carm

I saw a post you made on someone's question and wanted to know what all you know about spinal hemangiopericytoma, any help would be great since there's mostly info on it in the brain.

Just a question for you. Do you know how kidney function has approved or worsened with MM patients? My husband found out he had MM from a kidney biopsy, then bone marrow biopsy. He does not want to do dialysis and has creatinine level between 4-5. Its consistent, not worsening since treatment just moving down slightly. He has been told that if he does SCT, it may cause the kidneys to fail. What is your professional opinion? He is 42 with no history of chronic kidney disease, no high blood pressure, no diabetes.

Hi, Carm. I have a question for you, if you don't mind. Or maybe I'm just whining a bit...I'm not sure. But bear with me, if you will.

I just got back from my second treatment (on recurrence for OVCA) and I'm getting carbo and Avastin. I had carbo last time, but Avastin is new.

I am already feeling queasy and flu-like (flu-like was my biggest complaint for the first few days last time, with my 3rd day generally the worst) and I have sudden and worsening lower back pain.

I called the gyn/onc nurse at the hospital where I got my chemo and she felt it was a side effect from the Avastin. It's certainly tolerable, and in any case, if it's killing cancer cells, it's ALL good! My CA125 went down by half two days ago in only one treatment, so my gyn/onc doc and nurse were VERY happy. Me, too!

I've taken Aleve and have that ol' hot pack goin'. Hoping it works!

Anyway, I just wanted to know if you've heard of these symptoms before with the Avastin. The flu-like feeling could be from the carbo, since I had that before. But the back pain came on suddenly and has been getting worse.

I can promise you that I won't always whine to you, or ask you questions to take advantage of your kind posts with your nursing experience. But once in awhile, I hope that I can ask you things off and on.

What do you think? Might Avastin be the culprit in your experience, also? I'm not looking to undermine my on-call doctor's thoughts on this...but I always hear how there are little to no side effects for Avastin, and that if they ARE there, they are usually toward the end of the treatment phase. I guess I'm just looking to see what your thoughts are based on your own experiences.

So far, I've been that person who ended up with the "only a very small percentage of thyroidectomy patients have this complication". Yeah, I got that tiny percentage and have a paralyzed vocal cord. So being that "tiny percentage" person is not unknown to me!

BUT, I am joyful, hopeful, prayerful, grateful, and determined to live, love and laugh as much as possible. I just wanted your thoughts, if you will. Thank you SO much!

Linda

Hi Carm.
Just had a D&C a couple of days ago, no big deal, but today the results came back. Atypical hyperplasia.
Doc says hysterectomy is needed, and because of the stage, it needs to be done in a few week. (I do realize that this is pre-cancerous, not cancer, yet!)
This is my 5th go round with cancer. Starting in my early 20's with stage 2 melanoma, then progressing a few short years ago with Angiosarcoma, GIST, pre-cancerous Parotid Gland, and 4 basal cells.
Is there something amiss with my genes, my DNA, or have I just been cursed by the Cancer witch?

Carm, I have read your answers for several questions asked, and I just want to thank you for taking the time to answer so often. With so much knowledge, it is comforting to read answers from someone on "the other side of the desk" (at times; you may have first hand experience as well...but your insights due to your profession sure do bolster my confidence!)

Thanks for caring enough to look for the questions and take the time to answer them! They provide encouragement, hope, and a bit of facts that most probably don't know! God bless you!

Hi Carm, I hope you can answer this for me.
I had a pancreatectomy( no idea how to spell it )
Sept. 2010. The tail & body of my pancreas and my spleen were removed. All my scans (every 3 months) have been clean since then. My most recent scan on July 25th showed a nodule on my lung,it had been there all along but now it has grown from 5 mm to 6mm in 6 weeks..Now my Dr. is sending me to a thoracic surgeon. He mentioned a wedge resection. I have an appt. on August 14th with the surgeon. Can you tell me what questions I should ask ? The other question I have is who do I see now, a pancreatic Dr. or am I now supposed to switch to a lung Dr. ?
Trying to keep my head on straight. If you have any advice for me I would really appreciate it.
BTW I had chemo and radiation before surgery to shrink the tumor and 6 more months of chemo afterwards. The stage was IIB. Thank you Carm,I hope you are well, Zoe

Carm,

Thank you so much. Just what is Megace? Is it high strength progestrone?

