Hi everyone,
my sister has just been diagnosed with stage 3c1 cervical cancer, she has a 4.5cm tumour and it is also in her pelvic lymph nodes, she also lives in Spain and I am finding this so difficult, so I am here for info and advice, I just want to make sure she not missing anything or if she needs to ask certain questions, I am worried about the language barrier!
so she has had mri and Pet scan, they have staged it, surgery isn’t an option as it’s to big (I think that’s what they said) she has been to her doctor today who has informed her that she needs another PET scan, she was not aware of this. Is this normal? Any info would be really appreciated right now!
sending you all love
a very worried little sister xx
Hi Wilco and welcome to our group.
I’m sorry to read of your sister’s diagnosis, and appreciate it must be very difficult for you with living so far away (if you are in the UK).
It’s correct that surgery would not be an option at Stage 3c1, and that’s not so much about the size of the tumour, but the fact that cancer has been identified in the lymphnodes. That rules the surgery out, and is why the staging is 3c1. Lower stages would mean the cancer was contained and had not spread in this way. Even then, surgery is not always an option. My tumour was just under 4cms and I had no lymphnode involvement but surgery was still not an option at my stage, which was 2b.
Diagnosis and testing might follow different paths in different countries, so I can’t say whether the additional petscan is normal practice or not. I didn’t have a petscan at all in establishing my first diagnosis and staging, just an mri and Ct scan, but other countries may have a different protocol.
An additional petscan might be to check the lymphnodes again and make sure it’s not gone beyond the pelvis, but it’s impossible to say. Once the results are in, the treatment plan will be determined. It might be chemotherapy first, followed by radiotherapy, or chemo and radiation together-treatment protocols follow international guidelines for this cancer, so it’s likely to be the same in Spain as it would be in the UK for example.
It must be especially difficult where another language is involved. Does your sister speak Spanish, or is there an interpreter facility available at her hospital?
Please feel free to ask any questions in the group-we have a number of ladies who have been through successful treatment for this stage of cancer and some for whom treatment will be starting soon and hopefully they will come along and share their experiences.
Sarah xx
