PET/CT - *****UPDATE*****

Buckwirth
Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
edited April 2011 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Just got the injection, now an hour in the quite room.

No good news from this one, just less bad. I already know I have a lymph node the size of a walnut.

Then to USC Norris on Thursday to go over the results.

Love you all,

Blake

*************
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Comments

  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    #2
    But...... how you know it before scan ?Don't you give any chance
    to chemo did a good job?

    Not shrinking?
    Good luck my friend!
  • Lovekitties
    Lovekitties Member Posts: 3,364 Member
    #3
    Dear Blake
    Hope you are wrong about 'no good news'...there is always the possibility that chemo will have done a good job.

    Will keep fingers crossed for better news than you expect.

    Hugs,

    Marie who loves kitties
  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    #4
    Lovekitties said:

    Dear Blake
    Hope you are wrong about 'no good news'...there is always the possibility that chemo will have done a good job.

    Will keep fingers crossed for better news than you expect.

    Hugs,

    Marie who loves kitties

    Love you Marie!
    Im sure Blake is wrong , hope to see something positive in its PET!.
    Hugs both!
  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    #5
    Lovekitties said:

    Dear Blake
    Hope you are wrong about 'no good news'...there is always the possibility that chemo will have done a good job.

    Will keep fingers crossed for better news than you expect.

    Hugs,

    Marie who loves kitties

    Double
    sorry!
  • idlehunters
    idlehunters Member Posts: 1,787 Member
    #6
    pepebcn said:

    Love you Marie!
    Im sure Blake is wrong , hope to see something positive in its PET!.
    Hugs both!

    Hey Blake....
    Hope u hear some good news..... sending good vibes your way my friend! Take care and let us know...

    Luv ya back

    Jennie
  • plh4gail
    plh4gail Member Posts: 1,238 Member
    #7
    I want good things for you
    I want good things for you Blake. Did you already have a CT to know about the lymph node? Or maybe that was before chemo. Maybe it has shrunk now. I'm hoping so and that your results will surprise you in a good way!

    Love and hugs to you, Gail
  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #8
    Escape from the tunnel of doom!

    And now I'm enjoying lunch at Tommy Pastrami. All I've had to eat today was a slightly radioactive banana flavored drink.


    The Lymph is palpable, and growing.

    Same node that convinced them to do my original CAT scan.

    Hopefully it is just a node. I should know in a couple of days.

    It is a beautiful day here in So Cal. The imaging center is on PCH so I got to drop the top and cruise the beach for a bit on the way home!

    Blake
  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #9
    pepebcn said:

    But...... how you know it before scan ?Don't you give any chance
    to chemo did a good job?

    Not shrinking?
    Good luck my friend!

    Pepe,
    Gràcies per les amables paraules que el meu amic!

    A créixer de nou. La quimioteràpia treballat, una que és hora de començar un nou tractament.

    Blake
  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #10
    Lovekitties said:

    Dear Blake
    Hope you are wrong about 'no good news'...there is always the possibility that chemo will have done a good job.

    Will keep fingers crossed for better news than you expect.

    Hugs,

    Marie who loves kitties

    Marie,
    It was Gizmo who clued me in. She was walking on me and I noticed the spot was sensitive.
  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #11
    plh4gail said:

    I want good things for you
    I want good things for you Blake. Did you already have a CT to know about the lymph node? Or maybe that was before chemo. Maybe it has shrunk now. I'm hoping so and that your results will surprise you in a good way!

    Love and hugs to you, Gail

    Thanks Gail,
    Hugs to you too!
  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #12
    idlehunters said:

    Hey Blake....
    Hope u hear some good news..... sending good vibes your way my friend! Take care and let us know...

    Luv ya back

    Jennie

    Thanks Jennie!
    I can use them!
  • TMac52
    TMac52 Member Posts: 352
    #13
    Buckwirth said:

    Escape from the tunnel of doom!

    And now I'm enjoying lunch at Tommy Pastrami. All I've had to eat today was a slightly radioactive banana flavored drink.


    The Lymph is palpable, and growing.

    Same node that convinced them to do my original CAT scan.

    Hopefully it is just a node. I should know in a couple of days.

    It is a beautiful day here in So Cal. The imaging center is on PCH so I got to drop the top and cruise the beach for a bit on the way home!

    Blake

    Blake
    I hope and pray you have better results when the scan is reviewed.
    Tom
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    #14
    Buckwirth said:

    Escape from the tunnel of doom!

    And now I'm enjoying lunch at Tommy Pastrami. All I've had to eat today was a slightly radioactive banana flavored drink.


    The Lymph is palpable, and growing.

    Same node that convinced them to do my original CAT scan.

    Hopefully it is just a node. I should know in a couple of days.

    It is a beautiful day here in So Cal. The imaging center is on PCH so I got to drop the top and cruise the beach for a bit on the way home!

