Five years....and lung nodule

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DanInMN
Posts: 87
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:18 pm

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby DanInMN » Sun Apr 30, 2017 12:03 pm

Oh sammer. That is tough and scary. I'm sorry you have to go through it, and that you have to move to take care of it. Have you determined your course of treatment? Is surgery possible/appropriate?

I'll be thinking about you and hoping for the best.
Dan - Male - Age 41
3/5/2012 - Colonoscopy - dx: sigmoid colon cancer
3/29/2012 - Colon Resection - growth through wall, 1 of 23 nodes, 4 tumor deposits - dx: Stage 3b
5/7/2012 - Begin Folfox
10/10/12 Finish Folfox
10/22/12 CT scan = NED
4/17/17 Lung nodule discovered to be colorecretal cancer met
5/12/17 Met removed

TXLiz
Posts: 249
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 3:31 pm

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby TXLiz » Sun Apr 30, 2017 11:11 pm

I am very sorry! I know this is a terrible blow. Please do not give up, you have to keep fighting it. I know you and your family are heartbroken but it's not over by a long shot.

Praying for you and fam. Take it one day at a time.
Vomiting and blockage 9/19/16 46 y F
R hemi colectomy 9/20/16
Stage 3 B CRC, located in cecum
3 out of 16 lymph nodes positive
perineural invasion/lymphovascular invasion
infiltrating, mod differentiated adenocarcinoma with a mucinous component
separate tumor nodules present in pericolonic adipose tissue
MSI-high
Baseline PET scan clear 9/16 CEA 0.5
FOLFOX 10/16- 3/17
April 16th, CT scan clear. CEA 1.1
Lynch "inconclusive"
Colonoscopy 10/5/2017 clear

kiwiinoz
Posts: 1170
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:44 pm

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby kiwiinoz » Mon May 01, 2017 2:23 am

Hey Dan,
That that was a big shock for you. Just when you thought you were out of the game you are back in.
Well the good news is that you are still in the game.
There are a fair amount on this site that have been in your position and come out the other side.
Our fearless leader CR Guy as a 10 year survivor as a Stage IVa is a good example that you can still come out the other side. RobinPa, Phuong, Betsydoglover, Juliej, Blueswimmer JDinNC, have all had lung thangs, and are still currently cancer free.
I also am a stage IVa cancer patient and had VATS just over 4 years ago, and as of my last scan I was still cancer free. I went for a 25km run yesterday (15 miles or so) and only stopped as I went out early and was ravenously hungry. That is after having about 15% of my lung cut out and I still seem to be able to run at a pace that puts me in the top 10% of male runners at any age group. Not bad for a 44 year old with only 85% lung capacity.

My point is there is hope, and don't sell yourself down at the moment. In my position I had a 40% chance of disease free survival at time of diagnosis, and the stats were better the longer the time between diagnosis and recurrence was. Thus your odds would be more than 40%.

Sure, it is a tough road mentally, but if you qualify for VATS it is a relatively "easy" operation, especially so once you get the drainage tube out.

Just focus on getting to the next step and take it one bit at a time.

Cheers
Kiwi
Stage IV Rectal Cancer (39 Year old male at dx)
pT3N0M1 (wish that was M0)
Diagnosed 05 Dec 2012
LAR 05 Jan 2013
VATS 27 Feb 2013
FOLOFX April 2013 - Sep 2013
Clear Scan 03 Dec 2013 - August 2020
Port Out 26 March 2015

DanInMN
Posts: 87
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:18 pm

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby DanInMN » Mon May 01, 2017 9:41 am

kiwiinoz wrote:I also am a stage IVa cancer patient and had VATS just over 4 years ago, and as of my last scan I was still cancer free. I went for a 25km run yesterday (15 miles or so) and only stopped as I went out early and was ravenously hungry. That is after having about 15% of my lung cut out and I still seem to be able to run at a pace that puts me in the top 10% of male runners at any age group. Not bad for a 44 year old with only 85% lung capacity.


If getting 15% of my lung removed means I'll be able to run 25k, sign me up!

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm not nearly as down now that I've had some time to process. Right now, I'm trying to get an appointment to see my onc or to get whatever tests she is recommending.
Dan - Male - Age 41
3/5/2012 - Colonoscopy - dx: sigmoid colon cancer
3/29/2012 - Colon Resection - growth through wall, 1 of 23 nodes, 4 tumor deposits - dx: Stage 3b
5/7/2012 - Begin Folfox
10/10/12 Finish Folfox
10/22/12 CT scan = NED
4/17/17 Lung nodule discovered to be colorecretal cancer met
5/12/17 Met removed

justin case
Posts: 4269
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 8:26 am
Location: Katy, Texas

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby justin case » Mon May 01, 2017 5:45 pm

DanInMN wrote:I had my 5 year follow-up with my oncologist today. My treatment was by the book, with most everything going the way you hope. Surgery went well. Got through chemo. I have some of the usual side effects of the process. Bowel issues, occasional chemo-head.

