Tony Snow - Can someone please explain to me?

[KB]

I read an article today on www.comcast.net about Tony Snow's cancer returning. He had his entire colon removed in 2005 followed by 6 months of chemotherapy. Please explain to me how the doctors found a growth a year ago and only “monitored it,” only to finally remove it because the patient opted to do so “out of an aggressive sense of caution.” Then they discover that it is, in fact, cancerous and has metastasized to his liver. Why didn’t they remove it when they first discovered it? Maybe it wouldn’t have spread to the liver. I’m just confused. Does anyone know what stage Tony Snow was in when he had his colon removed? My husband was Stage I and had his entire colon removed, but these stories concern me greatly.

Also, what is the point of doing blood tests and PET scans if, as in this case, they may come back negative? Aren’t these tests designed to find cancer?

[Erika]

KB- I'm confused about many aspects of the Tony story too. Did he have his whole colon removed as many news stories suggest? Then where was this new cancer in his colon I've read about? And it is also unclear to me if the liver mets are the same as the "pelvic mass" that many have referred to. Many inconsistencies- we are likely not getting the full or true story. I've read that Tony was diagnosed as stage III.
I understand your concern for your husband. Stage I is a good place to be, relatively speaking of course, but it doesn't mean it isn't scarry. Stories like Tony's eat at me too. How can we ever be sure we are doing enough? We have to be vigilant, go to check-ups, get the blood tests and procedures, etc because these are the best tools we have. As for "fear management", I have been all over the map on that one and have found some coping mechanisms- talking to others helps a lot.
Erika

[johnmeissner]

I was diagnosed at Stage I and had two feet of my colon, specifically the sigmoid, removed last August 21st. I did not require any chemo after surgery and consider myself extremely fortunate to have had my cancer discovered so early. Now, with the tweaks and twinges I have been feeling recently, plus the news today about Tony Snow and how sick I have been the last week and quite frankly, I am very scared.

I neede a hug....a BIG one!

[kimlon]

John, Please make sure you get regular scans. My husband was also stageI when his cc was first found. We were also told no chemo was needed after surgery. Here we are several years later with late stage IV because no one bothered to scan him. If we had only known then what we know now we would have insisted on scans. Don't mean to scare or alarm you, I just warn everyone I know who has had cc to get scaned.

kim

[KB]

Erika, thanks for your reply. One resource said his mass was in his lower pelvic area. Another said it was in his abdomen. He apparently had a PET scan and blood tests before the surgery - both were negative, but when they went in to remove the mass, they discovered it to be cancerous and also that his colon cancer had metastasized to his liver. As I said earlier - I understand the need for scans, but obviously his scans didn't catch anything. He also was diligently getting tested every 10 weeks after he had his colon removed. By the way, he did have his entire colon removed and his small intestined was "refashioned" to do the work. I still don't understand why the doctors didn't remove the mass immediately when it was discovered rather than wait 6 months.

[missjv]

HI,
I DON'T UNDERSTAND EITHER WHY HIS TUMOR WHEN DISCOVERED A WHILE BACK WAS NOT REMOVED. IT SEEMS LIKE THEY WOULD HAVE DONE THAT BEING THAT STAGE 3 HAS SUCH A HIGH RECURRANCE RATE. I JUST HOPE HIS LIVER TUMORS ARE OPERABLE AND THIS NEXT ROUND OF TREATMENTS WORKS FOR HIM. I AM ALSO SICK OF THE NEWS CHANNELS SAYING HE NOW HAS LIVER CANCER IT IS NOT LIVER CANCER IT IS COLON CANCER ON THE LIVER THEY NEED TO GET THAT STRAIGHT OR SHUT UP. I WISH HIM WELL.


MISSJV

[SlobberDog]

I AM ALSO SICK OF THE NEWS CHANNELS SAYING HE NOW HAS LIVER CANCER IT IS NOT LIVER CANCER IT IS COLON CANCER ON THE LIVER THEY NEED TO GET THAT STRAIGHT OR SHUT UP.

I guess they think the general public can't understand the word "metastatic" colon cancer, or "metastasized"... ... but maybe the general public can't understand. I unfortunately learned the lingo quickly in my late teens and early 20's when my dad went through it.

