mass has not gotten any smaller after chemo

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

my son has gone through 8 chemo treaments with 4 left to go and he had a ct scan done and the mass in is chest cavity has not gotten any smaller, so his dr. said he is going to increase the dose of the chemo meds ( he is getting ABVD ADRIAMYCIN,BLEOMYCIN,VINBLASTINE,DACARBAZINE.) for 3 hour IV in his port every other Weds. the dr. said it might destroy his bone marrow, then he will have to have a bone marrow transplant. still at this point not sure what's going on or what's happening. has anyone been through anything like this?

brainman

Worriedmon, is your son being treated at a major university-based research medical center? ABVD is a rather started cocktail for NHL. If he is not at a research center and raising his treatment does not help him, I would recommend that you request a referral to a research center to see if there is a newer combination to try.

I will keep you and your son in my thoughts and prayers. Best wishes.
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2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
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worriedmom · Regular Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 41 Location: arizona

we saw my son's oncologist and a radiologist today and they are going to talk with a doctor at a university, research hospital that is about 6 hours away from us . my son has a mass that the dr.'s call a bulky mass and they are saying they have not seen this before. he is not responding to his chemo treatments. we will find out on thurs., we might be going to the university hospital...

brainman

When you talk about a "bulky mass" are you talking about the original mass that was biopsied or a new mass? If it is a new mass, has it been biopsied? If not, it probably should be just to make sure it too is cancer.

Your family and your son continue in my thoughts and prayers. I hope you find help from the University doctors.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

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

it is the same original mass in his chest chavity. he his stage 2b. at this point he is on hold, he has not had a chemo treatment in 5 weeks and is having night sweats and fevers ,body aches ,nausea and vomitting on and off at times , but we'll wait and find out on thurs. we are very hopefull that we we be sent to the university hospital. thank you for all your replies and your thoughts and prayers, very much appreciated,thank you so much. kathy

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

just a note to up date, we are going to the university hospital on thursday.

In

Hi Kathy,

Just wanted to let you know that i'm sorry for your news and hope that things will be more clearer with the uni Hospital.

Thoughts with you and your son. Stay in contact with us. Inica
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Thinking of you Inica

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

thank you Inica , it's about a 5 1/2 hour drive from us , we will get up early, the appt. is in the afternoon, i have an suv so my seats lay flat in the back so my son can lay in the back on the trip. my son has not had any chemo treatment now for 7 weeks and he is feeling really sick from the lymphoma. i'll keep you posted. kathy

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

we went to see the dr. at the university medical center, he is an assistant professor of clinical medicine, so i feel we are in very good hands there. everyone was so nice. the dr. thoroughly examined my son and went over all of the test and medical records. my son will continue to have chemo here where we live, the dr. at umc wants him to have 8 more treatments, higher dose chemo, and we will go once a month to umc for the dr. to over see his care. so we feel good about all this, the only problem now is my son is now having a thing the dr. here calls something............ nausea, it's when he just THINKS about having chemo and he gets nausea and throws-up and gets sooo sick he just says he can't go through with it. the dr. stopped his chemo treatments for2 months and he started it again on mon. and half way through he got real sick so they stopped it. they are going to finish the rest on fri. but give him a sedative first (ativan) i hope it works. my son really doesn't want to do this anymore but i tell him to hang in there it won't last forever, i know it's not me going through it . i wish something could be done to make it easier for him. could they put someone to sleep while giving them chemo?

brainman

Hi Kathy, I am so sorry that the chemo is making your son so sick. I do wish there was an easier way. From what I understand, the reason they will not give anesthetic to people on chemo is because of the danger of nausea and the danger of taking back into the lungs the vomit. This can cause pneumonia.

I have been and still am thinking about and praying for your son.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

Boldelly

Hi Kathy, I feel for you and your son. My daughter also had a large bulky disease in her mediastinum area (upper chest). She had stage IVa hodgkin's and they treated her with eBEACOP, 4 rounds and 3 weeks of radiation. When we started the mass was 6 cm x 3.3 cm and after chemo it was 4 cm x 3.3 cm. She finished chemo in January of this year and her PET/CT showed after radiation that the mass had not changed and she was scaned again in July and it was still the same. She will have another scan in December and hopefully it will have shrank. PET is still showing minimal uptake of 2.5. My daughter too would cry and tell me she did not want to do chemo anymore and she was not going to do it. She also became very anxious and became physically ill at the thought of going back to the hospital for another round of treatment. They gave her valium to take a couple of days before she had to go into the hospital (the regimen she was on was every 21 days and she had to spend the 1st night in the hospital to be monitored). I used to have to tell my daughter that she had to do the chemo because the alternative was not an option, I could not live without her in my life. I told her that she would find the strength within herself to continue on and she did. It was not easy by any means and she had a very hard time getting through the chemo part of all this. I really hope that your son begins to feel better soon and tell him to hang in there that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Laurie

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