Finished 12 rounds today - a few follow-up questions

LivinginNH
LivinginNH Member Posts: 1,456 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi all, Rick completed his final round of chemo today, but now we have 3 different dr. opinions as to what his follow up schedule should be. (Now we're thinking about taking a hike to Sloan for the tie breaker.) Anyway, I'll post 2 of the schedules that we've received so far:

Dartmouth/Hitchcock:

1) CT next week - (is this too close to the last chemo treatment, or doesn't it matter?)
2) PET CT in 3 months
3) Colonoscopy in December (they took out the original colon tumor last December)

Mass General Onc.:

1) CT in 6 weeks
2) PET CT - 6 months out
3) No mention of colonoscopy

Any insight on this would be GREATLY appreciated!! Oh, and who is the best Onc. at Sloan???

Thanks everyone!! - Cynthia

Comments

  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    #2
    Cynthia -


    You may want to include another option:
    The UMass Memorial Cancer Center (Worcester, Ma.)

    They did wonders for my mother's lung cancer, and we've heard
    great reviews from others.

    BTW.... A colonoscopy is never a bad choice, since a competent
    technician can detect things a scan would miss. It also doesn't carry
    the risks of CT and other radiation producing scans.



    Stay well.


    John
  • breezie
    breezie Member Posts: 22
    #3
    follow-up treatment
    Hi Cynthia,

    Had a colon resection in May 09 at Sloan diagnosed with Stage III and did 12 rounds of chemo finishing New Years Eve 09. The follow-up care was prescribed as follows:

    CT scan, blood work (CEA) no sooner than 1 mo following completion of chemo

    Colonoscopy 1 yr from previous colonoscopy

    Blood work (CEA), checkup every 3 months

    CT scan yearly

    I live approx. 300 miles from Sloan so received my chemo treatments locally and my follow-up care was shared between Sloan and my onc (alternate every 3 months). Just had my 6 mo checkup and since there is no evidence of metastasis future visits to Sloan would be with a nurse practitioner so I'm opting to just see my onc unless a problem develops and I may return to Sloan.

    I did see an onc at Sloan but only for a consultation and we didn't really hit it off but then he fit me in (at my surgeon's insistence), he was running 2 hrs behind and knew he wasn't going to be treating me. If you're looking for a surgeon I highly recommend Dr. Garrett Nash. There aren't enough adjectives in the dictionary to describe him.

    Can I ask why you are looking for an onc at Sloan as I assume your treatments are complete for now.

    I've never had a PET scan and my surgeon mentioned at my last visit that they find CT scans more useful but suppose every doctor has his/her preference. Hope this helps.

    Kindest regard,
    dorothy
  • Crow71
    Crow71 Member Posts: 679 Member
    #4
    Hey Cynthia - Congrats on
    Hey Cynthia - Congrats on getting through 12 rounds.

    I don't really know how much it matters, but my onc gave the chemo a few weeks to really do it's thing before ordering a scan.

    I went to Sloan for a 2nd opinion after my final round of chemo. We were not given a choice of doctors. I saw Dr. Veach. He was really great, and I was very satisfied.

    Take care - Roger
  • LivinginNH
    LivinginNH Member Posts: 1,456 Member
    #5
    Crow71 said:

    Hey Cynthia - Congrats on
    Hey Cynthia - Congrats on getting through 12 rounds.

    I don't really know how much it matters, but my onc gave the chemo a few weeks to really do it's thing before ordering a scan.

    I went to Sloan for a 2nd opinion after my final round of chemo. We were not given a choice of doctors. I saw Dr. Veach. He was really great, and I was very satisfied.

