biopsy

worriedmom · Regular Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 41 Location: arizona

my son was having chest pains, went to er, had cat scan and it showed a mass in the chest cavity. he has just had a biopsy ,they took a peice of the mass. still waiting for results. i was wondering why they did not biopsy a lymph node.

worriedmom · Regular Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 41 Location: arizona

we live in a small town, would it be better to go to a big city for treatment?

CrescentMoon · Regular Joined: 07 Apr 2007 Posts: 22

Hi, did you find out why your husband needed a biopsy straight from the mass?
I just had a biopsy on my chest, they pushed a needle deep into my chest to reach the mediastinal mass.
I felt like a victim from the Saw or Hostile, very painful, I'm never getting one again ;D
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worriedmom · Regular Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 41 Location: arizona

my son ended up having 2 biopsys. first one they made an incision in his chest and took a piece of the mass, we waited a month and it came back inconclusive so the doc. said they need to crack open the chest plate and get a bigger piece of the mass. they got back the biopsy in 5 days, positive for hodskins lymphoma. he then had all the other tests and finnally started chemo. he is stage 2b. he has had 1 treatment so far. he has chemo every other wed. for 3 hours, he had a port put in. his first treatment he was nauseated and extremly tired. next treatment this wed. they said he will have 8 treatments in all. thank you for asking about him. how are you doing. your biopsy sounds like the sence from pulp fiction, where they put that long needle in that girls chest. did you ever see that movie?

CrescentMoon · Regular Joined: 07 Apr 2007 Posts: 22

I haven't seen the movie but really hope your son gets better,
I misread your post and thought it was your husband ;D I hope
you are both doing well, I can't imagine the stress a parent goes through, my mom takes it worse than me...and I haven't even started treatment yet :0!!!

By the way I was wondering if he is able to live an active lifestyle or do things like continue school inbetween treatments?
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worriedmom · Regular Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 41 Location: arizona

my son is 32 years old, he is on a leave from work right now but when he is done with chemo and feeling up to it he will go back to work. we are living together so i can take him to all his appointments and to take care of him and just to spend all the time we can together. so when do you start treatment?

CrescentMoon · Regular Joined: 07 Apr 2007 Posts: 22

no idea :0
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worriedmom · Regular Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 41 Location: arizona

so whats going on with you?

CrescentMoon · Regular Joined: 07 Apr 2007 Posts: 22

Still waiting for the results of the biopsy, I hope a miracle happens and the results are negative because they said I would most likely die any day now ;(
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CrescentMoon · Regular Joined: 07 Apr 2007 Posts: 22

if it's Malignant*
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worriedmom · Regular Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 41 Location: arizona

the ER doc said my son's mass in his chest was the size of a soft ball and that he probably had it for about 2-3 years. but when he went to the cancer doc, he said he probably has had it about 6-8 months. and that is when his symtoms started.

jfkbluecircle · Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2007 12:55 pm Post subject: To CrescentMoon and worriedmom

Hi CrescentMoon:
I hope you will get the best news possible from your tests. I read your posts on another thread about hair loss (rate, etc.) and then read your question on this one about ability to maintain an active lifestyle.

As far as hair loss, it does not happen to everyone. It varies depending on type of chemo, amount, duration of treatment, etc. My oncologist told me some people don't lose their hair even with treatments which typically cause it to fall out. In my own experience, it seemed to happen suddenly and rapidly, but I am not sure how to compare it to other's experience. It didn't all fall out at once, once it started, it kept coming out. Strangely, tho', it also started to grow back in before I was done with my treatments. One 'perk' of this hair loss is not having to shave Smile

As far as activity level, I was able to work almost full-time during my six months of chemo (8AM-5PM M-Th, with visits to the clinic every other Friday). Mind you, I had little energy for much else, but being able to go to work and focus on other things was really helpful in my recovery. I missed one day of work on a day when I was feeling blue and frustrated by the side-effects I was experiencing; staying home made it much worse.

It may sound hokey, but attitude is so key in how you will face anything in your life; good or bad. Someone once said, life isn't about what happens to us, but it's about our reactions to what happens in our life.

Worriedmom: You must be such a strong person. When I was sick (at age 26), my mom was my primary support system (I was between relationships at the time). I wouldn't be here without her. We have always been close, but those months brought us even closer. There were times when I asked her (nicely) to go home, but she was always by my side with a caring word, a smile, a laugh, a shoulder when I felt sorry for myself or angry, or just plain fed up with doctors and needles.

My very best to your son; he's lucky to have you as a mom and I hope his tolerance of the treatments has improved. I remembered the name of the topical anti-nauseant. It was a form of ativan that was mixed into a non-fragrant lotion (altho' the lotion did have an odor to my keenly sensitized chemo sense of smell).

Best to you, too, CrescentMoon,
Jessica

CrescentMoon · Regular Joined: 07 Apr 2007 Posts: 22

;D
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Miss_Melanie_2 · New User Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 5

Definitely go to a larger city when dealing with complex issues. The city I live in now is much smaller than the city I lived in when I was in college. Comparatively, the doctors were much more competent and knew of many new techniques that a lot of local doctors didn't.
Very Happy

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