YOUR OPINION PLEASE.

pepebcn

If your liver met, has disappear thanks to chemo, is it necessary to have surgery? have it happened to any of you?.
Any answer will be appreciated.

John23

Pepe'

Re:
"If your liver met, has disappear thanks to chemo, is it necessary to have surgery?"

What did the surgeon say? Did he explain why he's looking to remove something
he can't see?

Did you notice if he needs a new Lexus? Maybe a kid starting college? His pool
needs resurfacing? Does he gamble heavily? Maybe owes some bookie?

You have to ask some more questions!

He's not into cannibalism, right? I like liver, too....but...

John

KathiM

I can't answer personally, but....
I remember when my primary was all gone from pre-surgical treatment.

Went ahead with the J-pouch surgery anyway...I'm not good at watching and waiting...and when I gamble, I always lose...even in Monte Carlo! (only thing I ever won was my life...I guess I should consider that enough of a win!!ROFL!!!)

Dutch hugs for a very difficult decision...
Kathi

pepebcn

KathiM said:

I can't answer personally, but....
I remember when my primary was all gone from pre-surgical treatment.

Went ahead with the J-pouch surgery anyway...I'm not good at watching and waiting...and when I gamble, I always lose...even in Monte Carlo! (only thing I ever won was my life...I guess I should consider that enough of a win!!ROFL!!!)

Dutch hugs for a very difficult decision...
Kathi

J-pouch ? what means Kathi?
So l understand you been operated but if not tumor how did they managed to find something?

Annabelle41415

pepebcn said:

J-pouch ? what means Kathi?
So l understand you been operated but if not tumor how did they managed to find something?

J-Pouch
With myself having rectal cancer they removed my rectum and then made a new rectum out of the colon. Surprising what they can do nowadays.

Kim

pepebcn

Annabelle41415 said:

J-Pouch
With myself having rectal cancer they removed my rectum and then made a new rectum out of the colon. Surprising what they can do nowadays.

Kim

thanks Kim ,
don't knew about as had no problems with rectum!.

pepebcn

pepebcn said:

thanks Kim ,
don't knew about as had no problems with rectum!.

Nobody had it's tumor all gone just with Chemo?
Any small tumor that had disappear just with chemo treatment ?.It looks must be relatively common to me!.
Hugs!

pepebcn

John23 said:

Pepe'

Re:
"If your liver met, has disappear thanks to chemo, is it necessary to have surgery?"

What did the surgeon say? Did he explain why he's looking to remove something
he can't see?

Did you notice if he needs a new Lexus? Maybe a kid starting college? His pool
needs resurfacing? Does he gamble heavily? Maybe owes some bookie?

You have to ask some more questions!

He's not into cannibalism, right? I like liver, too....but...

John

Not spoken to surgeon yet , just I'm thinking what are they
going to do! We all know that surgery is the only possibility for Long term expects so I was asking my self how are they going to do or what are they going to do, by the way your Holiness ( hahaha I'm catholic) remember that here no surgeon expects anything,Health care is FREE!.
I Kiss your hand your Holiness.LOL.
Hugs.

KathiM

pepebcn said:

J-pouch ? what means Kathi?
So l understand you been operated but if not tumor how did they managed to find something?

7 hour surgery....
My 2-inch tumor (golf ball) was very close to the spinchter...rectal cancer part of 'colorectal'.

There was a good chance that I would be left with a permanent external bag.

A FABULOUS surgeon removed my rectum, sigmoid colon (going up from the end...lol), and released the descending colon from the top (sort of a smile), folded it in half, opened the middle, sutured everything back together as a big bag, and reconnected everything, and tucked all of it back into my abdomen. I was using my 'new' rectum right after surgery...took a bit of time, but I'm still using it, just fine.

Dutch hugs, Kathi

KathiM

pepebcn said:

Nobody had it's tumor all gone just with Chemo?
Any small tumor that had disappear just with chemo treatment ?.It looks must be relatively common to me!.
Hugs!

As I said before,
all gone, only thing left were the little red stars from the radiation.

They worked off of scans/scopes/etc when the tumor was there...and mine was the size of a golf ball, down to nothing...

Dutch hugs, Kathi

pepebcn

KathiM said:

7 hour surgery....
My 2-inch tumor (golf ball) was very close to the spinchter...rectal cancer part of 'colorectal'.

There was a good chance that I would be left with a permanent external bag.

A FABULOUS surgeon removed my rectum, sigmoid colon (going up from the end...lol), and released the descending colon from the top (sort of a smile), folded it in half, opened the middle, sutured everything back together as a big bag, and reconnected everything, and tucked all of it back into my abdomen. I was using my 'new' rectum right after surgery...took a bit of time, but I'm still using it, just fine.

Dutch hugs, Kathi

So you must have a gorgeous bottom right now isn't ?
LOL,
Best my flyingdutchwoman!

Unknown

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

Betsydoglover

Liver mets gone after chemo
Hi Pepe - very good question. I can only tell you my experience - summarized in my signature below. My liver met(s) was/were not detectable on scans after 3-4 cycles of Xeloda/oxaliplatin/Avastin (summer/fall 2005). After 6 cycles (about the equivalent of 9 cycles of Folfox+Avastin), we took a chemo break - thought it would probably be for a couple of months at most. Kept scanning, much evaluation. More than 5.5 years since diagnosis, my liver is still clear. (I did informally consult with a liver surgeon in 2007, but he wouldn't touch me since there was no scan detectable disease).