    Take care - Roger

    Thank you for your kind

    Thank you for your kind responses, your help is always so very much appreciated. :-) It seems that there is no one real set schedule for post-chemo treatment. But we're considering going to Sloan simply because we can't seem to get a consensus from either our local oncs. nor the Mass. General oncologists, and we don't want to choose incorrectly given the stakes. I guess what it comes down to is that we just want the best doctor with the best advise that we can get in order to keep the beast away, and Sloan is the best the North East. As my Dad would always tell me, "The fight must go on, and never give up!" (He was Ret. Army). Best wishes to all, Cynthia
  • Nana b
    Nana b Member Posts: 3,030 Member
    #6
    LivinginNH said:

    Thank you for your kind

    Thank you for your kind responses, your help is always so very much appreciated. :-) It seems that there is no one real set schedule for post-chemo treatment. But we're considering going to Sloan simply because we can't seem to get a consensus from either our local oncs. nor the Mass. General oncologists, and we don't want to choose incorrectly given the stakes. I guess what it comes down to is that we just want the best doctor with the best advise that we can get in order to keep the beast away, and Sloan is the best the North East. As my Dad would always tell me, "The fight must go on, and never give up!" (He was Ret. Army). Best wishes to all, Cynthia

    Hi
    Congrats! Number 1 was my schedule!! I have been off chemo for a year. We check CEA now and if it goes up I get a scan. Also keep in mind deductibles, if you can get something done in the same year you may not have to pay anything if you already reached your deductible or max out of pocket for the year.
  • AnneCan
    AnneCan Member Posts: 3,673 Member
    #7
    Sorry, I don't have any
    Sorry, I don't have any advice but wanted to wish you + your husband well.
  • breezie
    breezie Member Posts: 22
    #8
    Sloan is awsome
    Hi Cynthia,

    Forgot to offer congrats on completing treatment. I'm glad you're going to Sloan for a consult, they are all awesome and you couldn't be in better hands. Hope your husband is feeling well, will keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

    dorothy
  • ktlcs
    ktlcs Member Posts: 358
    #9
    breezie said:

    Sloan is awsome
    Hi Cynthia,

    Forgot to offer congrats on completing treatment. I'm glad you're going to Sloan for a consult, they are all awesome and you couldn't be in better hands. Hope your husband is feeling well, will keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

    dorothy

    A Perspective on Sloane
    My husband was dx 10/09, Stage IV, inoperable, unfortunatley poor prognosis (I lost him on 7/17). We live within 25 miles on NYC so I contacted Sloane for a 2nd opinion. They outright refused as said he was already under another Drs care and they would not take a patient in treatment( he had had one week's worth of Xeloda at that point) no matter what I did they refused to see him. A friend dx with Breast cancer at the same time did get a consult, waited two and 1/2 hours only to have the appt canx, upon reschedule the Dr refused her as a patient. (Although when tests showed she had a particularly rare form of cancer they suddenly began calling her! She declined)

    I found them to be arrogant, dispassionate and more interested in the numbers than the patient. I know they have done a lot of good things for a lot of people but you have two excellent alternatives to choose from. My parents live in NH, go the Dartmouth Hitchcock for all of their health needs and I have been very impressed with the level of care.

    Just another opinion, whatever you decide, best of luck

    Kathy
  • sasjourney
    sasjourney Member Posts: 395 Member
    #10
    Here's what they told me
    Cynthia,

    I am close to being done with chemo and my onc. plan is:

    1. CT scan (PET if anything looks suspicious)right after treatments end.
    2. Colonoscopy ( a month after treatment ends)

    Then scans every three months for a while.

    Congrats on Rick completing chemo.

    Sara
  • LivinginNH
    LivinginNH Member Posts: 1,456 Member
    #11
    sasjourney said:

    Here's what they told me
    Cynthia,

    I am close to being done with chemo and my onc. plan is:

    1. CT scan (PET if anything looks suspicious)right after treatments end.
    2. Colonoscopy ( a month after treatment ends)

    Then scans every three months for a while.

    Congrats on Rick completing chemo.

    Sara

    Thank you again everyone.

    Thank you again everyone. I'll review all of your responses with Rick tonight so that he'll be better able to discuss the plans with his oncs tomorrow. As you are all well aware, it's always best to have as much information as possible before discussing the options with the doctors. We're so thankful to have such friends out on the Board to help us with our decisions. Thank you.. and take care, Cynthia

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