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Monicaemilia
Monicaemilia Member Posts: 455 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I'm so grateful to find this site. I was diagnosed with stage iv colorectal cancer this January 2006. In November my bowel perforated when I was eight months pregnant which started the search for the 'cause'. I was on a Oxaliplatin/Xeloda/Avastin clinical trial but the Avastin had to be removed due to wound healing problems due to my previous two surgeries. However, Avastin seems to be the only drug that helped shrink the mets to the liver, and after it was stopped, the mets remained stable. It was then decided that I would have surgery to resect the liver today, but received a call yesterday to tell me that there are two small nodules in the lungs and although they are not sure it is cancer, it can be assumed that it is since one of the nodules seems to have grown from a previous c-scan. My onc suggested giving it a six week rest to see whether there was any growth and that would determine if it was cancer. I thought this was a terrible idea and that I should get started on chemo right away. We agreed that I would start on something FU (I'm sorry, it was a lot of information to take in yesterday) and she kept mentioning Iritocan??. I will also be trying again.

That was the short version of my story. My questions are: Has anyone had lesions in their lungs that did not end up being cancer? I know it's a long shot, but it doesn't hurt to ask. I remember a posting where a woman said that Oxaliplatin can cause certain lesions in the lungs, but have not been able to find any information that confirms her story.

My second question is: has anyone had resection surgery of the lungs and liver after a situation like mine?

And the third question: someone mentioned that there is a page on this site where people tell their success stories, and I'm desperately in need of some happy stories right now

Comments

  • StacyGleaso
    StacyGleaso Member Posts: 1,233 Member
    #2
    Hello!

    I was 33 when I was diagnosed with stage 4, and that was 5 yrs ago. Today, all clear! To get a good idea of success stories, browse the web pages of those whose names you have seen in these posts. You'll be glad you did when you see the array of survivors!

    As far as your POSSIBLE lung mets, wait and see what the scans reveal. Speculating will get you nowhere, and professionals will be the ones who have the right approach to this.

    How is that new baby of yours?!?!? Keep your chin up, YOU CAN GET THROUGH THIS!

    Stacy

    P.S. You can e-mail me anytime through this site for additional help if you need it.
  • chynabear
    chynabear Member Posts: 481 Member
    #3
    StacyGleaso said:

    Hello!

    I was 33 when I was diagnosed with stage 4, and that was 5 yrs ago. Today, all clear! To get a good idea of success stories, browse the web pages of those whose names you have seen in these posts. You'll be glad you did when you see the array of survivors!

    As far as your POSSIBLE lung mets, wait and see what the scans reveal. Speculating will get you nowhere, and professionals will be the ones who have the right approach to this.

    How is that new baby of yours?!?!? Keep your chin up, YOU CAN GET THROUGH THIS!

    Stacy

    P.S. You can e-mail me anytime through this site for additional help if you need it.

    Hi.

    It sounds like you have been on quite the roller coaster ride.

    As mentioned, read the stories. You can find a link to the left that says Personal Web Pages.

    I was dx as stage III in Oct 2004 the day after my 27th birthday. I am currently cancer free.

    I just wanted to chime in that I have heard many stories that "spots" in the lung can come from many sources, such as previous lung infections and illness.

    While I understand your urgency in getting back on chemo ASAP maybe it would be a good idea to make sure it is cancer first. Have they done a PET scan, MRI or any other test than a CT?

    Are you still planning to have the liver resection? If so, I pray for a speedy recovery and healing.

    My little girl was just 15 months when I was diagnosed.

    My heart goes out to you and your family.

    You can beat this.

    Tricia
  • shmurciakova
    shmurciakova Member Posts: 906 Member
    #4
    Hi there,
    My name is Susan. I was diagnosed w/ CC when I was 31. I had subsequent liver and lung mets removed. I am now 36 and NED!
    My last surgery to remove the lung mets was 2 years ago. It is possible that the spots on your lungs are not cancer, but I can tell you, if it is possible to get them removed surgically I would go ahead and do it. I waited 8 MONTHS and I have to say it was a roller coaster ride. A PET scan will only show cancer definitively if the nodules are over 1 cm in size. Mine were 4 and 5 mm respectively. They were discovered in Feb. 04. I had a PET scan done later, in May and it came back negative. Then in August I had another done and although the nodules had doubled in size, the PET scan still showed that they were not cancer. So then I was like OK, whew, now I can relax. Well, in October I had another PET done and this time it showed that they were cancer! I guess in a way, waiting is good because it gives time to see if anything else "shows up", but I would at least ask your doctors about having the liver and lung resections. I truely feel that surgery is what got me to the point I am at now. I did not have any more chemo following my lung resection. In my case, and perhaps in yours too the doctors told me that the liver and lung lesions had almost certainly been there all along, when I was originally diagnosed, but were too small to be seen on scans and obviously, fairly slow growing...They were not recurrences, but mets, you know? So, finally, it appears they "got it all".
    I don't know about Oxy causing lung lesions as I never did Oxy, but I did do Irinotecan after my liver resection (before the lung mets were seen).
    If you have any questions feel free to send me an e-mail.
    I know how scary it is wondering about this. My advice is to see if you can get the lung mets and the liver resection, and chemo after if you decide to go that route. I don't think you should go on chemo again right away, but I do think you should have surgery right away if possible.
    Good luck to you,
    Susan H.
  • lfondots63
    lfondots63 Member Posts: 818 Member
    #5
    Hi,

