Pelvic Recurrence with Sacral Mets

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greentea98
greentea98 Member Posts: 10 Member
edited April 2022 in Colorectal Cancer #1

My Dad was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma Rectum in 2017. For which he got LAR and ileostomy bag and then also got 6 months of FOLFOX. But we never had radiation. Then in 2017, PET CT came clear. In Dec 2018, PET CT found some pelvic recurrence with some SUV value but I don't know we also got biopsy done which came out OK (I think I should have just forced my dad for some second opinion then).

Now in 2022, my dad have Pelvic recurrence with soft tissue deposit (2.3 x 3.1 cm) and a Sacral Mets as well. His CEA level is 4.83. The Doc have assured my dad that the radiation will definitely remove both of these deposits. So now my dad is having radiation with TrueBeam. He have already completed 2 weeks course out of 5 weeks which was previously 3 weeks.

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  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,796 Member
    #2
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    Radiation can be real hard on the body, so I hope that he has a good working relationship with his radiologist, and keeps a handle on pain and other side effects.

    I am not good at advice, but one thing I would like to share, is, look forward and not back. Don't regret what could have been done, what could have been said, what might have worked, what didn't. There is no 'forcing' a parent to do something - I say that, as a parent. It is never too late to get a second opinion, so you could mention that again, but dad just might be happy with the team he has.

    I hope the radiation works on those pesky mets - pesky is a fun word, that might not come anywhere close to the word I would like to use - I hope radiation isn't too hard on his body - it was nothing short of pure Hell for me.

    It always warms my heart to see loving children on the forum, reaching out to help their parents.

    Keep us updated and we will help as much as we can.

    Tru

  • greentea98
    greentea98 Member Posts: 10 Member
    edited April 2022 #3
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    The day I posted here, my dad was home for weekend and he was unable to pass wind since late noon till the 4 am of next day. Doc said it is the pelvic mass that often cause complications such as constipation, diarrhea.

    Today will be his 3rd day of 3rd week of radiation. I am not sure about side effects but the major problem is with bowels and gas which can be because of both disease and treatment. And he had 3 operations in 2017 on bowel loops. First was to remove the tumor, second to reverse the ileostomy bag which ended up causing leak so he had to have a third surgery. Since then bowel habits been a problem.

    Though my major concern is about current treatment. I have yet to meet the doctor. My dad have been assured by doctor (who is a really good friend of my dad's best friend) that he will definitely cure him and his OPD paper also labels treatment as Complex Curative Radiotherapy but the hospital discharge summary label it as palliative treatment. After my numerous nagging, dad asked the doc and he said that treatment is Concurrent ChemoRadiotherapy (CCRT) but dad is having radiation alone. But I don't think dad will ask him again since he been assured by doctor about treatment. And by now my mom and dad are tired of my numerous worries. I am not sure if I am just being paranoid.

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