After treatment, tumors still there

michael916

Hi everyone. I had posted here in the past re: my mother's 3b nsclc diagnosis last March. I was hoping to get some insight as to what now? My mother finished her complete treatment 08/21, (chemo/radiation concurrently, then docetaxal 3x) and recent PET scan showed original 3 tumors had shrunk by 60-70% and no mets. Yet, tumors are still there and without chemo, it seems will only grow and likely cause mets elsewhere. Anyways, has anyone been in this situation? And if so, did you seek alternative care? What was the final prognosis? How long from the point of last treatment to recurrance? I guess this would not be a recurrance since the tumors are still there, yet I suppose I'm asking how much time until things start getting worse. I know everyone is different and handles treatments with differing levels of success, but it would be very helpful to get an idea of what to expect. It sounds like the oncologist expected the results and has said to just sit and wait and see if things get better or worse. Thanks ahead of time for any help, info, etc. Take care, Michael

bethanyaok

Hi Michael! My dad had stage iv NSCLC. He did several rounds (6 or Cool

of carboplatin and taxotere. His tumor shrunk considerably. When he maxed out on the carboplatin (hard on the heart) he continued monthly taxotere infusions. In his last cat scan, the tumor in his lung was undetectable. But right about the same time, they found lesions in his brain. Of course, my dad was stage iv from diagnosis because of extensive mets in his bones. Since your mom is stage III, and there has been no distant spread of the cancer. Can you ask the doctor if continuing treatment with docetaxol? Did your mom tolerate the chemo, without major problems? I'm no doctor, but I would not be comfortable stopping treatment until the tumors disappeared entirely. And at that point I would be vigilant with tumor marker tests and follow-up scans. While my dad's tumor was shrinking, his markers kept rising. In hindsight we now know that was because of cancer activity in his brain.

If the onc wants to wait and see, you can always get a second opinion. Some docs treat cancer more aggressively than others.

I wish you and your mom well!!!
Bethany
_________________
Bethany
breast cancer dx 4/17/00
4 AC, 28 rads, tamoxifen
7 years NED, and counting!
BRCA2+ 2/1/07

Lost Dad to Lung Cancer June '05

michael916

Hi Bethany,

Thank you for your reply. After a second meeting with the oncol. It seems the plan going forward is to monitor the cancer markers and give my mother a month or so to work most of the remaining chemo out of her system. Then rescan to see where things are. She did tolerate the first round of chemo (etoposide/cisplatin) much better than anyone predicted, yet docetaxel was much more difficult to handle. I do agree with you that basically sitting around and waiting to see how things went is disconcerting. We are seeking a second opinion though, so we'll see. Thank you again for your insight. I am sorry to hear about your father.
Take care,

Michael

bethanyaok

[quote="michael916"] I do agree with you that basically sitting around and waiting to see how things went is disconcerting. We are seeking a second opinion though, so we'll see. Thank you again for your insight. I am sorry to hear about your father.
[/quote]

Hi Michael. I'm glad you're going for a second opinion. Like I said, doctors differ in their treatment approaches, and aggressiveness in treatment. As long as there is a tumor present, even reduced in size, it seems to me that there remains a possibility of spreading or metastasis. Is there a reason they aren't suggesting surgical removal of the remaining tumor, and nearby nodes?? It's good to get different opinions and information to make a good decision!
Take Care,
Bethany
_________________
Bethany
breast cancer dx 4/17/00
4 AC, 28 rads, tamoxifen
7 years NED, and counting!
BRCA2+ 2/1/07

Lost Dad to Lung Cancer June '05

lcneisius · New User Joined: 17 Sep 2006 Posts: 5

Michael - I am 46 yo, married, mother of an angel 10 yo daughter with 3B NSCLC adenocarcinoma, diagnosed 6/14/06. Finished my initial round of treatment 6x chemo (carbo and Taxol) and 37x radiation. First repeat PET scan is later this morning with a follow-up meeting with the oncologist on Thursday. Like you, I always wondred how they called it "recurrence" when the turmor hasn't really gone away or "relapse" when you've never actually been cancer-free. Anyway, my cancer has spread to several different lymph sites and, at initial diagnosis, there were questionable specks present in my liver but they were not definitive enough to be termed mets. I know my primary lung tumor has shrunk because it has become much easier to breathe (the tumor was essentially blocking the right bronchial tube to start) but I also strongly sense that my lymph involvement is increasing, as my axillary nodes are more painful and my subclavicular (collarbone) nodes appear more definitive on my neck. My platelet count took a major nose dive 2 weeks ago (4 weeks AFTER I finished treatment - not sure what that was about). So, other than incredible fatigue and the incessant cough, I really don't feel too bad right now, but, I know that won't last. The "sitting and waiting" part stinks, but, in essence, you can't treat something that isn't wrong, so, sometimes I imagine we have to sit and wait until there is another fire to put out. We will get the scan results on Thursday and find out the extent of spread, etc. and make a plan from there. I'll try to post and let you know what they suggest for follow-up treatment. I'd like to see Christmas, but, because of my little one, I won't sacrifice quality of life for a few weeks in a drug-induced stupor.

My best to everyone. Smile for the day: Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your "to-do" list today ~ that way you'll get a least one thing accomplished.

michael916

Dear Icneisius,

Thank you for your reply and insight. I am sorry to hear that you are in this battle. I wish you all the strength and courage and my prayers go out to you. Have you seen the results of your latest PET? And if rad was not used on your subclav node is that an option you could persue. My mother's subclav was the the worst of them all and with rad it is no longer detectable by touch. I hope that is an option for you. On your platelets, rad can have a big effect on cbc, including platelets I've been told. My mother's wbc fell to 1-2 so she underwent a regiment of Lunesta (?) which worked. Not sure if

michael916

Sorry about that. Actually the drug was Neulasta, and while it did have strong flu-like side effects, it did work. Remeber, there are many stories on this site of people at stage 4 that are beating the odds, so it is very possible. I'm think making it to Christmas and beyond may not be such an impossibility. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family.

Stay as positive and strong as you can. This can and has been beaten!

Best regards,

Michael

lcneisius · New User Joined: 17 Sep 2006 Posts: 5

Michael ~ the radiation was focused on the lung and chest nodes only and the aim of the chemo was to stop/slow lymphatic spread elsewhere. Amazingly, both my white and red counts have held steady and strong throughout all of this - red is still at 12 even with falling platelets - and white never dropped below 8 (hope I'm getting those numbers correct). We get the results of the PET tomorrow. Thank you for your good thoughts. My biggest hassle right now is nausea; I am on a high dose of a Fentanyl patch because, on top of all of this, I have a compression fracture in my mid-back that was aggravated by all of the scans, etc. and I think the medication(s) don't sit well with me sometime. Nonetheless, I wish you and your's the best. Today's smile for the day: why is it that water that melts off glaciers and meanders down mountains for centuries needs a "use by" date on the bottle?

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