient! They pick up anything a CT scan overlooks, which makes me question why CT scans aren't retired in exchange for the PET scans altogether. Then, maybe the cost of the PET scan would come down. Regardless, I digress (as usual!)...

    I know what you mean about the "dealing with cancer" mindset...there are times you want to think that this is all really not happening, and it's easy to get tired of addressing it...hang in there...your mom, Bert, & you will all be better for it!

    Don't forget to do a little something special for yourself along the way...their health is important, but so is yours!

    Stacy
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #6
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    spongebob said:

    Hi, Monika -

    Thanks for the update. Glad to hear you have a solid plan in place for your mom. I have to agree, I would go out and get some tests done rather than play the waiting game. If nothing else, you are empowered to fight and not just passively sitting on the sideline waiting to get thumped on the head.

    WRT Bert, glad his CEA is on a downward trend. Glad also to read that you are going in for a PET scan. Better to ensure those spots are just calcifications or scars rather than lesions - remember what I mentioned in an earlier post about a woman who was a lung cancer survivor, went in for a CT scan, and was told she had multiple mets only to find on the second opinion that the "cancer mets" were because she had the flu and there was no cancer.

    Hang in there - I know waiting is tough. We're all behind you and Bert - tell the old salt I said ahoy.

    - SpongeBob

    Hey SB:

    I will relate your greetins to Bert...thanks. It will be what it will be (do you hear Doris Day in there somewhere), and I will try to occupy myself with pleasant things while I wait.

    Take care, SB.

    Monika
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #7
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    2bhealed said:

    ((((((monika))))))

    Hang in there honey. You are in my prayers (you both...all three!)

    I go to Mayo Feb 5 so all around the same time we will be going through our various battery of tests.

    Sometimes it really sucks that this is our reality and others outside the gate in that other world of no cancer just don't get it. So we trudge off to our cancer centers with hope in our hearts that somehow we will be victorious.

    As for me, I am glad I have "battle buddies" here that I can hang with....your mom and Bert are blessed to have such a trooper on their side.

    I hope you are treating yourself to something...like a massage or a facial....I just had one the other day (massage) and it's amazing how the cares are just rubbed right off! :-)

    peace, emily

    Emily, you take care yourself too! I am going to do something for myself over the next few days...I need a break, truly I do.

    Thanks for the compliment on me being a trooper...even a "droopy trooper" is better than no trooper at all :-)

    So, February 5....it's show time!

    Hugs,
    Monika
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #8
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    efw said:

    emily,

    Not to change the topic away from Bert and Monika's mom, but your comment about our reality as cancer survivors is so true. Even my closest friends and family don't grasp what my husband and I are going through. It's like they all think that now that I'm done with treatment, it's time to get on with life, while I'm still trudging off to get my port flushed monthly, my blood tested every other month, and CAT scans every few months. This is all still a big part of my life! It's like our worlds are altered after the diagnosis, and we're never going to see the world as others do ever again.

    So there's my diatribe.

    bug

    bug, i definitely third that opinion..and I'm a caregiver. My life has been changed forever with Bert's diagnosis and my mom's diagnosis. Nothing, I don't think, will ever be the same.

    Monika
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #9
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    StacyGleaso said:

    Hi Monika!

    You are such a pro-activer little trooper! I agree that playing the waiting game sucks, but small price to pay for piece of mind. PET scans are painless and SO efficient! They pick up anything a CT scan overlooks, which makes me question why CT scans aren't retired in exchange for the PET scans altogether. Then, maybe the cost of the PET scan would come down. Regardless, I digress (as usual!)...

    I know what you mean about the "dealing with cancer" mindset...there are times you want to think that this is all really not happening, and it's easy to get tired of addressing it...hang in there...your mom, Bert, & you will all be better for it!

    Don't forget to do a little something special for yourself along the way...their health is important, but so is yours!

    Stacy

    Hey Stacey....I am doing something. I had a piece of cake today that was to die for...actually tasted great! I also went to my doctor on Monday and got myself checked out. I'm a mess (don't we all know it) but so far, nothing serious. I'm on the right track.

    You know, I think about so many of you each and every single day and to literally be faced with one's own mortality on a daily basis takes great strength and courage. I realize that now more than ever when looking at Bert and my mom and the folks on this board. I am priviledged and blessed to have met so many fine people.

    Monika
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #10
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    unknown said:

    Hey SB:

    I will relate your greetins to Bert...thanks. It will be what it will be (do you hear Doris Day in there somewhere), and I will try to occupy myself with pleasant things while I wait.

    Take care, SB.

    Monika

    Well... one thing you could do is dance around singing Que Sera, Sera!

    (Of course Bert would think you're looney... unless, of course he has a thing for Doris Day, in which case.... (!)
  • 2bhealed
    2bhealed Member Posts: 2,064 Member
    #11
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    unknown said:

    Hey Stacey....I am doing something. I had a piece of cake today that was to die for...actually tasted great! I also went to my doctor on Monday and got myself checked out. I'm a mess (don't we all know it) but so far, nothing serious. I'm on the right track.

    You know, I think about so many of you each and every single day and to literally be faced with one's own mortality on a daily basis takes great strength and courage. I realize that now more than ever when looking at Bert and my mom and the folks on this board. I am priviledged and blessed to have met so many fine people.

    Monika

    Tsk Tsk Monika! We don't do any dying here for cake or nothin'!! (heehee)

    And I AM taking care of myself....hubby and I are heading to the Northwoods for a weekend of R&R next week....snowy evenings in front of the fire, x-country skiing during the day....and well... ahem....just you never mind... ;-)

    peace, emily from the frozen North but south of the tundra
  • Lisa Rose
    Lisa Rose Member Posts: 598 Member
    #12
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    Emily,

    That sounds like a great weekend do enjoy!
    Lisa
  • andreae
    andreae Member Posts: 236
    #13
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    Dear Monika,

    I came to the board hoping you had posted. Wanted to hear how our buddy Bert is doing. It sounds that you guys are hanging in. I'm glad to hear it - cancer is a tough disease but you guys are tougher! You are all in thoughts, you, Bert and your Mom, and all my fingers are crossed for you guys.

    Many hugs, kisses and good wishes,
    Andrea

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