I've also had a few nodules in my lungs there were there from the beginning. They did not react to the chemo, and were stable. Then, a year ago, the CT showed one of them grew a little (4 mm to 6 mm). We set another CT for 6 months, and found it had not grown at all. Now, 6 months later, it is 9 mm.

Because these nodules existed before the colorectal cancer was detected, and did not react to chemo, my oncologist says they are unlikely related to the colorectal cancer. She also says the odds of it being cancer are low. But I don't feel reassured, and it is so disappointing to get 5 years out and suddenly need a biopsy. I know there is nothing magical about 5 years, and there never are guarantees, but I think it would have been a relief to get the all-clear regardless.

I hate to be back to the waiting for test results stage.
I am very sincere when I say this. I don't know if you were a smoker or not. Lung nodes are common in smokers. A PET scan is the way I would go, and see if there is uptake .
Michael
7/11 diagnosed Stage 2 colon and rectal cancer
chemo/rad
lar/temp ilio
Reversal & port removal
21 round of chemo Folfox 9tx, 5fu 12 tx
Last treatment July 2012

DanInMN
Posts: 87
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:18 pm

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby DanInMN » Mon May 01, 2017 6:55 pm

justin case wrote: I am very sincere when I say this. I don't know if you were a smoker or not. Lung nodes are common in smokers. A PET scan is the way I would go, and see if there is uptake .
Michael


Never a smoker. PET is scheduled for tomorrow. Still waiting on the mutation test results.

My guess is that both of my to nodules were mets, and the chemo killed the cancer in one and mostly in the other. Rcancer that remained has taken years to get big enough to grow the nodule. But who knows.
Dan - Male - Age 41
3/5/2012 - Colonoscopy - dx: sigmoid colon cancer
3/29/2012 - Colon Resection - growth through wall, 1 of 23 nodes, 4 tumor deposits - dx: Stage 3b
5/7/2012 - Begin Folfox
10/10/12 Finish Folfox
10/22/12 CT scan = NED
4/17/17 Lung nodule discovered to be colorecretal cancer met
5/12/17 Met removed

DanInMN
Posts: 87
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:18 pm

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby DanInMN » Tue May 02, 2017 5:48 pm

PET showed no other activity aside from the one nodule. Well, mostly. There was activity along the joining where they put my colon back together that did not show up in the non-attenuated results, indicating it is likely and artifact of attenuation process where the titanium staples are.

We are setting up surgery to remove a wedge using laparoscopic surgery. This does not sound so bad. We still don't have the mutation test results back, so I don't know what the chemo is going to be. But I am pretty sure there will be chemo.
Dan - Male - Age 41
3/5/2012 - Colonoscopy - dx: sigmoid colon cancer
3/29/2012 - Colon Resection - growth through wall, 1 of 23 nodes, 4 tumor deposits - dx: Stage 3b
5/7/2012 - Begin Folfox
10/10/12 Finish Folfox
10/22/12 CT scan = NED
4/17/17 Lung nodule discovered to be colorecretal cancer met
5/12/17 Met removed

Lee
Posts: 6207
Joined: Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:09 pm

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby Lee » Tue May 02, 2017 6:02 pm

While I know it hard and a setback, that surgery is your shot back to NEDville.

You will beat this,

Lee
rectal cancer - April 2004
46 yrs old at diagnoses
stage III C - 6/13 lymph positive
radiation - 6 weeks
surgery - August 2004/hernia repair 2014
permanent colostomy
chemo - FOLFOX
NED - 16 years and counting!

DanInMN
Posts: 87
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:18 pm

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby DanInMN » Tue May 02, 2017 6:05 pm

Quite honestly, surgery doesn't bother me. A couple days in the hospital and a couple weeks recovery is nothing. Plus, they take good care of you at the hospital.

