Remission over ☹️

Remember it’s not cancer till they say it’s cancer. You say the doctors warned she may not be in remission-What does that mean. They should be trying to isolate her problems and if they think there is cancer in an area take a biopsy and verify it one way or the other. I had throat cancer in 2013 and just last summer after almost 5 years I got a spot on my tongue that was found to be cancer. My ENT biopsied it to verify it was cancer and it was. Then he had me get a PET scan which is a full body scan after they inject you with dye and they check your whole body to make sure there is no cancer anywhere else or not. Then he knew he was dealing with cancer in just this one area and he operated and removed the cancer till he had clear margins. I would assume they would do the same thing for your sister verify yes or no and then they will know what they are dealing with. Sounds like no tests were performed yet-she may not have any cancer at all just a problem with her jaw-if you have details please post them such as tests, x rays, CT scans, blood tests, etc. Take Care-God Bless-and feel free to correct me if I missed something or misinterpedyour posting.

wbcgaruss said:

I Had a Second Cancer

 

Remember it’s not cancer till they say it’s cancer. You say the doctors warned she may not be in remission-What does that mean. They should be trying to isolate her problems and if they think there is cancer in an area take a biopsy and verify it one way or the other. I had throat cancer in 2013 and just last summer after almost 5 years I got a spot on my tongue that was found to be cancer. My ENT biopsied it to verify it was cancer and it was. Then he had me get a PET scan which is a full body scan after they inject you with dye and they check your whole body to make sure there is no cancer anywhere else or not. Then he knew he was dealing with cancer in just this one area and he operated and removed the cancer till he had clear margins. I would assume they would do the same thing for your sister verify yes or no and then they will know what they are dealing with. Sounds like no tests were performed yet-she may not have any cancer at all just a problem with her jaw-if you have details please post them such as tests, x rays, CT scans, blood tests, etc. Take Care-God Bless-and feel free to correct me if I missed something or misinterpedyour posting.

Your story sounds exactly like my husbands at the moment. He has been in remission for 2 years for base of tongue cancer, 36 rads 2 chemos. He has a sore on his tongue left side front that is not going away.  You said that you had surgery for it. Is that all they will do at this point if it is cancer? I think I remember the oncologist telling us he can't have any more radiation that he was at his limit. So is that the procedure the second time around. Just surgery and then watch and wait?

Saw a You Tube multi-segment seminar from over in Asia years ago. Had top C specialists there, with a lady from Farber the US rep. One of the few conclusions all agreed on was NPC should be dealt with by concurrent Rads and Chemo. Mine was "unknown Primary" in the lymphs, and the regiment of tx was so harsh I was put on Morphine the start of week #2 because of tongue scalding, etc. That was a little over 10 years ago, and am still on two meds to deal with neck spasms/the dental bills have cost me over $15-K/and now aspiration is an issue. And...

To hear about your Sister's NPC coming back after 15 years is not welcome news, as I'm sure it isn't for her. Probably the main thing is to have a very detailed discussion about options if Rads are involved again, and the damage a 2nd round will have. So many years out from the 1st bout, though, the new technologies/txs should be an advantage. And, of course, the source has to be biopsied and come back positive for C before tx is even considered.

My aspiration did not really show as a problem until around 8-9 years post-tx. Possible her problems are also from her tx 15 years ago?

Deemaries said:

Thank You for your reply. It

Thank You for your reply. It is nearly impossible to get him to call the dr. He says he will bring it up at his next oncologist appt at the end of July. If it is cancer, what are his options, surgery only to remove it? He had all the rads and 2 of 3 chemos. He couldn't finish the 3rd chemo because of his kidneys, but since then his kidneys have recovered. They can't do radiation again , can they? I think the dr mentioned they can't do radiation again. 

 I'll keep you in my prayers. Thank You again.

First, you have to determine if it is cancer or not by biopsy or any other way they might use but Biopsy a tissue sample is usually it. If it is cancer your providers, cancer team can come up with a plan to deal with it. if small or sometimes bigger removing it till they get clear margins is usually good with no follow-up treatment but it depends on each persons case. Since his kidneys recovered they may be able to do chemo and watch him closely. I have heard of people on here getting radiation over again but I don't think the docs like to do it if they can avoid it but it is done at times. #1 has he been to the docs yet and is it cancer, don't wait to get to the docs and find out. It could just be a lesion or some other growth, a small infection of some sort don't just assume it is cancer. Do you remember the old saying about the word "assume"?