Another scare

ssfbeagle
ssfbeagle Member Posts: 50
edited March 2014 in Uterine/Endometrial Cancer #1
I just got back from the oncologist with my mom. Thankfully her H&H is stable at 9.4/30.1. Platelets are up to 123,000. WBC's are 3.1. She meets with the gyn-oncologist on Monday at noon. The oncologist gave me a copy of the CT scan which shows a left lower lobe pulmonary nodule which had increased in size since January. I immediately called him back to see if I should be concerned (I was unaware of any nodule showing up). At this point he wants to watch it and wait. I know it could be something nonspecific but my mind is racing nonetheless. The appointment on Monday will determine if surgery is indicated. Another long weekend ahead.
Leslie

Comments

  • Songflower
    Songflower Member Posts: 608
    #2
    Another Scare
    Dear Leslie,

    I am new to the board. You sound like a very caring daughter. Waiting for results is often some of the hardest times. Your oncologist sounds on top of things and your mothers blood work sounds fairly stable to me. During times like this I try and focus on daily life activities. It's not that I am denying the fears I feel but they don't help for the moment or the weekend. Write down questions for your Doctor and then it is easier to focus more on what you are doing today. You are doing a good job keeping up with things and caring for your mother. Be sure to take care of yourself too. Your friends here are sending support.

    Diane
  • cookie1948
    cookie1948 Member Posts: 77
    #3
    Songflower said:

    Another Scare
    Dear Leslie,

    I am new to the board. You sound like a very caring daughter. Waiting for results is often some of the hardest times. Your oncologist sounds on top of things and your mothers blood work sounds fairly stable to me. During times like this I try and focus on daily life activities. It's not that I am denying the fears I feel but they don't help for the moment or the weekend. Write down questions for your Doctor and then it is easier to focus more on what you are doing today. You are doing a good job keeping up with things and caring for your mother. Be sure to take care of yourself too. Your friends here are sending support.

    Diane

    Hi Diane
    My mom is 85 and had hysterctomy March 12th of this year. We are both sort of scared for her 3 month check up on June 25th. I am praying she is ok. She is doing well, no chemo or radiation, but i told her if she changed her mind we could do this together. she was stage 1a and i did not realize it is a grade 3 cancer as Linda mentioned. I know more now, but at this point she is so upset about her eyesight with not being able to read or sew as everything in her sight sort of jumps around and it is hard to watch her struggle. She can garden and move around, it's the reading the paper or labels or things like that that really bother her. I am scared for her with this UPSC. I know so much more now. I thank God she lives right next door to me all of these years. I talked to an oncology nurse yesterday and she said if your mom wants we can bring up chemo and or radiation at the dr visit, but i talked to mom and she said she doesn't want to be sick, cause she feels good right now. When do they do ct scans? or will they not do that if you are older. I dont' want anyone giving up on her or underestimating her determination to LIVE.
    Thanks for any input you can give me.
    Cookie
  • cookie1948
    cookie1948 Member Posts: 77
    #4
    cookie1948 said:

    Hi Diane
    My mom is 85 and had hysterctomy March 12th of this year. We are both sort of scared for her 3 month check up on June 25th. I am praying she is ok. She is doing well, no chemo or radiation, but i told her if she changed her mind we could do this together. she was stage 1a and i did not realize it is a grade 3 cancer as Linda mentioned. I know more now, but at this point she is so upset about her eyesight with not being able to read or sew as everything in her sight sort of jumps around and it is hard to watch her struggle. She can garden and move around, it's the reading the paper or labels or things like that that really bother her. I am scared for her with this UPSC. I know so much more now. I thank God she lives right next door to me all of these years. I talked to an oncology nurse yesterday and she said if your mom wants we can bring up chemo and or radiation at the dr visit, but i talked to mom and she said she doesn't want to be sick, cause she feels good right now. When do they do ct scans? or will they not do that if you are older. I dont' want anyone giving up on her or underestimating her determination to LIVE.
    Thanks for any input you can give me.
    Cookie

