Update: Pathology for the removed tissue and nodes showed more extensive spread than was shown on the PET scans. Cancer was still confined to lymph nodes but some para-aortic nodes were matted together and there were signs of extension beyond the node in the tissue. I had a follow up PET scan last w...

I’m in recovery from surgery today. The PET scan just before showed the maintenance chemo had held me stable For three months. The surgeon said it went well and they removed a lot of nodes. I was reading up on surgical options for lymph nodes and found this example of a patient with multiple lymph ...

I’m in recovery from surgery today. The PET scan just before showed the maintenance chemo had held me stable For three months. The surgeon said it went well and they removed a lot of nodes. I was reading up on surgical options for lymph nodes and found this example of a patient with multiple lymph n...

No two of us are the same its true. I can tell you that my spread was the right and left Illiac nodes all the way up to the Para-aortic nodes and chemo worked well on them for years. I also know of people who, given the right systemic chemo treatment have seen many nodes wiped out. Is it the most li...

As far as I know 5FU and Xeloda are thought to be equivalent as Xeloda is essentially converted to 5FU after ingestion (at least that’s my understanding). They have a bit different side effect profile but efficacy is supposed to be the same. In terms of extensive lymph node dissection the surgeon to...

Hi Internal1, In my case the nodes shrank to normal size after 12 cycles of FolFox. My Oncologist and I agreed it was likely still there but just not visible so kept on going with maintenance chemo of 5FU and Bevicuzimab (Avastin). After a year or so of maintenance I switched the 5FU to Capecitabine...

I've always been interest in Celebrex and recently ran across various versions of this https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18725385/ I'm not good at reading science...but seems to indicate a benefit to those with a SMAD3 mutation (which I have) Not sure how common SMAD3 is as its not part of the normal ...

Lymph nodes can be enlarged for many reasons and sometimes can return to normal size on their own. In my case a PET scan revealed significant lymph spread but chemo shrank them all back to normal on subsequent CT/PET scans. They can’t really tell without a biopsy but i recommend a PET scan. Lots of ...

Hi there, Sorry to hear you are back but there’s plenty of room for optimism that it will be relatively early. In my case their were some similarities. I had a pre cancerous polyp removed that showed high grade dysplasia. Clean scopes for 5 years and then a Tumor was discovered in that exact spot. I...

Hi Siti, I had many lymph node mets up to the PALNs at diagnosis. Both Oncologist and Surgeon agreed it was too widespread to attempt surgery and to go on Chemo and re-evaluate. I did FolFox for 6 months which shrank the lymph nodes to virtually normal although my Oncologist and I agree the cancer i...

My lymph node spread is more extensive, but I did meet with a surgeon who seemed confident he could remove para aortic nodes if the spread were limited to that region. It sounds like this is the case for your husband which is good news. All surgical procedures carry risk so it's normal to worry. Bas...

Hi Windswept, I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis. As an incurable Stage IV patient with 3 young children I was devastated and did patient counselling at my cancer center. I was after a while able to live in the moment and I try not to think about what will happen in the future. Sometimes I do an...

It is a horrible thing to face and there is no way to sugar coat it. That said it doesn’t have to be a death sentence. There are many treatment options that you haven’t tried that may work. It’s a bad hand to be dealt but it ain’t close to being over yet.

Sorry to hear it sounds like a rough one. Chemo just sucks.

I had some rough cycles on FolFox (number 4 particularly stands out for me) and susbequent ones were sometimes better. Hope that helps.

AT

Sounds like great news. I remember hearing that chemo was working at it was like the first thing that went right on this terrifying journey. May you have more positive news in the future !