I often wonder if I should have seen a liver surgeon after 1 round of chemo, but no one ever expected the chemo to work so well. And, had I done so, I undoubtedly would have liver surgery - it is the cure, but given that I had a lung recurrence (see signature) and still have a clear liver, it would have been unnecessary surgery.

As I said, this is only my experience and it is not the norm, but it is what's happened to me.

Betsy
diag. Stage IV, 5/05, liver met
lap sigmoid colectomy, 6/05
6 cycles Xeloda/oxaliplatin/Avastin (NED after 2)
11/08 9x13mm right lower lobe lung nodule; removed via VATS 4/09
6 cycles Xeloda + Avastin,
NED (PET every 3 mo)
Currently on Avastin only

bruins1971

Betsydoglover said:

Liver mets gone after chemo
Hi Pepe - very good question. I can only tell you my experience - summarized in my signature below. My liver met(s) was/were not detectable on scans after 3-4 cycles of Xeloda/oxaliplatin/Avastin (summer/fall 2005). After 6 cycles (about the equivalent of 9 cycles of Folfox+Avastin), we took a chemo break - thought it would probably be for a couple of months at most. Kept scanning, much evaluation. More than 5.5 years since diagnosis, my liver is still clear. (I did informally consult with a liver surgeon in 2007, but he wouldn't touch me since there was no scan detectable disease).

I often wonder if I should have seen a liver surgeon after 1 round of chemo, but no one ever expected the chemo to work so well. And, had I done so, I undoubtedly would have liver surgery - it is the cure, but given that I had a lung recurrence (see signature) and still have a clear liver, it would have been unnecessary surgery.

As I said, this is only my experience and it is not the norm, but it is what's happened to me.

Betsy
diag. Stage IV, 5/05, liver met
lap sigmoid colectomy, 6/05
6 cycles Xeloda/oxaliplatin/Avastin (NED after 2)
11/08 9x13mm right lower lobe lung nodule; removed via VATS 4/09
6 cycles Xeloda + Avastin,
NED (PET every 3 mo)
Currently on Avastin only

Way too go
Betsy it's awesome to see that you've made it past the five year mark since your DX. Although you have had some troubles since bring alive five years down the road is a blessing.

C Dixon

For me, Pepe, I would want
For me, Pepe, I would want that tissue out if they wanted to take it out because of microscopic cells. It is a hard surgery but not impossible. I had my whole right lobe removed and was home in four days.

Catherine

scouty

I have never had liver surgery
And my 3 liver mets died after chemo and lots of other things that I did back in 2004. What test shows your liver mets disappeared? MRIs are the absolute best for liver mets, not CT or PET scans.

My other question would be did the met disappear or does it show up as dead tissue? Very important! Dead means dead but disappear means it doesn't show up anymore but may just be too small for the scan to detect and could still be there. Remember it takes millions of cancer cells before a tumor presents itself on a scan and that's why the industry wants us to be NED 5 years before we are deemed cancer free. NED is no evidence of disease by testing and does not mean you are cancer free........yet.

Nana b

C Dixon said:

For me, Pepe, I would want
For me, Pepe, I would want that tissue out if they wanted to take it out because of microscopic cells. It is a hard surgery but not impossible. I had my whole right lobe removed and was home in four days.

Catherine

Yes, it has happened to me.
Yes, it has happened to me. I had three mets to the liver prior to chemo. When I consulted with Liver surgeon, he said said "no surgery, I cant see any mets on the liver." ONC told him, you will do the surgery, you know where they were from the first scan/pet! Surgeon talked to me and said he was a surgeon and could not operate where there were no mets. To check further he decided to do
an ultrasound in his office, so I would not waste a trip to San francisco. He found a new met that the radiologist didn't pick up, and agreed to do the surgery. He cut 50% and opened up the liver he had cut off and there were 2 of the 3 missing mets. He decided to do another 10% and there was the third. Thank God, he did the surgery.

pepebcn

scouty said:

I have never had liver surgery
And my 3 liver mets died after chemo and lots of other things that I did back in 2004. What test shows your liver mets disappeared? MRIs are the absolute best for liver mets, not CT or PET scans.

My other question would be did the met disappear or does it show up as dead tissue? Very important! Dead means dead but disappear means it doesn't show up anymore but may just be too small for the scan to detect and could still be there. Remember it takes millions of cancer cells before a tumor presents itself on a scan and that's why the industry wants us to be NED 5 years before we are deemed cancer free. NED is no evidence of disease by testing and does not mean you are cancer free........yet.

No evidedence through CT and PET and ofcourse CEA is fine
I n my last CT there was a1 cm spot , radiologist ,radio oncologist and oncologist agree it was necrosed tissue , no lighting on PET.!
Hugs!

scouty

pepebcn said:

No evidedence through CT and PET and ofcourse CEA is fine
I n my last CT there was a1 cm spot , radiologist ,radio oncologist and oncologist agree it was necrosed tissue , no lighting on PET.!
Hugs!

Good news for sure!
Sounds like it's all dead tissue so surgery shouldn't be necessary but I sure would ask for an MRI before I made my decision and of course talk to your surgeon.

Good for you Pepe!!!

Nana b

scouty said:

Good news for sure!
Sounds like it's all dead tissue so surgery shouldn't be necessary but I sure would ask for an MRI before I made my decision and of course talk to your surgeon.

Good for you Pepe!!!

How many liver mets did you
How man liver mets did you have originally? I would tell your onc my story, that is if you are hesitant at all! Good luck,

pepebcn

Nana b said:

How many liver mets did you
How man liver mets did you have originally? I would tell your onc my story, that is if you are hesitant at all! Good luck,

Just one of 3 cm Raquel!
Of course I will ! Thank you!