Tony Snow had his talk radio show on the air in our local market during the time of his initial diagnosis, surgery and chemo. He would often discuss it or remark about it. As I remember, he said he'd had Ulcerative Colitis for many years so he'd been getting regular c-scopes, and while he wasn't at all happy with the diagnosis, that it was not a complete surprise. And I assume that's why he opted for the total colon removal. I think he even said on-air that he had a pouch, temporarily, and then had an outpatient type surgery later to "un-do" the pouch.

It is very sad (and scary) that he was that aggressive with the surgery and chemo, only to have it come back in the liver (?) or ON the liver, or pelvis, etc. From what I heard on the news today, one report was it was "on" the liver and not "in" it... hard to say what is truly accurate right now.

I wish him the best.

Michelle

[pjpeace]

I like all of you can't figure out how in the world it could've metatised with all the scans. esp. for PET scans if he got those...ok not to freak everyone out but here's the deal...even with scans there could be cancer that the scans do not pick up (it would have to be pretty minimal though). i found this out before going into my second surgery. how does that happen though? i don't know exactly they do to check to see if any of it is there when they open you up. i was uber freaked before my last surgery even though my last scan was clear of any spread...luckily there was no spread and they were able to get the rest of the tumor out. scary stuff though. i know persistance saved my butt though! keep on top of things that's all i can say.

but we all know what spread to the liver means...just hope it's small enough to get that sucker out of there. hope the best for him and his family.

[skben2]

I have been troubled by the news story. Pet scans blood work etc. and that it was a surprise untill they operated. I can't figure that out.

[rthornton]

Yeah, sometimes scans don't see everything. Last summer, I had a CT/PET that showed a recurrence in my liver. Two mets in the right lobe, confirmed a few days later by MRI. Again ... two mets. During a liver resection a couple of weeks later, the surgeon found two more mets not detected by scans. My CT/PET last week was negative ... but it makes me wonder when I think about Tony Snow and my liver resection last summer.

[missjv]

hi rodney,
thats great news about your latest scans! congratulations. also i love your dog photo.


missjv

[rthornton]

Thank you! Now I'm thinking about taking a chemotherapy vacation. It makes me nervous because last year I took a short chemotherapy break (less than two months) and that's when I had a recurrence. The correlation is defintely there, but can't say if it's cause/effect or not. But I've read and heard that chemotherapy breaks don't compromise the effectiveness of treatment.

[missjv]

HI RODNEY,
WELL CERTAINLY DESERVE A CHEMO BREAK. I THINK IF THE STUFF IS GOING TO GROW IT WILL GROW WHETHER ON CHEMO OR NOT, HOPEFULLY THAT WAS THE LAST OF YOUR SPOTS ON YOUR LIVER AND THERE WON'T BE ANYMORE. I HAVE 5 MORE CHEMOS TO GO THEN IM DONE I WILL HAVE 11 MONTHS OF CHEMO PLUS LIVER RESECTION BEHIND ME AND I DON'T PLAN ON IT COMING BACK I TOLD IT NOT TO CAUSE I GOT STUFF TO DO AND CANCER GETS IN MY WAY SO HOPEFULLY IT LISTENED. ALTHOUGH I DO KNOW RECURRANCE IS COMMON I STILL TOLD IT TO STAY AWAY. I HAVE HEPATIC ARTERY PUMP AS WELL AND IF THE CRAP GROWS BACK BETWEEN THAT AND 11 MONTHS OF CHEMO THEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY I GUESS I WILL DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN. WHAT KIND OF DOG DO YOU HAVE? LOOKS KINDA LIKE A BEAGLE???

MISSJV

[rthornton]

Yep, she's 100% grade A beagle!

(not registered or anything, but always hungry)

[missjv]

hi,
my neighbors have a beagle he is a riot. he is here every morning for left over cat food and that is after he eats at home, then he goes to our other neighbor for a treat he is a eating machine and a great friendly dog all the kids hang on him and he loves it. i have a lab/shepard and a pitbull/chow and a mini dachshund a beagle will be our next dog we keep checking the humane society to see if any come in im hoping they get one soon. there are breeders here but i would rather get one from the pound.

missjv