IT'S Back and I'm back

PhillieG said:

RFA
I've had them done 3 times (so far) and the first time I stayed overnight, the other 2 times I went home that day. As far as procedures go, it's a walk in the park (Central Park, back in the 1970's, at night) No really, it's very easy. Mild pain afterwards. I have never been on Xeloda, I have been taking Erbitux for 4 years or so. I resume that after my ablations.

I probably have RFA #4 on the horizon, I already know that I've had a spot in my left lung for a while now. CEA is starting to rise which for ME is a good indication that an ablation is next.

To be perfectly honest, I don't give a hoot about NED. I was told in the beginning that I was done with chemo after my 12th round. That was a very long time ago. Cancer can be like this monstrous thunderstorm. There may be a break in the clouds and rain for a while but sooner or later one is likely to get wet again. Not always, sometimes we just get hit by lightning!
;-)

The RFA is really easy. If I had to keep having this done every year like I have been with the Erbitux in between, I'd be fine with that.
-phil

AnneCan said:

Sorry Mike
Mike,

I am sorry to hear of your recurrance. I hate cancer too!

CherylHutch said:

Hey Mike!
Sorry to hear of your new spot on the lung... but thought I'd chime in about the RFA along with Phil. I have had one spot removed by RFA and I second what Phil said. It really is one of the most fantastic procedures! I'm not sure if our oncologist explained it to you or not, but basically, with the help of a CAT scan to guide the radiologist right to the tumour that is going to be zapped, you will either be given a local and some sedation where you are awake but totally relaxed... or, depending on where the tumour is, they might give you a General Anesthesia. If you get the GA, chances are they will want to keep you overnight (standard practice when a GA is used). In my case, I was given a GA, but came out of it and was wide awake and twiddling my thumbs... that they ended up sending me home that same day. Because it was a GA, I wasn't allowed to drive for 24 hours... when, seriously, I was fine and could have driven myself home.

But I digress... the procedure... the radiologist will insert a needle into the tumour (remember you are either out with a GA, or the local is so good you don't feel a thing) and then they zap the tumour with radio frequency waves. It is similar to microwaving the tumour except only the tumour is affected, not the tissue surround it. They zap the tumour until all that is remaining is scar tissue... which, over 6 months - a year, the lung absorbs the scar tissues and there will eventually be nothing indicating there ever was a tumour there.

You are going to feel just fine once the GA or local anesthesia wears off. I noticed no pain, no discomfort, nada... and was back to my normal daily routine the next day.

Sounds like they want to put you on the Xeloda as a preventative. The tumour they do the RFA on will be history... there will be nothing remaining of it. But the Xeloda will be to catch any potential cells floating about that the scans may not have picked up because they are too small. And the Xeloda is definitely the most convenient of all the chemos in that you just have to remember to take the pills daily (usually twice/day).

Good luck with this and keep us posted on how it goes

Cheryl