    ct scan
    If you do not get chemo and only 3 month check ups, do u not get ct scans??? unless something is suspected from the ca125 or pelvic exam? her ca125 last week was 11., the oncology/gyn office said my mom will get a pelvic and pap at the 3 mo check up this next week.
    thanks again for all of the good information all of u put out here on these posts.
    cookie :)
    God Bless
  • Songflower
    Songflower Member Posts: 608
    #5
    cookie1948 said:

    ct scan
    If you do not get chemo and only 3 month check ups, do u not get ct scans??? unless something is suspected from the ca125 or pelvic exam? her ca125 last week was 11., the oncology/gyn office said my mom will get a pelvic and pap at the 3 mo check up this next week.
    thanks again for all of the good information all of u put out here on these posts.
    cookie :)
    God Bless

    CT Scan
    I think you need to discuss with an oncologist radiation and chemotherapy. It is a difficult decision at age 85; sometimes people take a modified dose or do the complete chemotherapy or radiation. If they cannot tolerate they stop. It is really your mother's decision and we have to respect what she decides. I am concerned about her vision problems though. I would advise seeing an opthomologist for a second opinion on her eyes. Usually women with USPC are followed with scans even if they are older. Write down your list of questions for this week and go over each one with the Doctor.

    Diane
  • Reddie
    Reddie Member Posts: 72
    #6
    cookie1948 said:

    ct scan
    If you do not get chemo and only 3 month check ups, do u not get ct scans??? unless something is suspected from the ca125 or pelvic exam? her ca125 last week was 11., the oncology/gyn office said my mom will get a pelvic and pap at the 3 mo check up this next week.
    thanks again for all of the good information all of u put out here on these posts.
    cookie :)
    God Bless

    CA125
    If your mom is CA125 is 11 that is a great number! My doctor told me that if our number is below 35 is considerate safe. Mine is over 133 so I need to take chemotherapy. It's good to have every 3 months check up to make sure that you're mom is safe and sound. smile Brenda
  • pjk
    pjk Member Posts: 17
    #7
    cookie1948 said:

    Hi Diane
    My mom is 85 and had hysterctomy March 12th of this year. We are both sort of scared for her 3 month check up on June 25th. I am praying she is ok. She is doing well, no chemo or radiation, but i told her if she changed her mind we could do this together. she was stage 1a and i did not realize it is a grade 3 cancer as Linda mentioned. I know more now, but at this point she is so upset about her eyesight with not being able to read or sew as everything in her sight sort of jumps around and it is hard to watch her struggle. She can garden and move around, it's the reading the paper or labels or things like that that really bother her. I am scared for her with this UPSC. I know so much more now. I thank God she lives right next door to me all of these years. I talked to an oncology nurse yesterday and she said if your mom wants we can bring up chemo and or radiation at the dr visit, but i talked to mom and she said she doesn't want to be sick, cause she feels good right now. When do they do ct scans? or will they not do that if you are older. I dont' want anyone giving up on her or underestimating her determination to LIVE.
    Thanks for any input you can give me.
    Cookie

    Your Mom's eyesight
    Has your mom been diagnosed with an eye problem? Mine has macular degeneration and we didn't catch it early enough to save her sight. Your mom's symptoms are suspiciously like my mom had early on.
  • pjk
    pjk Member Posts: 17
    #8
    Reddie said:

    CA125
    If your mom is CA125 is 11 that is a great number! My doctor told me that if our number is below 35 is considerate safe. Mine is over 133 so I need to take chemotherapy. It's good to have every 3 months check up to make sure that you're mom is safe and sound. smile Brenda

    CA?
    Too new to this to know - what is CA?
  • Reddie
    Reddie Member Posts: 72
    #9
    pjk said:

    Your Mom's eyesight
    Has your mom been diagnosed with an eye problem? Mine has macular degeneration and we didn't catch it early enough to save her sight. Your mom's symptoms are suspiciously like my mom had early on.

    CA-125
    CA-125 means Cancer Antigen 125.
    A cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) is a protein found on the surface of many ovarian cancer cells. It also can be found in other cancers and in small amounts in normal tissue. A CA-125 test measures the amount of this protein in the blood.

