Some information please

Srashedb,

I am sorry you have two stricken by cancer at once.

There is too little detail provided to say much about your daughter-in-law's mother.  There are over 40 common forms of lymphoma, and all are different.  Slow-moving cancers are also called "indolent."  These are usually beaten back fairly easily by drugs, but have a tendency to reoccur later, even many years later.

Generally, even stage 4 lymphoma is usually treatable, often with high rates of success. But, this is virtually always with chemotherapy.  If she is being given radaition only, it may be an indication of poor prognosis.  Radiation for Stage 4 lymphoma is almost always given for palliative effect, or to minimize tumor pain.  I have never heard of it given to a a Stage 4 patient (without chemo) for curative effect, meaning with the intent of curing the disease, or putting it in to complete remission.

This is a generality, but is as much as I can say, with out more detail regarding her condition.

Be aware that ORGAN cancers, like bladder, are often treated in a wholly differnt manner from systemic cancers, like lympohoma and leukemia.  I learned this by having both lymphoma and prostate cancers myself.   Lymohoma is approached totally differently, and a wholly differnt way of speaking and thinking is involved.

I hope your patient loved ones do well during this holiday season,

max

Srashedb said:

Details

thank you for your response, Max; it struck me as strange to have just radiation since it is systemic and has moved to the bones.

i  tend to research and have come across  many , many types of lymphoma but that is an area left blank. All i know is that the visit was routine, bloodwork suspicious, CT scans showed nodules and bone marrow biopsy showed it in the bones. My question to daughter-in-law was where will they radiate and apparently she doesn't know.

thanks, Sarah

 

Decades ago, lymphoma was sometimes fought with "field radiation," meaning a node, or localized set of nodes, were radiatied across an area. The problem with that is that the radiation also damages healthy tissue and possible adjacent organs. And this shows why lymphoma all over the body cannot be radiated:  You are saturating everything, everywhere, with harmful radiation.  Early-stage lymphoma is still radiated by some good doctors at good cancer facilities, but virtually all studies in the last ten years or so suggest that even Stage 1 lymphoma also receive at least a few cycles of chemotherapy also, to prevent recurrance.

Radiation therapy today against organ cancer is micro-precise in delivery: It can differentiate areas as small as 2 mm in some cases, and even compensates for things like breathing.  Radiation used agains prostate cancer compensates for the amount of urine in the bladder !!   GPS transmitters are placed inside the organ, to tell the guidance computers of any microscopic movements.  If a sudden movement is detected (like the patient coughing), the machine shuts off automatically, to prevent damaging adjacent tissues. The same is true of radiation used in lung cancer. I studied this material when deciding how to get my own prostate cancer treated.  IGRT ("Image Guided Radiation Therapy") and Cyberknife are two of the current radiation systems commonly used to radiate in this manner.

Terminal patients in palliative care for advanced prostate and other cancers sometimes have individual, huge nodes radiated to reduce pain and extend life a litlle, but at that point, there is no concern with radiation dosages, because the patient has very little time left anyway. In prostate cancer, the first site for metastasis is almost always the bone, and tumors can get large enough to cause fractures; this bone damage is one of the main causes of severe pain in dying prostate cancer patients. A dear friend of mine died of prostate cancer in this manner two years ago in September: the tumors in his legs caused large deformaties his last few days.  The lungs are another early site for metastasis in prostate and breast cancers. A friend is currently in her last weeks with breast cancer, and is having to have a drain shunt installed in her abdomen to drain her lungs in hospice, for instance.

Only a relative with medical authorization can ask and learn why the mother-in-law's doctors are doing this. We are left with guesswork and speculation, which is really not fair to anyone.

I am not well versed in other lymphomas except my husband's type, but I have never heard of lymphoma being in the bones per se.  If she had a bone marrow biopsy, is it possible she has it in her bone marrow?  I am thinking that would be more common and I am pretty sure that would be dealt with with chemo.  Like I say though, I am definitely no expert,  Max and Roquie know more than me.  I do think a 2nd opinion or a better explanation is in order.

My best to all of you also,

Becky