Sudden Tumor Increase During Treatment

Boraboca
Boraboca Member Posts: 2
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

My brother-in-law is undergoing chemo/radiation treatments for HPV-related throat cancer. He just reached the halfway mark on Friday and his tumor had shrunk considerably and he was feeling pretty good considering. He woke up Monday am and the tumor had suddenly appeared to be larger than ever! Dr is going to increase both the chemo and radiation. Has this happened to anyone? He was so optimistic and now is extremely discouraged. In addition, he started experiencing constant dry heaving so any feedback regarding how to alleviate this new symptom will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Comments

  • soonermom
    soonermom Member Posts: 155
    #2
    Maybe

     My husband had a smiliar experience with the node in his neck that was the symptom that led to the diagnosis of the BOT SCC HPV+ cancer but not with his primary tumor that we knew about as that could only been seen on imaging.  The node suddenly increased just as you described mid-treatment and remained enlarged post-treatment.  We did lots of reading about this and opted to wait for the 3 month post treatment PET to make any decisions.  It was NED.  He still has a visible node but it has decreased some.  He is recovering and doing well at this point.  I am sure it would be different if the primary enlarged.  All I can say is that at least for my husband the node decrease/increase did not indicate the treatment wasn't working.  It was a constant worry though to be honest.  Wish we had not wasted the energy.

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