    I just wanted to say I'm glad you found us but sorry that you have to go through this especially with just having a child. I'm only Stage 3 but this site and its people are a god send. HUGS and think of the no chemo as a break to enjoy your new baby and to maybe get some of your strength back. I have 4 children ranging from 18yrs to 11yrs. I was just dx in Dec. 2005 and had my tumor removed on my birthday. HUGS and keep us posted.

    Lisa F.
  • jsabol
    jsabol Member Posts: 1,145 Member
    #6
    Gosh, what a ride you have had! I know that there are others here who will post their more directly related stage iv success, and others who are in active treatment now. You've already heard from one of our veterans and primo case example, Stacy., who was one of the first people to tell me that you will get through this. I am stage iii, now nearly 3 years out from surgery; I have 3 spots on my liver since my initial workup that we watch, but which have not grown, and are presumed to be cysts.
    I have a sister in law who is my absolute hero, with stage iv breast cancer, controlled by chemo, and again planning to go skiing out west soon!
    Sorry that I can't help with the lung questions; the help line at this site has been good for some folks and I hope that you find the web pages. (One method is to click on the little head with the green arrow pointing to it after each person's reply, which will add them to your "Friends List", from which you can click to view the Web page, if its been completed.) I did that a LOT when I was in treatment.
    Keep in touch and stay strong and focused, for yourself and the little one! Judy
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #7
    Monica -

    For an amazing story read a couple of posts up to see Tennislover's story!

    I can vouch for the stories of Oxaliplatin causing a brittleness in the lungs which may show up as lesions - I can't recall the name of it, but I recall exchanging e-mails with an Air Force officer who had concerns about that and the impact it might have on his flying status.

    Glad you're here! Hang tough and you will definitely hear from your many cohorts!

    Cheers

    - SpongeBob
  • Monicaemilia
    Monicaemilia Member Posts: 455 Member
    #8
    Thank you so much for your responses. I don't feel so alone now. I did want to answer to some of the questions/comments to clarify the decision I made to continue with chemo (plus, I can't seem to work the e-mail function). The surgeon does not want to do anything until there is a handle on the mets. The surgery was already a little tricky because one of the tumors seems to be dangerously close to a vein, but she was willing to do it, until she saw the spots in the lungs. The spots are only 1 cm therefore cannot be biopsied. My reasoning behind starting chemo right away was to try to keep the door open to the surgery option, because I'm starting to feel the doors closing quickly. I'm hoping that the new chemo regimen will work better than the Xeloda/Oxaliplatin combination.

    And Nicholas is absolutely wonderful. He will turn 1 year old on November 21 and has been the one bright light in all this. We do have to keep an eye on him because my cancer is considered familiar and could possibly affect him. We are praying that will not be the case.
  • nudgie
    nudgie Member Posts: 1,478 Member
    #9
    I was DX on 7/06 with Stage II NO/MO colon cancer and had tumor removed in July also. Question regarding lung nodule: I have a 7mm nodule that has been watched since 2003 by high resolution CT scans and has not grown in size. The last High Resolution CT Scan was 28 September which indicated no change in 7mm nodule but showed some blebs which I think came from the Oxy chemo drug because I did not have these before on any of the scans.
  • joyceann619
    joyceann619 Member Posts: 33 Member
    #10
    Hi,
    Has your CEA level been tested lately?

    That is one indicator test that goes high if the cancer is spreading.
    Joyce
  • Monicaemilia
    Monicaemilia Member Posts: 455 Member
    #11
    joyceann619 said:

    Hi,
    Has your CEA level been tested lately?

    That is one indicator test that goes high if the cancer is spreading.
    Joyce

    No, the most recent cea report is in August and it was a lovely, fairly normal 3. I'm doing another on November 28th.
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #12
    Monica:

    Sorry, out of reach of a computer yesterday. There are many, many success stories here...Mine is a little new...but I was 'lucky' to be on the cancer list 2 times in 19 months...first, rectal cancer stage III, then breast cancer (unrelated) stage IIB. I finished up treatment on the breast cancer in June of this year.

    My onc officially posted in my chart that as of July 12, 2006, I am NED on both cancers....

    I am sending big, warm, healthy vibes your way...and, to quote a great comedian, Charlie Chaplin...."A day without laughter is a day wasted".

    Hugs, Kathi

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