upsc stage III or IV--how many CT scans have you had

lmede64
lmede64 Member Posts: 32 Member
in Uterine/Endometrial Cancer #1
My sister, who is stage IVB, just finished her third carbo/taxol treatment. Originally her oncologist said she would follow up with a CT scan to see if the chemo was working. (I understand this is pretty much standard to do a scan and CA125 test midsteam). Yesterday however, the doctor said she thinks it would be best to wait until after the 6th (and hopefully last) treatment to do the scan as she has already had a lot of them. While she has had 2 full body scans in the last year and a couple of pelvic scans, and under normal circumstances this would be a lot, it seems to me that in this case it's better to take the radiation hit rather and verify that there aren't any growths. It seems that a lot of you have had numerous CT scans. How much is too much?

thanks,
Linda

Comments

  • upsofloating
    upsofloating Member Posts: 466 Member
    #2
    I was Stage IV at
    I was Stage IV at diagnosis/staging over 3 years ago so numerous CT, PET, PET/CT scans. After my 6 cycles of chemo my med onc did not suggest CT follow-up but my gyn-onc did, so I had one done. Gyn onc said he wanted a post-surgery, post-chemo baseline for future reference. It may be a more current procedure to do one midway thru chemo. There have been some posters, either here or on ovarian board, who did have 3 month scan which showed disease progression implying chemo resistance. Is your sister having her ca125 monitored? It has been a valid marker for me but not for everyone. I can see that at a higher stage the 3-month scan could be quite relevant to be sure chemo is working but may depend on how optimal debulking surgery was. PET/CT scans, harder to get approved for uterine, have a lower level of radiation exposure. I'm currently doing quarterly scans and don't mind the risk as I have a definite need-to-know. Not sure if this helps at all but may provide thoughts for questions to ask.
    Annie
  • lmede64
    lmede64 Member Posts: 32 Member
    #3
    upsofloating said:

    I was Stage IV at
    I was Stage IV at diagnosis/staging over 3 years ago so numerous CT, PET, PET/CT scans. After my 6 cycles of chemo my med onc did not suggest CT follow-up but my gyn-onc did, so I had one done. Gyn onc said he wanted a post-surgery, post-chemo baseline for future reference. It may be a more current procedure to do one midway thru chemo. There have been some posters, either here or on ovarian board, who did have 3 month scan which showed disease progression implying chemo resistance. Is your sister having her ca125 monitored? It has been a valid marker for me but not for everyone. I can see that at a higher stage the 3-month scan could be quite relevant to be sure chemo is working but may depend on how optimal debulking surgery was. PET/CT scans, harder to get approved for uterine, have a lower level of radiation exposure. I'm currently doing quarterly scans and don't mind the risk as I have a definite need-to-know. Not sure if this helps at all but may provide thoughts for questions to ask.
    Annie

    Hi, Annie--sorry for taking
    Hi, Annie--sorry for taking so long to thank you for your reply. My sister decided to ask for the CT scan and will have it done on Wednesday. Her CA 125 count is not a good marker for her--not when she was diagnosed with colon cancer nor this cancer. Thanks to input from people she trusted and her own feelings of anxiety, she decided that this was the lesser evil. We are keeping our fingers crossed that no news is good news.
    all the best to you,
    Linda
  • lmede64
    lmede64 Member Posts: 32 Member
    #4
    lmede64 said:

    Hi, Annie--sorry for taking
    Hi, Annie--sorry for taking so long to thank you for your reply. My sister decided to ask for the CT scan and will have it done on Wednesday. Her CA 125 count is not a good marker for her--not when she was diagnosed with colon cancer nor this cancer. Thanks to input from people she trusted and her own feelings of anxiety, she decided that this was the lesser evil. We are keeping our fingers crossed that no news is good news.
    all the best to you,
    Linda

    happy to report that the CT scan looks good
    in other words, no news is good news. Also, her CA125 levels are down. Even though they have never been much of a marker for her (quite low even during colon cancer), down is better. I think this good news has given her a little boost and that's a wonderful thing.
    Peace,
    Linda

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