rectal cancer and pill chemo *updated

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Patteee
Patteee Member Posts: 945
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
My co worker's SIL is figting rectal cancer. He has been on the pill chemo for several months and is scheduled for surgery in a couple of weeeks. Latest CT or PET or whatever,there has been no reduction in the tumor. I thought that was the whole point in chemo before surgery. It probably isn't good news that no reduction?

He has also had radiation. She thought a combination of radiation and the pill for a couple of months. No change in the size of the tumor- it isn't shrinking. Which I think is strange.

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  • khl8
    khl8 Member Posts: 807
    #2
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    hummmm, I am surprised that
    hummmm, I am surprised that radiation was done in conjuntion with xeloda. I thought that was a normal course of action to shrink the tumor before surgery. at least it was with me.

    Kathy
  • karguy
    karguy Member Posts: 1,020 Member
    #3
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    Thats
    Thats the whole point of chemo before surgery,is to shrink the tumor.I did the xeloda before surgery,but I also did radiation,and it did shrink the tumor.That dosen't sound good.Good luck.
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #4
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    no radiation with chemo?
    Pattee,

    It sounds like they didn't do any radiation along with the xeloda pills before surgery- is that correct? If so, that sounds highly unusual, as the normal course of trying to shrink the tumor before surgery combines chemo of some sort (usually 5FU or xeloda pills) along with about 6 weeks of daily radiation.
    Hmmm....
  • Patteee
    Patteee Member Posts: 945
    #5
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    lisa42 said:

    no radiation with chemo?
    Pattee,

    It sounds like they didn't do any radiation along with the xeloda pills before surgery- is that correct? If so, that sounds highly unusual, as the normal course of trying to shrink the tumor before surgery combines chemo of some sort (usually 5FU or xeloda pills) along with about 6 weeks of daily radiation.
    Hmmm....

    hummm have to askabout the
    hummm have to askabout the radiation.
  • ktlcs
    ktlcs Member Posts: 358
    #6
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    Patteee said:

    hummm have to askabout the
    hummm have to askabout the radiation.

    Radiation
    Hank had radiation and xeloda in order to shrink the tumor in order to consider surgery.
    We were told this was standard protocol

    Kathy
  • Lovekitties
    Lovekitties Member Posts: 3,364 Member
    #7
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    No guarantees
    I was given the choice of radiation + chemo on the CHANCE that it would shrink the tumor and POSSIBLY make it unnecessary to have a perm colostomy.

    I chose immediate surgery and the colostomy. It just seemed for me anyway that the odds were better to get the cancer gone as soon as possible, since there was a good possibility that the other approach would not work.

    Marie who loves kitties

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