Help for my dear cousin

Please feel free to read, share your thoughts, your stories and connect with others!
Mattsmom218
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2015 1:49 pm

Help for my dear cousin

Postby Mattsmom218 » Mon Mar 27, 2017 6:13 pm

Hello, my dear cousin age 52 was diagnosed with stage 4 rectal cancer in Feb 2015. It had spread minimally to the liver. Surgery, radiation and chemo took care of it all. She finished all treatment in Nov 2015-clean bill of health. The only chemo she was on was Xeloda and Folfox.

In Nov 2016 they saw a nodule on her rt lung. It was 3mm. They waited 3 mos to see if it grew, and it did to 11mm. She got the news today it is cancer.

I am trying to do any and all research I can for her as she is truly having a hard time with this.I would love to chat with others that have had similar diagnosis with relapse. I am particularly interested in knowing what types of treatment is out there. I am doing the research for her as she navigates through this mess.
Thank you all so much, God Bless all of you.

User avatar
Maia
Posts: 2443
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 8:00 am

Re: Help for my dear cousin

Postby Maia » Mon Mar 27, 2017 8:46 pm

Hi there! So sorry you have to be here, but such a good thing for your cousin, that she has you!
If the lung nodule can be resected (with traditional surgery, or VATS --video assisted toraxic surgery) or ablation like RFA --radio frequency ablation--, MWA --microwave ablation--, SBRT --a very localized, precise radiation that ablates only the offensive spot)... that would be the first action doctors will take. After that, it will be discussed if/ what kind of systemic treatment she needs.
Having a lung spot, and previously one to the liver, that make here a Stage IV patient. All CRC patients, but specially those Stage IV, should be tested for miscrosatellite status (MS), as per the new recomendations/ guidelines. Because is you are MS stable (MSS) or MSI -high (MS instable high), that means a difference in the systemic treatment you have available right now (in short: those MSI-high might benefit immediately by receiving *immunotherapy* as systemic (intravenous) treatment, instead of chemo.

So, those are things to keep in mind/ ask to her oncologist. But I'm pretty positive that being only one nodule, the fist step will be ablate/ resect it : )

NeVadasMitis
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2017 3:34 pm

Re: Help for my dear cousin

Postby NeVadasMitis » Tue Mar 28, 2017 1:10 pm

Interesting.
Does anyone know of anywhere that offers immunotherapy as a treatment option for MSI cancer? Or is it only through clinical trials that it is possible to do this.....yet?
DD dx Dec.2012, age 57, Stage I CRC
2013/01 complicated resection
2016 summer/fall CEA slowing rising...(2.1, 2.8, 3.1)
2016/12 scan shows "something" on RL of liver; fna biopsy ordered
2017/01 confirmed 1 met to liver (1.5x2 cm); Stage IVa; cea 3.1
2017/02 5mm node on lung
2017/03 liver resection
2017/05 wedge resection of lung node
2017/09 CEA rising....5.6, 8.9...
2017/12 pet confirms cancer is back in hepatic lymph node

Mattsmom218
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2015 1:49 pm

Re: Help for my dear cousin

Postby Mattsmom218 » Thu Mar 30, 2017 8:25 pm

Maia, thank you SO much for that information. She saw the lung surgeon today and he told her that the spot on her left lobe is in a precarious spot and he can't do the surgery but he did say he can 'cyber' knife it with several treatments then she goes on chemo. Now we wait for the oncologist to provide a chemo protocol and schedule the surgery. I presume that is called in medical terms, "ablasion".

May I ask where I can find information about her microsatellite status and if she is MSS or MSI??? she did send me her pathology report and all it said was:
IMMUNOSTAINS WERE PERFORMED ON BLOCK A1 WITH THE FOLLOWING RESULTS:
POSTIVE: CK20, CDX2, and villin
NEGATIVE: CK7 and TTF-1

Thank you!!


Return to “Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum”



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 95 guests