› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Not a Very Good Christmas Present
- This topic has 18 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 4 months ago by
jeffjohn78.
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- December 23, 2013 at 7:26 pm
Just found out the results of my scans earlier in the week. Brain MRI was clear which was great. However, CT of Abdomen came back with the following: "1. Thickening of the small bowel wall in the left lower quadrant with suspected small bowel mass, raising the concern for metastatic disease. PET/CT is suggested for further evaluation. 2. Subcentimeter hypodensities in the liver are too small to accurately characterize."
I have not talked to my oncologist since the scans and actually found these results posted online. My appointment with him is not until the end of January… guessing that might get moved up. I know the above does not confirm stage 4 but it seems pretty likely. At least there are some promising treatments out there now.
Kevin
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- December 24, 2013 at 12:54 am
Hi Kevin, sorry you had to see that without your MD's input. Hopefully you can get an earlier appointment so you can know one way or the other without having to wait til the end of January. In the meantime, have a nice Holiday with your family. It's hard not to worry, I know, I have scans coming up on the 30 th. Good wishes coming your way.
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- December 24, 2013 at 12:54 am
Hi Kevin, sorry you had to see that without your MD's input. Hopefully you can get an earlier appointment so you can know one way or the other without having to wait til the end of January. In the meantime, have a nice Holiday with your family. It's hard not to worry, I know, I have scans coming up on the 30 th. Good wishes coming your way.
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- December 24, 2013 at 12:54 am
Hi Kevin, sorry you had to see that without your MD's input. Hopefully you can get an earlier appointment so you can know one way or the other without having to wait til the end of January. In the meantime, have a nice Holiday with your family. It's hard not to worry, I know, I have scans coming up on the 30 th. Good wishes coming your way.
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- December 24, 2013 at 1:01 am
Kevin,
So sorry for you crappy Christmas present. There are definitely treatment options now that provide hope where there was very little just a couple years ago. Hang in there and keep us updated. Hope you can get a appointment with you onc quickly.
Brian
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- December 24, 2013 at 1:01 am
Kevin,
So sorry for you crappy Christmas present. There are definitely treatment options now that provide hope where there was very little just a couple years ago. Hang in there and keep us updated. Hope you can get a appointment with you onc quickly.
Brian
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- December 24, 2013 at 1:01 am
Kevin,
So sorry for you crappy Christmas present. There are definitely treatment options now that provide hope where there was very little just a couple years ago. Hang in there and keep us updated. Hope you can get a appointment with you onc quickly.
Brian
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- December 24, 2013 at 2:14 pm
Not sure I want to have a faster appointment with the doctor… my guess is bowel resection is in the future. That scares me more than the cancer frankly. I have an active lifestyle and hit the gym frequently and I also have a demanding job. Those things do not go well with being laid up in a bed for a while. I think I will enjoy my family in the mean time.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Kevin
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- December 24, 2013 at 2:26 pm
hi Kevin —
I hope you have some Christmas moments coming your way that are better than the worrisome scan. (That's a pretty low bar, I guess!)
I had a very similar scan report — with thickening of the intestinal wall — and although it did signify a move to stage IV, nobody seems to be interested in resecting it. And it has now shrunk significantly with Ipi & anti-PD-1.
best,
Ursula
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- December 24, 2013 at 2:26 pm
hi Kevin —
I hope you have some Christmas moments coming your way that are better than the worrisome scan. (That's a pretty low bar, I guess!)
I had a very similar scan report — with thickening of the intestinal wall — and although it did signify a move to stage IV, nobody seems to be interested in resecting it. And it has now shrunk significantly with Ipi & anti-PD-1.
best,
Ursula
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- December 24, 2013 at 2:26 pm
hi Kevin —
I hope you have some Christmas moments coming your way that are better than the worrisome scan. (That's a pretty low bar, I guess!)
I had a very similar scan report — with thickening of the intestinal wall — and although it did signify a move to stage IV, nobody seems to be interested in resecting it. And it has now shrunk significantly with Ipi & anti-PD-1.
best,
Ursula
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- December 24, 2013 at 4:06 pm
That is encouraging to hear. I have no physical symptoms so maybe surgery would not be the best approach – we'll see what the doc says in the new year.
All I know is that tonight I will be sitting with my 3 kids reading them The Night Before Christmas like I have done every year since they have were born… that will be a good high point to start the holidays with.