Thanks for getting back to me Carm. That is helpful information. My appt. with the surgeon is on Wednesday the14th. Thanks for your good wishes. Zoe

Carm, I have a questions for you. This morning I felt like I was going to pass out. I was sweating, cold chills, aches, spots, nausea, etc. I laid back down and slept another 4 hours. Woke up feeling a little better but still have aches and fatigue. Is this the chemo I had last Wed., or the Neulasta or should I be concerned about something else?

thanks for your input on sugar-i did notice also those candy dishes but it makes me feel less guilty as my brother is a nature nut and I could just imagine what he was thinking when i got cancer so didn't tell if for a long time. However, i am cutting back and trying to have a better diet in general. i think processed foods and stress in today's society contribute to a lot of cancers

Question for Carm:

Do you have a concise layman's explanation for the term " Focal Glandular Crowding"?
This is in reference to the endometrium. My biopsy had this diagnosis so I Googled it & was somewhat confused by the rather obscure and confusing definitions and references!
My doctor described it as a possible pre-cancerous condition, sort-of, maybe!
Well maybe, I sort of, don't quite understand!
Thanks so much

Carm, the onc nurse called me and said my onc gyn wants to do a biopsy in Huntington. I am amazed they can't do this in Charleston. She is getting my approval for my medicare to cover this. will this hurt? What can you tell me about this procedure? I am assuming they are doing the biopsy on both masses. The one on the dome of the bladder and also the lower one next to the small bowel where my resection was during the debulking. they are obviously checking it for cancer or hopefully something less ominous like the scar tissue idea, I like that one better, we will see.
Getting it done the week of the 1th they are still working out the details for me.
thanks and let me know what your think on their decision for the biopsy. Jean

You are right it was not a PET Scan it was a CT scan.My Ca 125 is only at 8 right now from the recent blood work which was all good last week. Thank you for the useful information. No a CA-19.9 or CEA was not done. I will keep your reccommendations on the meds for reference, I am amazed at how important that kind of planning can improve your odds. I have other cancer sites I have followed and listen to a lot of different positives and negatives, it can all be so confusing. i will keep you posted, and appreciate your time and response. I won't be over concerned until I need to be, because I was thinking myself it could be a polyp, cyst, or anythng hopefully as well. With the size scar I have from the operation scar tissue is right up there as well. Talk to you tomorrow, hopefully, Jean

Carm, I tried your email and it was returned so need to send this image report to you that I do not understand. Sounds like I may have just ended my dance with remission though.
Impression:
1. 6.9 x 4.7 heterogeneous mass in the pelvis along the dome of the bladder to the right of midline. Given the patient's history, this could certainly be ovarian in origin and suspicious for a neoplastic process.
2. Additional 4.4 x 2.6 cm soft tissue mass more superior in the right aspect of the pelvis closely adherent to a loop of small bowel. This is suspicious for adenopathy or recurrent neoplasm.
Sounds like two masses or tumors. One on the top of my bladder and the other next to the small bowel? doesn't sound good. When I got home from picking up the report the Onc nurse for my doctor had left a message to call her tomorrow on my report. Sooooo..what should I be prepared to hear? Would like a heads up before I talk to her if possible. Thanks a million for a reply, you are so helpful to me.
Jean

Actually Carm bleeding CAN be a sign of ovarian cancer. My 39 year old cousin started bleeding so badly that she bled right through protective pads, she also swelled really bad in the belly. She had a pap that was normal (ovarian doesn't show on a pap) and her stupid doctor was treating her for heavy periods when in fact it was ovarian cancer.

