GREAT NEWS UPDATE

amcp
amcp Member Posts: 251 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
FRANK SAW THE ONCOLOGIST YESTERDAY AT VANDERBILT AND SHE GAVE US SOME NEWS. THE GREAT CT SCAN WAS GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE LIVER AREA BUT THERE ARE NOW SEVERAL SPOTS SHOWING UP IN HIS LUNGS THAT WAS NOT THERE IN JULY CT SCAN. THE SPOTS ARE ABOUT 1 CM EACH..THE DOCTOR SAID THEY WERE TOO SMALL NOW TO DETERMINE IF THEY ARE CANCER AND TOO SMALL TO BIOPSY. SHE RECOMMENDED THAT FRANK GO HOME AND WORK ON GETTING HIS STRENGTH BACK BECAUSE EVEN IF IT WAS CANCER HE IS TOO WEAK NOW TO ENTER A CLINICAL TRIAL. HE HAS AN APPOINTMENT ON OCTOBER 26 TO HAVE ANOTHER CT SCAN, LAB WORK, AND ANOTHER APPOINTMENT. THEY WILL CHECK TO SEE IF THE SPOTS HAVE GROWN AND IF THEY HAVE WHERE TO GO FROM THERE. JUST ANOTHER BUMP IN THE ROAD...THANKS FOR ALL YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT AND GREAT MESSAGES.
HUGS,
ANNA

Comments

  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #2
    PET scan
    Hi Anna,

    It seems the use of PET scans varies from doctor to doctor- some use them all the time & some don't use them at all. I'm just wondering if Frank had a PET scan on the new spots on his lungs if that would help determine if they're cancerous or not. Was that ever mentioned or discussed? I've heard some say nothing under 1 cm lights up on a PET. That definitely was not true in my case, though, as I've had spots at about a cm light up and I've had spots that were just "pinpoints of light"- quite small, but they did light up. I've also had these same spots not light up on a PET at times. My situation is that these numerous spots of mine in my lungs will light up on a PET, then I get chemo and they still show up on the CT, but no longer light up on the PET. This seems to mean that the cancerous metabolic activity level goes way down with chemo, then the intensity starts to increase again once I'm off chemo. Not that this will be Frank's situation, but I just wanted to point out that a PET can definitely help you know if there's metabolic activity going on there or not.
    One doctor told me that not all PET/CT machines are alike. Some are apparently much more or much less sensitive than others. If the local PET scan location near you isn't that sensitive, you might even be able to locate another one that would show more.

    Best wishes to you and Frank-

    Lisa
  • idlehunters
    idlehunters Member Posts: 1,787 Member
    #3
    lisa42 said:

    PET scan
    Hi Anna,

    It seems the use of PET scans varies from doctor to doctor- some use them all the time & some don't use them at all. I'm just wondering if Frank had a PET scan on the new spots on his lungs if that would help determine if they're cancerous or not. Was that ever mentioned or discussed? I've heard some say nothing under 1 cm lights up on a PET. That definitely was not true in my case, though, as I've had spots at about a cm light up and I've had spots that were just "pinpoints of light"- quite small, but they did light up. I've also had these same spots not light up on a PET at times. My situation is that these numerous spots of mine in my lungs will light up on a PET, then I get chemo and they still show up on the CT, but no longer light up on the PET. This seems to mean that the cancerous metabolic activity level goes way down with chemo, then the intensity starts to increase again once I'm off chemo. Not that this will be Frank's situation, but I just wanted to point out that a PET can definitely help you know if there's metabolic activity going on there or not.
    One doctor told me that not all PET/CT machines are alike. Some are apparently much more or much less sensitive than others. If the local PET scan location near you isn't that sensitive, you might even be able to locate another one that would show more.

    Best wishes to you and Frank-

    Lisa

    Frank and Anna
    Hello to you both. I haven't talked to you in quite a while. Please keep me up to date on the lungs. That is what I am facing too. I am keeping you in my prayers.

    Jennie
  • ADKer
    ADKer Member Posts: 147
    #4
    idlehunters said:

    Frank and Anna
    Hello to you both. I haven't talked to you in quite a while. Please keep me up to date on the lungs. That is what I am facing too. I am keeping you in my prayers.

    Jennie

    mets to lung
    My situation has been a little different but I will share it in the hope that it is helpful as you make treatment decisions. I also had mets to my lungs after resection of my liver. I was given Xeloda, which was effective at containing the lung mets. However, after about 4 months, a small tumor appeared on the CT scan in a lobe of my liver that had not been touched during the resection. My chemo was changed to irinotecan and HAI pump therapy. Although the radiology reports from a couple CT scans thereafter noted stable lung mets, when my liver tumor disappeared and the attention returned to my lung mets, I find that the number of lung mets has increased from 6-9 to more than 15 and are not operable at this time. After my liver tumor could no longer be seen on CT scan, Xeloda was added back to my regimen. Although again effective at containing my lung mets, after 16 weeks, my liver enzymes increased such that the irinotecan and HAI pump therapy had to be stopped. It is a difficult situation with difficult choices. The liver met was/is much more imminently threatening and it was more important to be able to address it than risk adding Xeloda and causing excessive stress to the liver.

    My opinion is that your husband ought to get back on chemo absolutely as soon as his oncologist believes he is strong enough. Try to contain those lung mets. Best wishes to you.

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