It is the chemo I'm not looking forward to! Still, you do what you got to do.
Dan - Male - Age 41
3/5/2012 - Colonoscopy - dx: sigmoid colon cancer
3/29/2012 - Colon Resection - growth through wall, 1 of 23 nodes, 4 tumor deposits - dx: Stage 3b
5/7/2012 - Begin Folfox
10/10/12 Finish Folfox
10/22/12 CT scan = NED
4/17/17 Lung nodule discovered to be colorecretal cancer met
5/12/17 Met removed

justin case
Posts: 4269
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 8:26 am
Location: Katy, Texas

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby justin case » Tue May 02, 2017 7:43 pm

DanInMN wrote:Quite honestly, surgery doesn't bother me. A couple days in the hospital and a couple weeks recovery is nothing. Plus, they take good care of you at the hospital.

It is the chemo I'm not looking forward to! Still, you do what you got to do.

I hope all goes well my friend, I'm glad you did a PET !
Regards,
Michael
7/11 diagnosed Stage 2 colon and rectal cancer
chemo/rad
lar/temp ilio
Reversal & port removal
21 round of chemo Folfox 9tx, 5fu 12 tx
Last treatment July 2012

DanInMN
Posts: 87
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:18 pm

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby DanInMN » Thu May 04, 2017 12:14 pm

If I were to sum up the posts here as "Sorry to hear that Dan, but shut up with the whining because things are not nearly as bad as you are making them out to be"...

my oncologist agrees with you all. She feels the long term prognosis is still good, and is still uncertain about whether we should do chemo or just observations. Surgery is a week or so, and we will decide the next steps once they've had a chance to look at the tissue around the tumor.

So all in all, things could be a lot worse. :)
Dan - Male - Age 41
3/5/2012 - Colonoscopy - dx: sigmoid colon cancer
3/29/2012 - Colon Resection - growth through wall, 1 of 23 nodes, 4 tumor deposits - dx: Stage 3b
5/7/2012 - Begin Folfox
10/10/12 Finish Folfox
10/22/12 CT scan = NED
4/17/17 Lung nodule discovered to be colorecretal cancer met
5/12/17 Met removed

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

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby Maia » Thu May 04, 2017 7:59 pm

DanInMN: I do know it will be a lot of reading but, in your situation, you might want to explore ADAPT instead of doing nothing. It is chemo, but oral, at an imperceptible dose, combined with an anti-arthritic medication. Experimental but some people who were stage IV and had resections are trying it to prevent recurrence. You can start with this thread and follow the links from there, the ones in my post:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=57644

This is not a medical advice but just something that you might want to read now. It is an old time theme on the forum, and you might miss it just because you're newer member : )

DanInMN
Posts: 87
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:18 pm

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby DanInMN » Thu May 04, 2017 8:08 pm

Thanks maria. ADAPT is certainly on the table. FWIW, I've been here 5 years longer than that thread. :D
Dan - Male - Age 41
3/5/2012 - Colonoscopy - dx: sigmoid colon cancer
3/29/2012 - Colon Resection - growth through wall, 1 of 23 nodes, 4 tumor deposits - dx: Stage 3b
5/7/2012 - Begin Folfox
10/10/12 Finish Folfox
10/22/12 CT scan = NED
4/17/17 Lung nodule discovered to be colorecretal cancer met
5/12/17 Met removed

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

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby Maia » Thu May 04, 2017 9:27 pm

Oh, I see we are both from 2012, right! :D
Well, anyway, you might had been not checking that thread / visiting the forum --you were not in need, and we have so much stuff going on! Glad to know you know about it. : )
Feeling hopeful for you!

musicluvr
Posts: 91
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:07 pm
Location: Grand Rapids MI

Re: Five years....and lung nodule

Postby musicluvr » Mon May 15, 2017 4:28 pm

If I can add my .02
I am currently fighting Stage IV with lung mets. All have responded to Erbitux except one. Bottom right lung. It's only 4mm. Currently on 2 month chemo break.
Sometimes I wonder about the docs grave prognosis. Chemo for life. 2-3 yrs. It's like I'm waiting for the worst with every scan. Could they be wrong? Is it possible to beat this??
58 yo female
Dx CRC 2/17/14
perm colostomy 3/14
12 rounds 5FU
Small bowel obstruction 8/14
Multiple nodules both lungs 6/15
FOLFIRI + ERBITUX started 8/11/15
Irinotecan reduced 40% , October
12/15 NED, holiday next 2 treatments, then 5FU only
Mets are back 3/16
Erbitux + Irinotecan only; dropping 5FU
CT Scan 6/16 shows mets still there
5/17 been on Erbitux only
chemo break for 3 months
5 mets now on CT Scan. Back to Erbitux
1/18 lung Mets all increased slightly
Adding Irinotecan back


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