Hello everyone,
Update from the July 30th meeting. The oncologist said I've had a very positive response to the 6 months chemo (Carboplatin and Paclitaxel) and confirmed that the primary anal tumour has shrunk to 2.7cm with some residual disease there. She is confident that it will all be zapped, including the enlarged inguinal node which had progressed from 0.8cm to 1.5cm since the March scan. I start the 28 days chemoradiation on August 24th.
She also confirmed that the 28 days is part of first-line treatment and she's going for the 'radical' approach, ie: disease elimination versus palliative/symptom control.
Before then, I'm travelling down to Guildford for the three SABR radiotherapy treatments to the single liver lesion, starting August 14th, then 17th and 19th. I had the planning MRI and CT scans at the end of the July. The MRI-guided treatment scanner is a splendid machine to behold, complete with smiley emojis telling you when to hold your breath and breathe again. Each treatment session will last about an hour.
The SABR oncologist said there is a 90% likelihood of tumour eradication. The main side effects of the treatment would be fatigue, nausea and upset stomach as the lesion is close to the stomach. It can take 6 months to see the results. Apparently they can treat up to 5 liver metastases in this way.
Still keeping up the A.R.S.E. approach and hope you're all doing as well as you can be. I'll update again soon.
Kathy
This is great news KatB5 ! I love that the SABR oncologist has given such high odds that it will eradicate the liver lesion, these treatments all come with side effects but if that means you’re disease free you’ll deal with it like a champ I’m sure.
Wishing you the very best of luck for tomorrow, the 17th & the 19th & for your chemoradiotherapy on the 24th, August is a mammoth month for you, you’ll be in my thoughts.
Nicola
