A year after treatment

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Hi I had an mri and had an appointment with the consultant.

The consultant said the tumour had got a bit smaller but there was fibrous tissue so I have to have another mri in 6 months.  

Will the cancer grow back it was stage 2b cervical cancer.  On a letter I received at the beginning when I found out I had cancer it said it was large fast growing cancer.

I want to know if they are expecting it to grow.  Does the radiotherapy and chemo stop working after a few months.

It's stressed me out because the mri after the treatment last year I thought the tumour had gone when they say its good news.

Can anyone help with any answers.

Thanks sam x

  • Hi Sam  

    I’m sorry I can’t help with answers to your questions, as none of us in the group are medical professionals.

    It can be the case that the tumour doesn’t fully disappear after treatment, and ladies are scanned again in a few months. So it can be possible to get a future scan which shows NED (no evidence of disease). 

    I also had stage 2b cervical cancer and the type was adenocarcinoma. It may be that you had a different type if it was described as fast growing as there are a number of different types of cervical cancer.

    Really the best person to ask is your consultant so he/she can explain more. You could contact your CNS to have a chat and see if they can help or set up another appointment for you. They would be able to tell you how long the treatment keeps working in your body after treatment and can also tell you what the chances are of the cancer either being eradicated or continuing to grow. 

    I did get a NED result after treatment, but unfortunately there must have been some cells still there which were too small to be picked up on the mri scan. So 9 months after treatment ended something was seen at my check up and I had to have another mri where it was seen that  there was something there again in the same place. This was confirmed with a biopsy done under anaesthetic. I must stress that I was unlucky, and many women do not find themselves in this situation, so I an not suggesting it would be the same for you.

    It may well be that the fibrous tissue seen is just something from treatment, but I know 6 months is a long time to wait for another scan and it will be a worry having uncertainty hanging over you. 

    So, I’d recommend making a call and explaining your worries and have things more fully explained to see if that helps. 

    Sarah xx


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