scan results not great - bone mets

robinvan said:

Hi Tara
You will see notes from myself and JohnSFO on the other thread. We both have colon cancer spread to the sacrum.

Mine is not technically a metastatic spread but rather a local spread from the rectum to the sacrum.

I think it is great that these were discovered before they became symptomatic. The symptoms can very quickly become nasty. From neurological disfunction to neuropathic pain and just plain pain in general! A pain in the **** in my case!

Radiation and Erbitux have saved the day for me. How many days? Who knows. But it is working well for now and looks good for the short term at least.

I'm almost 6 years into this and seem to get hit every 2 years like you. Grrrr....

All the very best... Rob; in Vancouver

subgroup
Rob - many thanks for your reply. Sorry we are both in the same 'specialty group'! but I really appreciate learning more about what you are doing and how it is going. Yea, I'm resolved to the fact that I might be looking at keeping things at bay rather than ridding myself completely but that is OK. Glad your tx is working well for now. Let's keep in touch and thanks again for the support. I'll let you know once my 'battle plan' gets finalized.

Tara

serrana said:

bone mets
Hi from a fellow multiple "event" survivor....seems these invaders just won't quit but aren't strong enough to finish us off.....I think this is a good thing actually compared to folks who have a major "big one" and it is over. I plan to fight them each and every one.

After 2007 diagnosis I've had two lung mets after being on chemo ( surgery for the mets)each a year apart and a cerebellum met ( radiation for that one ) and during a hip fracture from a Christmas lite installation fall , well yes, dumb huh, they thought they saw sacral bone mets in a scan High drama. After several consults it was decided they weren't mets at all but in the meantime my radiation onc told me that sacral mets are not uncommon and if they became painful they would do shots of radiation. He said we wouldn't do chemo.
They decided they were sacral insufficiency fractures not mets, very common after all the chemo/rad I had in 2007 and look on scans alot like bone mets
My point here is be sure they are mets and question the chemo recommendation. I've been off chemo now for a year and living off chemo is sure more fun than on it.
Best prayers for incredible surviving We need to stick together
Serrana

thanks for pointing out
Hi Serrana - Thanks for sharing your history. Sorry you too are a "multiple event survivor" (I like the term!). But, you are right -- we are survivors!

Hey, thanks very much for sharing with me about the "false alarm". I had a false alarm over a solitary lung met last summer, so I certainly want to be careful (and I'm sure my ONC does, too!). May I ask if your insufficiency fracture 'lit up' on PET? Or did it show up on MRI or CT scan? Mine did light up on PET. And I've sure had enough chemo to wipe out a small country. So, I will definitely be checking this out....I had radiation to rectal area only so I guess that wouldn't explain the other bone areas.....At the moment, I am praying for TB (!). Grasping at straws a little.....

Thanks again and yes let's keep in touch. Survivors!!

Tara