Kevin
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- December 24, 2013 at 4:06 pm
That is encouraging to hear. I have no physical symptoms so maybe surgery would not be the best approach – we'll see what the doc says in the new year.
All I know is that tonight I will be sitting with my 3 kids reading them The Night Before Christmas like I have done every year since they have were born… that will be a good high point to start the holidays with.
Kevin
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- December 24, 2013 at 4:06 pm
That is encouraging to hear. I have no physical symptoms so maybe surgery would not be the best approach – we'll see what the doc says in the new year.
All I know is that tonight I will be sitting with my 3 kids reading them The Night Before Christmas like I have done every year since they have were born… that will be a good high point to start the holidays with.
Kevin
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- December 26, 2013 at 11:19 pm
Hi Kevin,
I had a small bowel resection in Sep 2013. I had a mass in my small bowel that was days away from causing a blockage as well another mass in my mesintary above my spleen. I had both removed in Sep. I am currently NED status with 2 clear scans in a row. The actuall surgery was not a big deal at all. I was in the hospital for about 5 days. You can not gog home until you can have complete bowel movement and eat full meals, which takes time as when you have suregry on your intestines they in effect shut down as defense mechanism and takes a few days for them to start up again.
The pain was very minimal and scar is also minimal. The recovery time was about two weeks and I was back in bowing league 3 weeks after my surgery. So this type of surgery is not crippling in any way and you can resume full activity after a couple weeks, so no need to worry about that. Just got to make sure you keep active and walking as soon as you can after the surgery as that is wjhat get the bowels working again as well as preventing you scar form tightening up after the surgery. I was taking wals around the hospital floor I was on two days after the surgery. Just wanted to let you know the bowel resection surgery isa not the end of the world!
Jeff
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- December 26, 2013 at 11:19 pm
Hi Kevin,
I had a small bowel resection in Sep 2013. I had a mass in my small bowel that was days away from causing a blockage as well another mass in my mesintary above my spleen. I had both removed in Sep. I am currently NED status with 2 clear scans in a row. The actuall surgery was not a big deal at all. I was in the hospital for about 5 days. You can not gog home until you can have complete bowel movement and eat full meals, which takes time as when you have suregry on your intestines they in effect shut down as defense mechanism and takes a few days for them to start up again.
The pain was very minimal and scar is also minimal. The recovery time was about two weeks and I was back in bowing league 3 weeks after my surgery. So this type of surgery is not crippling in any way and you can resume full activity after a couple weeks, so no need to worry about that. Just got to make sure you keep active and walking as soon as you can after the surgery as that is wjhat get the bowels working again as well as preventing you scar form tightening up after the surgery. I was taking wals around the hospital floor I was on two days after the surgery. Just wanted to let you know the bowel resection surgery isa not the end of the world!
Jeff
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- December 26, 2013 at 11:19 pm
Hi Kevin,
I had a small bowel resection in Sep 2013. I had a mass in my small bowel that was days away from causing a blockage as well another mass in my mesintary above my spleen. I had both removed in Sep. I am currently NED status with 2 clear scans in a row. The actuall surgery was not a big deal at all. I was in the hospital for about 5 days. You can not gog home until you can have complete bowel movement and eat full meals, which takes time as when you have suregry on your intestines they in effect shut down as defense mechanism and takes a few days for them to start up again.
The pain was very minimal and scar is also minimal. The recovery time was about two weeks and I was back in bowing league 3 weeks after my surgery. So this type of surgery is not crippling in any way and you can resume full activity after a couple weeks, so no need to worry about that. Just got to make sure you keep active and walking as soon as you can after the surgery as that is wjhat get the bowels working again as well as preventing you scar form tightening up after the surgery. I was taking wals around the hospital floor I was on two days after the surgery. Just wanted to let you know the bowel resection surgery isa not the end of the world!
Jeff
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- December 24, 2013 at 2:14 pm
Not sure I want to have a faster appointment with the doctor… my guess is bowel resection is in the future. That scares me more than the cancer frankly. I have an active lifestyle and hit the gym frequently and I also have a demanding job. Those things do not go well with being laid up in a bed for a while. I think I will enjoy my family in the mean time.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Kevin
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- December 24, 2013 at 2:14 pm
Not sure I want to have a faster appointment with the doctor… my guess is bowel resection is in the future. That scares me more than the cancer frankly. I have an active lifestyle and hit the gym frequently and I also have a demanding job. Those things do not go well with being laid up in a bed for a while. I think I will enjoy my family in the mean time.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Kevin
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