    Blake

    Just another day in this journey Blake......
    its always something...Im trying to just settle it in my head that there will always be something going on, Im just gonna stay ahead of it if I can...you just do the same, it will all come out in the wash..Just keep the ole noggin clear.....Buzz
  • smokeyjoe
    smokeyjoe Member Posts: 1,425 Member
    #15
    Buzzard said:

    Just another day in this journey Blake......
    its always something...Im trying to just settle it in my head that there will always be something going on, Im just gonna stay ahead of it if I can...you just do the same, it will all come out in the wash..Just keep the ole noggin clear.....Buzz

    Dumb question here, but if
    Dumb question here, but if there is a suspicious node why don't they just take it out, especially if it is where you can feel it??? I'm guessing Gizmo is your cat :)
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #16
    Hi Blake,

    Let us know when you get the results- I hope it is just a node, as you said. You are going to a good place at USC- do you Dr. Lenz there or someone else?

    In the meantime, enjoy the nice weather!

    Lisa
  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #17
    lisa42 said:

    Hi Blake,

    Let us know when you get the results- I hope it is just a node, as you said. You are going to a good place at USC- do you Dr. Lenz there or someone else?

    In the meantime, enjoy the nice weather!

    Lisa

    USC
    Syma Iqbal is my Doctor there, she does work with Lenz.
  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    #18
    Buckwirth said:

    USC
    Syma Iqbal is my Doctor there, she does work with Lenz.

    Where is exactly the node ? I remember you asked about mine
    Which is also palpable, but just because is on a very shallow area, but I didn't ask you where is yours! Really l agree palpable is very unpleasant feeling as you always got the temptation to watch and touch,and always thinking whether is shrinking or growing.There are days I think is much bigger and many other days it seems has shrunk a lot, crazy!.So can it be just a subjective sensation?
  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #19
    pepebcn said:

    Where is exactly the node ? I remember you asked about mine
    Which is also palpable, but just because is on a very shallow area, but I didn't ask you where is yours! Really l agree palpable is very unpleasant feeling as you always got the temptation to watch and touch,and always thinking whether is shrinking or growing.There are days I think is much bigger and many other days it seems has shrunk a lot, crazy!.So can it be just a subjective sensation?

    Pepe and Smokeyjoe
    It is the left inguinal (groin) lymph node. What I probably should have done was have it removed when they did the APR in January.

    The concern is that removing that node will lead to lymphedema, with no corollary increase in life span.

    We'll see what the scan shows, and what the doctors say. I like the USC doctor as she is blunt and factual. It was in our meeting with her last year that we understood the meaning of being stage IV and how that moves treatment from curative to palliative. (not saying that people do not survive stage IV disease, just that chemo for metastatic disease is considered a palliative treatment by medical science.)
  • smokeyjoe
    smokeyjoe Member Posts: 1,425 Member
    #20
    Buckwirth said:

    Pepe and Smokeyjoe
    It is the left inguinal (groin) lymph node. What I probably should have done was have it removed when they did the APR in January.

    The concern is that removing that node will lead to lymphedema, with no corollary increase in life span.

    We'll see what the scan shows, and what the doctors say. I like the USC doctor as she is blunt and factual. It was in our meeting with her last year that we understood the meaning of being stage IV and how that moves treatment from curative to palliative. (not saying that people do not survive stage IV disease, just that chemo for metastatic disease is considered a palliative treatment by medical science.)

    Sheesh looked up Lymphedema
    Sheesh looked up Lymphedema on wiki......now it makes sense!! Thanks for the info.
  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #21
    Two Updates
    4/13

    My regular Oncologist called with the test results. They fall in the less bad category, the cancer is basically where it was a year ago when I was diagnosed, lots of lymph activity, but no spread to major organs. In a way this is good news, I have bought a year.

    A Year. So what does a year cost?

    In time:
    Seven weeks of radiation. 24 weeks of chemotherapy, though to be fair, this was one week on, one week off, and I did well in the off weeks. So lets call this 12 weeks. The six weeks of radiation led to pain, illness and surgery, so add another 14 weeks.

    Total: 33 weeks, leaving about 19 "good" weeks in the last year. They were good weeks, each one precious. To be fair, this does not add up the good days, hours, minutes that occur despite treatment, even in the hospital there were good moments.

    In dollars:
    I am well insured, so my costs are minimal, but what did this year cost my insurance company?

    Something over $200,000. Somehow I feel like I got most of my premiums back now. This next year I can collect the interest! :-)

    Side effects from the treatments have mostly been minimal, and I have been lucky enough to be able to work throughout (the company I work for has been wonderful).

    So, with this visit to USC tomorrow I start anew. New year, new plumbing, new chemo, and I try to buy another year.

    **************************************

    4/14

    Just got back from USC. Dr. Iqbal is wonderful, very straightforward with almost no sweetener.

    They had the written report from the scan, and I got a chance to read it before we met. A little worse than I thought, with lymph involvement from the esophagus to the pelvis, but no sign of organ tumors.

    I have a trip to Germany/Italy planned for 5/15. When we get back I will either start Erbitux/Irinotecan or be enrolled in a trial at USC. I want to read about the trial before I make a decision.

    Thanks everyone! I really do love all of you!

    Blake

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