    CA-125 is used as a tumor marker-which means the test can help show if some types of cancer are present. Most often, the CA-125 test is used to check how well treatment for ovarian cancer is working or to see if ovarian cancer has returned.
    Why It Is Done

    The test for cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) is used to:

    * Check if treatment for cancer is working. If the level of CA-125 is going down, it usually means that the treatment is working.
    * Check if cancer has returned.
    * Check if the ovary is the main site of cancer in a woman. If a cancer is found at another site (metastatic cancer), a higher-than-normal CA-125 test result may mean that ovarian cancer is the main site. However, other types of cancer also can increase CA-125 levels.
    If you want to read more then check the weblink
    credit by http://www.webmd.com/ovarian-cancer/cancer-antigen-125-ca-125
  • cookie1948
    cookie1948 Member Posts: 77
    #10
    Songflower said:

    CT Scan
    I think you need to discuss with an oncologist radiation and chemotherapy. It is a difficult decision at age 85; sometimes people take a modified dose or do the complete chemotherapy or radiation. If they cannot tolerate they stop. It is really your mother's decision and we have to respect what she decides. I am concerned about her vision problems though. I would advise seeing an opthomologist for a second opinion on her eyes. Usually women with USPC are followed with scans even if they are older. Write down your list of questions for this week and go over each one with the Doctor.

    Diane

    THANKS DIANE
    yES, i will let her make that decision on treatment and i think she would probably not do it unless the oncologist actually suggests trying it and he didn't seem to say much about that. Thanks for your concern on the vision thing with my mom. It is very sad but she sees a regular opthamologist/retina specialist once a month for the steroid injections in her eye to stop bleeding. There is not much they can do for macular degeneration, in the "wet" on that she has they can inject steroids but that's about it. She will get photos taken to see if bleeding has stopped in one month and go from there. I also have made her an appt for the Braille Institute to evaluate the vision and see if there are any devices i can buy her so she can at least see pictures better or words. It needs to be a certain type of light and magnifier, but sometimes she cannot see much as the numbers or letters jump around so it's quite frustrating. Thanks so much for your info, Diane.
    Cookie :)
  • cookie1948
    cookie1948 Member Posts: 77
    #11
    pjk said:

    Your Mom's eyesight
    Has your mom been diagnosed with an eye problem? Mine has macular degeneration and we didn't catch it early enough to save her sight. Your mom's symptoms are suspiciously like my mom had early on.

    YES PJK
    Mom has macular degeneration and for a couple of years she kept telling optomotrist she needed better eyeglasses or stronger ones. I found out later that she wasn't telling me much about that especially when my dad was so ill and dying. Now i am trying to get as much help for her as possible and it's a little late, but we're still trying. Thanks so much for your input and thanks REDDIE ALSO. God Bless you wonderful women!!!
    Cookie :)
  • cookie1948
    cookie1948 Member Posts: 77
    #12
    Reddie said:

    CA-125
    CA-125 means Cancer Antigen 125.
    A cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) is a protein found on the surface of many ovarian cancer cells. It also can be found in other cancers and in small amounts in normal tissue. A CA-125 test measures the amount of this protein in the blood.

    CA-125 is used as a tumor marker-which means the test can help show if some types of cancer are present. Most often, the CA-125 test is used to check how well treatment for ovarian cancer is working or to see if ovarian cancer has returned.
    Why It Is Done

    The test for cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) is used to:

    * Check if treatment for cancer is working. If the level of CA-125 is going down, it usually means that the treatment is working.
    * Check if cancer has returned.
    * Check if the ovary is the main site of cancer in a woman. If a cancer is found at another site (metastatic cancer), a higher-than-normal CA-125 test result may mean that ovarian cancer is the main site. However, other types of cancer also can increase CA-125 levels.
    If you want to read more then check the weblink
    credit by http://www.webmd.com/ovarian-cancer/cancer-antigen-125-ca-125

    Thanks Reddie
    Wow you are a wealth of information. thanks so very much. I knew some about CA125 but not this much. Before surgery it was 15 , now 11. she has stage 1a UPSC, no treatment except for total abdominal hysterectomy march 12, 2009. At 85 she is doing amazingly well though.
    again, thank you.
    Linda aka Cookie

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