Stage what?

mef123
mef123 Member Posts: 45
in Colorectal Cancer #1
So my husband had his surgery and we asked what stage he was in and the oncologist said "stage unknown". What??? She said since the cancer in the tumor was so small and it didn't spread anywhere and wasn't in the lymph nodes that the pathologist couldn't get a stage on it. She even called and questioned him to make sure that it was alright.

They actually presented the case his case during their monthly meeting because his case was unusual. His tumor was so large that without radiation the surgeon said he would never had been able to do surgery. Then the tumor shrunk so much and the cancer is almost nothing.

Has anyone ever heard of "stage unknown"?

Michele

Comments

  • khl8
    khl8 Member Posts: 807
    #2
    I have never been staged
    I have never been staged either, I had one lymph node light up on the first PET scan and then after radition and oral Chemo, the next test showed nothing in the nodes and none came back after removal of them either. So, they decided to call me stage 3 only because the agressivnes of the treatment would be used.
  • lauragb
    lauragb Member Posts: 370 Member
    #3
    I had no cancer left in my
    I had no cancer left in my tumor, nodes or anywhere in my surgical pathology report. They did not put a stage since there was nothing left and I think it's because they use an international protocol. Many times with a pathologic complete response, it is staged as ypT0ypN0ypMx. Since I potentially had 1 or 2 positive nodes clinically before the chemoradiation, the oncologists wanted me to have adjuvant chemo (post surgery chemo) anyway. That is the current standard treatment although research is being done to see whether it makes any difference to use adjuvant chemo in patients with pathologic complete response.

    Congratulations, it sounds like your husband had a great response to the treatment. While confusing, it is great news!

    Laura
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member
    #4
    lauragb said:

    I had no cancer left in my
    I had no cancer left in my tumor, nodes or anywhere in my surgical pathology report. They did not put a stage since there was nothing left and I think it's because they use an international protocol. Many times with a pathologic complete response, it is staged as ypT0ypN0ypMx. Since I potentially had 1 or 2 positive nodes clinically before the chemoradiation, the oncologists wanted me to have adjuvant chemo (post surgery chemo) anyway. That is the current standard treatment although research is being done to see whether it makes any difference to use adjuvant chemo in patients with pathologic complete response.

    Congratulations, it sounds like your husband had a great response to the treatment. While confusing, it is great news!

    Laura

    My understanding is that the "yp" indicates that some sort of
    treatment or surgery was performed prior to this pathology report....Theorectically, whatever stage you had been prior to that Tx or surgery would have been higher than after (tho not always).....steve
  • thxmiker
    thxmiker Member Posts: 1,278 Member
    #5
    That is Stage 1. Early
    That is Stage 1. Early caught tumor that was unlikely to have spread.
    Keep monitoring CEA, Octrotides, and H5IAA for change.

    Good News for you!
    Best Always, mike

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