Questions to ask Matt's Oncologists??

mcgivarenfaith
mcgivarenfaith Member Posts: 40
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
My husband just had a liver resection in Dec to remove 7 liver mets & had 1 ablation. He still has his colon tumor. We are 2 weeks from surgery & go today to meet with his oncologists for a meeting, im assuming what the next treatment plan is. I sometimes feel like i have chemo brain & dont know what questions to ask the doctor.. any suggestions will be appreciated. Wishing everyone a wonderful day!!

Jennifer

Comments

  • pete43lost_at_sea
    pete43lost_at_sea Member Posts: 3,900 Member
    #2
    ask him what can go wrong, if you want to know
    I have found doctors will open up and tell you, but generally they will not volunteer full detail unless you ask probing polite questions. Then say but what does really mena for us.

    And so what exactly to you recommend ?

    If he good he will ask about what alternative therapies you are trying ?
    You then need to answer honestly and passionately about what you have faith in.

    Hopefully someone who has been though the liver mets ablation operation can be more specific. So far I have no mets thank God.

    Probably the more critical thing in the meeting to continue to build a professional caring relationship. I always throw in little personal stories and am pretty detailed about what I have experiecned in my life since last visit. that way onc knows side effects and what activity you have been up to. I would also record the first few a syou mentioned chemo brain.

    hope this helps a little.

    Goodluck Pete
  • plh4gail
    plh4gail Member Posts: 1,238 Member
    #3
    Gonna be fine
    I would ask (even though you may already know) how big is the tumor and exactly where is it? How far from the anus. So you know how much room he has to work with. My surgeon said he needed 3 cm to work with and that is what he had. You can ask about ostomies. I had a temporary placed. If this is his pre-op they might have him see an ostomy nurse then, and mark him with a surgical pen for placement. So you know if lymph nodes are involved? At surgery they will remove a certain number and tell you yes or no and how many out of them, I had 6/12. And what does he see for treatment after surgery? Of course I realize you will also follow up with your oncologist.

    I'm sure there is much more that other's will tell you. He's going to be fine and do great with a caregiver like you! :) Now when it get's closer to surgery, we can help with those questions too. There are many possibilities for his outcome and we have some experience with pretty much all of it.

    Take care, Gail

    p.s. I had chemo yesterday and fingers are tingling even with gloves on. sorry if many typos.
  • mcgivarenfaith
    mcgivarenfaith Member Posts: 40
    #4
    plh4gail said:

    Gonna be fine
    I would ask (even though you may already know) how big is the tumor and exactly where is it? How far from the anus. So you know how much room he has to work with. My surgeon said he needed 3 cm to work with and that is what he had. You can ask about ostomies. I had a temporary placed. If this is his pre-op they might have him see an ostomy nurse then, and mark him with a surgical pen for placement. So you know if lymph nodes are involved? At surgery they will remove a certain number and tell you yes or no and how many out of them, I had 6/12. And what does he see for treatment after surgery? Of course I realize you will also follow up with your oncologist.

    I'm sure there is much more that other's will tell you. He's going to be fine and do great with a caregiver like you! :) Now when it get's closer to surgery, we can help with those questions too. There are many possibilities for his outcome and we have some experience with pretty much all of it.

    Take care, Gail

    p.s. I had chemo yesterday and fingers are tingling even with gloves on. sorry if many typos.

    Thanks for the info guys! We
    Thanks for the info guys! We see his oncologists & he will probably tell us we will do more chemo plus radiation. Matt has not had radiation yet. Our liver surgeon told us the path report came back with negative margins, which i think is good. Im not really skilled on all the terms & what they mean. We were told in the beginning by his Colon surgeon that it did not look like lymph nodes had been affected from his colon tumor. Could that change at all? Could the lymph nodes be affected later??? I learn a little more everyday. matt just lets me investigate what everything means, bc he knows i am anal retentive about everything. I like to ask lots of questions, so i will know what our best treatment will be.

