NED

pializ
pializ Member Posts: 508 Member
in Anal Cancer #1

Well, today is the first full day of being knowingly NED although I completed treatment on 25th January this year. They have finally decided that the lymph node that failed to respond to treatment is actually my right ovary. Phew!!! 

However, my next round of check ups are just a month away. As recurrence usually recurs locally, my onc was only going to order pelvic MRI as routine. I have, however, requested a CT of chest & abdomen as it had spread to a lymph node. (No PET scan available for this diagnosis in Wales). Onc is cautious re extra radiation, as am I, but I think it would be appropriate given the lymph node involvement.

Today though, I am feeling more reassured thattreatment has workd so far. Whatever happens next, I will have had this window of optimism which was so desperately needed.

 

Comments

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #2
    pializ

    That is such great news to hear this morning!  I'm glad your docs have been able to come to a definite conclusion on this and that you are now able to put that worry out of your mind.  I hope your follow-ups go well and provide you with more reassurance that you are NED.  Keep moving forward and find a way to celebrate your good news!  Congrats!

  • sephie
    sephie Member Posts: 650 Member
    #3
    great news

    i am soooo glad that it was  ur ovary......  i would love to see Wales.... i want to go everywhere in the world...huge bucket list ... one friend told me that i better hurry up and get started.....   i am in Louisiana  and want to go go go.... i am trying to work on it...but i get stuck with trying to go alone (which does not bother me) because hubby just likes to hunt and fish ( he is not retired).... those solo trips in Europe would be ok but have to make sure i can handle the bathroom situation and etc....airplanes are easy because they have toilets but i better get started.... hugs  to you ....sephie

  • jcruz
    jcruz Member Posts: 379 Member
    #4
    such good news!

    I'm really happy for you.  Glad you got the confirmation about the ovary.  I hope you can enjoy the window of optimism before your next round with the doctors.

    Janet

  • Marynb
    Marynb Member Posts: 1,118
    #5
    Yay!
    Liz, I am so happy about your news! Thank God! Enjoy this good news! let's keep believing that there is no more cancer in your body! I hope you celebrate this good news!

    I am starting to wish I never had a darn scan. I am starting to get the impression that every scan shows something to worry about!

    Let's keep the good news rolling!

    Mary
  • lp1964
    lp1964 Member Posts: 1,239 Member
    #6
    Dear pializ,

    Why not just extend the MRI to the abdominal, liver and lung area and get it all at once, this way you would not have the radiation of CT.

    Congrats on your NED and wish you a very healthy life from here on.

    Laz

  • islandgirlculebra
    islandgirlculebra Member Posts: 155 Member
    #7
    Congratulations Pializ

    So happy for you that you got this good news!

  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    #8
    lp1964 said:

    Dear pializ,

    Why not just extend the MRI to the abdominal, liver and lung area and get it all at once, this way you would not have the radiation of CT.

    Congrats on your NED and wish you a very healthy life from here on.

    Laz

    LP

    Because she would be looking at approximately 2-hours inside the MRI tube.....getting an hour session each with & without contrast.  That's a very long time from personal experience.

    It gets really hot and confined in there too...and alot of people would melt down before they got through it. I couldn't do that particular scan for that long of time frame.

    For that type of scan they secure your hands to your side and velcro you inside this constricting cover so you're wrapped up like a mummy....then they lay this other protective device over your chest...and then come at you with earplugs and headphones....and then shove you into that tube like sausage into a casing. 

    It can become a buried alive kind of feeling pretty quickly....

    That's my explanation for Why...

    It's a good test if you can do it....but CT's are quicker and more efficient....and if a mass is suspected, MRI could be done on part or all the area in question.....for time constraints, CTs are a bigger business...MRIs like you are describing take a long time to complete and many folks can't last that long a time frame. 

     

     

  • pializ
    pializ Member Posts: 508 Member
    #9
    islandgirlculebra said:

    Congratulations Pializ

    So happy for you that you got this good news!

    All

    Thank you for your support. It means a lot. 

    As for beingin mri I have done a 1 hour stint on my side. I don't find it difficult (except probably my nose would itch & if hands are velcoed to my side, well that would be a challenge). I use mindfulness, or & just let my thoughts run, random thoughts without meaning or connection. I find their music either irritating or foot tapping, neither a good option.

    But for now, I wil go with enjoying NED however long that lasts.

    Night all

     

     

  • sandysp
    sandysp Member Posts: 868 Member
    #10
    pializ said:

    All

    Thank you for your support. It means a lot. 

    As for beingin mri I have done a 1 hour stint on my side. I don't find it difficult (except probably my nose would itch & if hands are velcoed to my side, well that would be a challenge). I use mindfulness, or & just let my thoughts run, random thoughts without meaning or connection. I find their music either irritating or foot tapping, neither a good option.

    But for now, I wil go with enjoying NED however long that lasts.

    Night all

     

     

    Congratulations

    It takes real expertise to read these scans accurately and I am so glad they took their time and let you know what they were dealing with.NED . . . that sounds GREAT!All the best,Sandy

  • howard
    howard Member Posts: 1
    #11
    chemo side effects lasting forever?

    hi just joined and this is my first post.Had bowel cancer 10 yrs ago this Feb and still feel effects of chemo/radiation treatment from time to time, fatigue nausia,weakness etc Im 51 now so had cancer at 41.Is this just me or does anyone else out there experience this ? I know its the treatment because i even get the chemo taste in my mouth would to hear from anyone thanks

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #12
    howard said:

    chemo side effects lasting forever?

    hi just joined and this is my first post.Had bowel cancer 10 yrs ago this Feb and still feel effects of chemo/radiation treatment from time to time, fatigue nausia,weakness etc Im 51 now so had cancer at 41.Is this just me or does anyone else out there experience this ? I know its the treatment because i even get the chemo taste in my mouth would to hear from anyone thanks

    howard

    Sorry to hear you are still experiencing after-effects of the treatment.  I finished treatment 5 years ago and my main issue is partial bowel blockages, perhaps due to the radiation.  However, I don't think I am still having any issues due to the chemo.  I had pretty smooth sailing once I overcame all the immediate side effects of the radiation, then unexpectedly this past January, had my first bowel blockage.  Perhaps someone else on this board has had the same experience as yours and can give you some input.

Discussion Boards