husbands treatment planetres

Hello I am not a medical professional but if you are not happy with the answers I would ask for second opinion.You cant loose anything if you ask for it.Sometimes doctors made wrong decisions and then its too late for anything.

Janet

Hi ,

It is terribly disappointing to hear there may be some concern . However the lungs are notorious for small nodules  that may or may not be something . The problem with identifying cancer in that area they require to be around 1 cm to have Uptake with a PET scan or to be able to do a biopsy which there is a bit of reluctance to do due to tumour seeding . So they do monitor them a lot . They watched my mum’s grow from literally 2 mm . The scans have improved so much they are literally identifying them so early . Before it used to be around 5 mm before they even showed up . It took about two years to get to a point where the PET scan confirmed it to be cancer . They used surgery on my mum to treat her . The oncologist explained that some lung mets can be really slow growing so chemo works better when they start to grow faster according to the rate of cell division. I am no Doctor and this is purely our experience but it seems a very common approach from what we have read and I honestly don’t think it’s avoidance of treatment just a judgement call of when to administer treatment to have its best results . 
Depending on the number and location of the nodules some people have surgical options or Radio frequency ablation .

Chemo can have limited efficiency so they carefully balance how much is needed and when to use it for the long run . Some people continually use it as maintenance chemo for years if it keeps working for them . It’s very , very individual but if they are currently small and manageable they may not see the timing is necessary. I think that’s very hard to get our heads around as historically we like to get cancer dealt with but with lung mets there is a lot of watchful scanning . However cancer is being treated as a chronic condition in lots of people and it sounds as though they have the long term in mind for him . One surgeon told me they are currently doing research to see if long term observation is a better option for lung mets . I too found that hard to get my head around .

My mum’s Met was removed back in 2016 . She has a couple of nodules that have been sitting there for six years . No idea what they are to be honest . They just sit there .

Take care and send your husband our best wishes .

Court 

Thank you so much for responding, I really appreciate it, it is reassuring to hear your comments and your personal experience. Your comments puts things into perspective, and I think its hard when you are not offered some form of treatment apart from surveillance by regular CT scans. We are considering whether to seek a second opinion, but are aware of the pitfalls with this. Having an online community where you can discuss these issues and hear about treatments and the experiences of others affected by cancer is really helpfull.

Regards to you and your family

Hi I currently have five lung mets scattered between both lungs. They first appeared Feb 2019 and they watched them until Feb 2020 when the biggest had grown to 11mm. I then had a PET scan which showed uptake in two areas and the surgeons discussed it. As Covid hit they started me on chemo end of April. I am considered to be incurable but treatable as mine are deep and in both lungs. As court says the treat ability varies depending on so many factors. I hope to get a good few years of life in using a mix of treatments and treatment breaks. I rally hope that your husbands are curable.

Hello.

I have two small nodules on my right lobe, measuring 5.3mm & 2.5mm, so relatively small. These were actually picked up in a CT scan in February, & so in March, I had a PET scan, with dye, which determined their size & the fact that they are canverous. Like yoiur husband, I was told that they were Mets. from my bowel cancer (that was removed in May '19) I think that the shape of them is also a determinant factor with diagnosis.

Obviously I too, was alarmed at this news at first, but a few months down the line, I rarely think about them - & am just carrying on my life as normal as can be (given the current circumstances.)

I started Chemo Tabs in April (8 cycles.) My Oncologist hopes to mop up any cancer cells that may be floating around, plus hopefully shrink the nodules - & then to carry out Ablation treatment on them (effectively zapping them.) At present, they are too deep & too small to be surgically removed. Unlike your husband, it was thought uneccesary to have Chemo following my left hemicolectomy last year. So this is in fact, my first treatment.

I do remember asking her what was the rate of growth generally...& she said they were usually slow growing...which if true, is comforting. I also wonder about biopsies being the ultimate determination. However, when nodules are so deep & small - it would be impossible to carry out such a procedure. I guess that as a team working on your behalf, they have seen so many similar cases, that they are confident in their appraisal & treatment options. I personally, am relying on their expertise.

Wishing you both well

Marianne

Hi Shadesofgreen, im sorry to read this ,and feel for you & your hubby, i had my bowel opp in may, after having chemo & radiotherapy in nov/dec, tumour removed, but a couple of weeks ago, i saw Dr at hospital, and been informed i have spots on my lungs too, i have a choice of treatments to pick from, i put a post on here a couple of days ago, and these lovely people on here, answered with good honest answers, it all sounds daunting, but guess it has to be done ,if i want to carry on, i go see the Dr this week and let him know which chemo treatment i want, i dont know how big ,or how many spots, and which lungs, just keeping my fingers crossed its not as bad as it sounds, i understand where you are coming from, with not knowing whats going off with your hubby, and i hope you get a face to face meeting with the Dr at hospital,so it puts your mind at rest, and you get to ask the questions needed.

Take care, sending you both a big hug x.

Hi Nicky, sorry to read this, im in a similar situation ,i will know more this week, hope you dont mind ive sent you a friend request.

love & hugs to you x.