Hi, I have a question on follow up CT scans. My 1st scan which found i was in remission was last June. I am recovered from 3c ovarian high grade cancer since then. Operation was 2/3/12 and Debulking, small resection of bowel and only 6 chemo treatments with no interuptions later, my blood work is all in great perimeters. With that being said, my GYN onc after lookiing at the blood work this past week and doing his regular exam pushed on my lower pelvic area and said does that hurt? well, just about any area you push hard enough in the abdomen is uncomfortable after the long vertical incision, and so many staples that I feel like there must be razor blades inside at times! My body has ajusted the best it could and after putting on a layer of tummy fat my organs do not drift along back and forth anymore staying in place and not swishing as I turn. Sorry, this is rambling, question was, He ordered a CT scan. i am not a fan of over scanning and reallize how much radiation occurs during this test. Is the doctor just covering himself doing a yearly CT, or should i ask more questions more specific as to why he definitely feels I need the exam? The order for the test says prior Ovarian Cancer, ? pelvic mass. Couldn't I feel more discomfort with a mass or have other significant symptoms? I have no bleeding, not other physical symptoms presently, feels unecessary to me, what do you think I should do, go ahead with the test or get a 2nd opinion?
thanks for your help and comments on this site,
Jean

I am facing a whipple surgery august 7th and feel very negative about this huge surgery, I am so tired now and have no appetite that I wonder what it will be after the surgery. I had oral cancer in the soft palate last year in January and did well with that, this Endocrine Islet cell was found when I had a PET scan to check on the oral cancer.
I an just so very tired and feel that this upcoming surgery will drag me down more.

Hello Carm, I took Carboplatin, Alimta and Zometa once every three weeks for 4 months. The radiation I had was 30 gy, 10 fractions for local control on my femur and hip where the bone mets broke my leg. My Dr. reduced the amount of radiation a little and I had 15 treatments instead of original plan because I was doing chemo at the same time. My last radiation treatment was June 11 and last chemo June 12. I'm doing once a month Zometa infusions and have CT's in Aug.
Thanks,
Dawn

Hey Carm, things with mom have been going very well till a few days ago. She has started complaining of chest pain, says it is always there sometimes worse than others. Sometimes it seems she is quite uncomfortable but more when she is tired. Is chest pain a typical complaint of LC ? also what other pain or discomfort will follow with terminal LC ? Still not with hospice as she really has been doing very well, just a lot of fatigue but feeling pretty good till last few days. How will I know when it is time to call them in ? Thanks

so can they take them out and how slow do they grow

you still did not answer my question what do they mean are they an infection or return of cancer

what are groundglass noduels

To all my friends I start my third round of chemo Monday would like some special prayers that all goes well. CELLKILLER

Carm, Help please. I had positive biopsy and positive Thryoglobulin test and then today a negative I131scan. Got a call from the receptionist at my endocrins office and she said..."good news your cancer free". That is not how the people that did the pet scan explained it. HELP...could the biopsy have been wrong? It said conclusive!!

I thought your comments to the person who couldn't put their feelings into words was excellent. I believe the strongest way to get through anything is not to make it all about you. I've had cancer twice and I've always thought that if you didn't learn about reducing the suffering of others, then you learned nothing.

Hi Carm:) I have a question, do you know if someone is on a weekly regimen of Carboplatin and Taxotere only, 3 on, 1 off, does their hair usually fall out? Or do you know from your experience with patients....People answer, but they are on other chemo drugs as well, I was hopingbtomtry and get an accurate answer. Thank you:)

Oh, and BTW, my hair started to fall out last night/(:(:( but that's just another stepping stone in getting rid of this cancer!

Thank you! I think what you said is exactly what I needed to hear. I thank you for your time and appreciate the response.

carm, I find your answers always helpful. you don't make people feel dumb for asking certain question. I just wanted to thank you!

Carm ... you answered a question that I posted the other day and with being new to this site, I was unsure how to post back to you so I responded to you under my question. If and when you get the chance, I would greatly appreciate your thoughts on my response. (Gray Zone cancer was the question). Thank you, Tina