Advice After Treatment

Seven weeks is really early days; radiotherapy keeps working for months, and you may well find that the tumour is still there at your three-month scan as it has been for quite a few on here, including me.  I know it is impossible not to worry, it's par for the course with this disease and the stress of ongoing scans, however (and do check this with your consultant, I am sure she will reassure you) the radiotherapy treatment you had is working away in the background even though your treatment is finished.  Wishing you the best of results.

Hi Dino,

My docs elected to do no scans at all until 6 months out of treatment. My gastro said this exact thing, that it was so common to see or feel residual lumps or activity or what-have-you and then everyone freaks out, when most of the time the cancer drugs haven't nearly finished their work.

Try not to worry too much (easy to say, I know!) as you're so very early out of treatment. Too soon to get too far into 'What's next if it's still there' cuz it's probably not. 

They've already told me that MY next step would be surgery and a stoma- no more chemo or radiation, which is good because I don't think I'd be able to shove myself through that again. 

But I'm assuming that it's taken care of and all I've got to do is live.

I'm assuming that for you too!

Suz

Hey Dino,

I'm in the exact same boat as you, except I'm waiting on the results of the MRI a week this friday (14th), also done through Addenbrookes. My oncologist told me the radiation can keep working for up to the 3 months and maybe even longer, which is why they wait that long to do the scan, as doing it much earlier might give you a positive result that might be gone if they wait til the 12 week mark.

My tumour was pretty advanced (very visible on the exterior of my body!) but thus far I've responsed fairly well to treatment. If the MRI show any anomoly that the team aren't happy with, I'll be called back in for a biopsy so they can do a more throrough check to see if the cancer is still present, or if it's just scarring or after effects. Even with the positive outlook my checkups have had, I'm still a little terrified to be told the cancer isn't gone and that at that point I'll be looking at surgery and the stoma too, and scary as that is, I'll take that any day over cancer cells doing their worst. Even with that, the idea is scary.

it's tough to give support over virtual forums, but know you're not alone and it's very human to feel unsure and a bit freaked out by all of this, it's a crap thing to go through, and that time in the waiting period between can be tougher, mentally, that going through the rigmarole of treatment itself.

Hi Dino,

I just wanted to echo what everyone else has said in that the reason we’re not scanned until 3 months post treatment is because the treatment is still doing it’s thing & only then will your oncologist know if you’ve had a complete response. It’s also worth noting that we’ve had many members here that following their 3 month post treatment scans have gone on to have EUA’s (examination under anaesthetic) & biopsy’s to determine that anomalies are scar tissue & not residual tumour as scar tissue following the intense course of radiotherapy we go through is very common so if this happens try not to let it freak you out (easier said than done I know!). I’ve everything crossed for you that alls good at your next appointment. 

Nicola