    Gail, sorry you are having the tingling with your fingers. We went thru that as well. It gets better though. Have a happy day today!
  • plh4gail
    plh4gail Member Posts: 1,238 Member
    #5
    mcgivarenfaith said:

    Thanks for the info guys! We
    Thanks for the info guys! We see his oncologists & he will probably tell us we will do more chemo plus radiation. Matt has not had radiation yet. Our liver surgeon told us the path report came back with negative margins, which i think is good. Im not really skilled on all the terms & what they mean. We were told in the beginning by his Colon surgeon that it did not look like lymph nodes had been affected from his colon tumor. Could that change at all? Could the lymph nodes be affected later??? I learn a little more everyday. matt just lets me investigate what everything means, bc he knows i am anal retentive about everything. I like to ask lots of questions, so i will know what our best treatment will be.

    Gail, sorry you are having the tingling with your fingers. We went thru that as well. It gets better though. Have a happy day today!

    In the beginning for me I
    In the beginning for me I was stage 3 and had an endoscopic ultrasound that found my lymphs which were multiple. So they did the 5 week radiation/chemo pump prior to surgery to shrink the tumor to give more room for them to work with my tumor. Several of us have gone through this with different symptoms, so ask away when that time comes also. My tumor, so far and knockin on the floor now stayed to the rectum but with the lymph's involved.......hmm... I guess I will keep taking it one day at a time, sometimes moments at a time.

    Your question can thing's change? Absulutely. But worry about today and enjoy something about everyday. For me after diagnosos I dediced this is a time in my life to be grateful, thankful, and forgiving and that gives my body an opportunity to rest and relax and enjoy. No stress needed now. If someone offer's you guys stress, tell them to take it down the street.

    Gail
  • pete43lost_at_sea
    pete43lost_at_sea Member Posts: 3,900 Member
    #6
    plh4gail said:

    Gonna be fine
    I would ask (even though you may already know) how big is the tumor and exactly where is it? How far from the anus. So you know how much room he has to work with. My surgeon said he needed 3 cm to work with and that is what he had. You can ask about ostomies. I had a temporary placed. If this is his pre-op they might have him see an ostomy nurse then, and mark him with a surgical pen for placement. So you know if lymph nodes are involved? At surgery they will remove a certain number and tell you yes or no and how many out of them, I had 6/12. And what does he see for treatment after surgery? Of course I realize you will also follow up with your oncologist.

    I'm sure there is much more that other's will tell you. He's going to be fine and do great with a caregiver like you! :) Now when it get's closer to surgery, we can help with those questions too. There are many possibilities for his outcome and we have some experience with pretty much all of it.

    Take care, Gail

    p.s. I had chemo yesterday and fingers are tingling even with gloves on. sorry if many typos.

    gail sorry about the tingles
    do you get them all the time ?
    I only get mine with the cold. I finished all the icecream last night
    so I would not be tempted tonight as I hate the knife in the throat.
    goodluck Pete
  • plh4gail
    plh4gail Member Posts: 1,238 Member
    #7
    pete43lost_at_sea said:

    gail sorry about the tingles
    do you get them all the time ?
    I only get mine with the cold. I finished all the icecream last night
    so I would not be tempted tonight as I hate the knife in the throat.
    goodluck Pete

    You've had ice cream??? I am
    You've had ice cream??? I am soo jealous. he he

    I just got #3, am sitting here typing with gloves on. The tingles are a little worse this time. I'm being cautious with what I do and trying to keep them warm, it helps. No toe tingles tho :)

    Gail
  • mcgivarenfaith
    mcgivarenfaith Member Posts: 40
    #8
    plh4gail said:

    You've had ice cream??? I am
    You've had ice cream??? I am soo jealous. he he

    I just got #3, am sitting here typing with gloves on. The tingles are a little worse this time. I'm being cautious with what I do and trying to keep them warm, it helps. No toe tingles tho :)

    Gail

    matt hated the tingling
    matt hated the tingling feeling, he said it felt like glass going down his throat. But he got used to drinking luke warm tea & water from the tap. Hope your symptoms dont last long.
  • plh4gail
    plh4gail Member Posts: 1,238 Member
    #9
    mcgivarenfaith said:

    matt hated the tingling
    matt hated the tingling feeling, he said it felt like glass going down his throat. But he got used to drinking luke warm tea & water from the tap. Hope your symptoms dont last long.

    Matt
    Thank you so much. This is only day 2, and by day 14 I will be out shopping, eating, mostly no gloves, even m a y b e attempting a cool drink maybe :) I didn't mean to hijack your post and want to get back to you and Matt :)

    Love and hugs, Gail

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