What should I expect on first surgical onc consult?

KEK382
KEK382 Member Posts: 1
in Sarcoma #1
Hi, I'm 29 and noticed a 1cm mass in my left thigh two months ago. Initially my doctor thought it was probably just a hematoma and I should wait it out. I had an ultrasound the showed a homogenous hypoechoic solid mass with peripheral vascularity and was referred to a surgical oncologist. I guess the vascularity and US pathology show are suspicious of a sarcoma.

This surgical oncologist specializes in Sarcoma so I was told to wait the 3 weeks it took to get an appointment with him.

I'm now wondering what to expect on my first appointment? Would he do a fine needle biopsy on the first visit? Has anyone else experienced that?

Also, if anyone else has had similar US pathology, I'd love to hear about that as well.

thank you everyone!

Comments

  • allysmommy
    allysmommy Member Posts: 2
    #2
    Oncologist
    My situation is a little different. I had gone to the doctor for a large knot on my back. He said it was a fatty tumor and not to worry about it...so I did just that. Noticed it was getting bigger in December of 2010 and it had been a year and a half since I first went to the doctor. Found a surgeon and we took it out that day. Found out it was not a fatty tumor but not sure what it was. Pathology came back as a high grade liposarcoma. It was 4 cm. I had to have a wide excision to check for clean margins (I had clean margins, thank God) and at the same time a lymph node was taken out. It was also clean. I met with an oncologist and a radiation oncologist. I did not need chemo so that was good. I did need six weeks of radiation due to the agressiveness of the sarcoma. I am now just doing scans every three months and praying for good clean scans. My outlook seems good. I am living life to the fullest and enjoying my family. My advice is to stay off the internet some of the stuff on here about sarcoma will scare the living daylights out of you. If I have a question I ask my radiation oncologist, he knows me and knows about the disease and I trust him to give me the answers. I will be praying and hoping that you get good news soon. It stinks on the waiting game when you want answers right now. Best of luck. You are in my prayers.
  • lfrankva
    lfrankva Member Posts: 4
    #3
    What to expect
    I agree with Allysmommy. Stay off the internet and definitely wait for the sarcoma specialist. I had a similar situation as Allysmommy. I had a large knot near my shoulder blade and was told to ice it, probably pulled something but it would go away. A couple of months later I went back because it hadn't gone away. An MRI showed a 12cm liposarcoma deep in the tissue. I got an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon who specialised in sarcoma within a week. The week after that I had a needle biopsy and the week after that I started radiation. I also had a CT scan in there somewhere to check my lungs. You should receive a glimpse at course of treatment at your first visit, however nothing is concrete until they do the biopsy. Things will seem to go quickly but take moments to write down ANY questions you have about your treatment.
  • Vannel
    Vannel Member Posts: 1
    #4
    Just wondering about your outcome
    Your ultra sound is exactly what mine said. The lump is located in my calf between the 2 calf muscles. MRI points to a peripheral nerve sheath tumor or a fibrosarcoma. I have my appoinment in a week with the surgical oncologist. Since the tumor is under 3cm they would like to biopsy the whole tumor rather than just a FNMA biopsy. I am very anxious to get this over with.

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