Tumor size

Ginny_B

What is considered a "large" tumor? A cancer patient said his tumor was "huge" 5cm. Mom has 8cm and now I read about the husband with 13 cm.

Is there a parameter to tell us how large is large?

jim2011

size
Mine was 5cm and I looked at a tape measure and thought that seemed pretty small but yet food got stuck so 13cm must be almost a total blockage. I think the esophagas is only as big around as your thumb.

mardigras

Tumour size
Hi Ginny,
I think it would depend on the shape of the tumour.
The surgeon has told my husband that his tumour is large at 8cms.
Having said this, it is cylindrical and growing along the length of the esophagas, so it is not blocking anything and he only has slight discomfort when he eats.
I hope this helps.
Prayers and best wishes
Marci X

dogbackwards

I read somewhere that on
I read somewhere that on average when an esophageal tumor is finally diagnosed it is about 5.5cm in length, and yes a tumor of any size isn't pleasant and to some 5cm might be huge as it is 5cm of tumor that shouldn't be there. What is the T, as in how many esophageal layers has the tumor invaded, T1,2,3, or 4. Get back to me, I wish you the absolute best.

chemosmoker

dogbackwards said:

I read somewhere that on
I read somewhere that on average when an esophageal tumor is finally diagnosed it is about 5.5cm in length, and yes a tumor of any size isn't pleasant and to some 5cm might be huge as it is 5cm of tumor that shouldn't be there. What is the T, as in how many esophageal layers has the tumor invaded, T1,2,3, or 4. Get back to me, I wish you the absolute best.

T in staging...
Nevermind....Will post again....

dogbackwards

chemosmoker said:

T in staging...
Nevermind....Will post again....

Yes, as in whether it has
Yes, as in whether it has gone through the first layer of the esophageal wall, mucosa, submucosa, lamina, muscle layer, adventitia, not in that order but in general which layers has it infiltrated?

Unknown

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

cher76

Tumor size
When Rickie was diagnosed and evaluated at MD Anderson, his tumor measured from the 22cm from the incisors down to the 44cm at the esophageal junction, so basically 20 cm, almost the entire length of the esophagus. From the pictures and what we were told, it looked like a corroded pipe all the way down. It had penetrated all the layers of the esophagus, hence the stage IV diagnosis. We were never given a TNM number. From reading here I have kind of gathered that they do not do that for stage IV. We were not told stage IVa or IVb either. From reading some articles that our oncologist has written or collaborated on I have gotten the impression that they are not staging like that anymore. The good news is that after treatment from November to May, the tumor had shrunk considerably. In May the CT exam reported that the lower one third of the esophagus was thickened were as in the previous CT exam the entire length had been thickened. The pictures from May and July showed a remarkable improvement with the tumor located only in the lower one third at the Junction. Unfortunately today's pictures were not as good. It still seems to be located in the same area but now it seems to look more like a blob growing out from the walls and into the esophagus thereby blocking it almost completely. So I guess these tumors come in all shapes and sizes, and what seems to be most important is how far through the layers of the esophagus the tumor has penetrated. I was fortunate to have a friend who is a PA and she has lent me her anatomy book. The pictures are great and really have helped us to understand the reports we have been given. A picture is worth a thousand words.
I will keep you and your Mom in my prayers,
Cheryl
Wife of Rickie, dx stage IV, Oct. 2010