Surgery scheduled

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Bpaint
Posts: 68
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2020 8:54 pm

Surgery scheduled

Postby Bpaint » Thu Apr 01, 2021 9:50 am

My husband is set to have surgery on April 9, with a colorectal surgeon and a liver surgeon. The plan is that the colorectal surgeon will remove the primary tumor and related lymph nodes, and the liver surgeon will get the liver tumor and as many of the distant lymph nodes as he can. They still aren't doing anything with the lungs because they don't know what is or isn't cancer there. The oncologist said that if the lung mets grow or change, he favors radiation for those.

The surgeons were up front and said that they wouldn't be doing this surgery if my husband was older or in poor physical condition, because it is a huge surgery and given how many mets he has, it is probable that the cancer will remain in the lymphatic system even if the surgeon can get all the currently affected lymph nodes. But they said that there has been rare success with this approach and removing all of the mets will make it more likely that they can manage the disease long term.

With all the caveats they gave, I was concerned that the liver surgeon in particular thought this was a long shot and might not be worth the risk, but he reassured me when he said that if he was my husband, or if he had a family member in my husband's shoes, he would not hesitate to do the surgery. So we are hoping and praying that he gets a long term benefit out of the surgery.
husband (age 41 at dx):
8/20 CRC Stage 4. Mets to lungs, liver, distant lymph nodes
MSS, KRAS wild
CEA 713 at dx
Folfox (12 rounds)
Liver, colon and node resection 4/21
New lung mets, Vectibix monotherapy started 6/21
Stop Vectibix lungs stable about 6 months; all other areas stable
Start Folfiri + avastin 1/22
Stop Folfiri (lungs stable 6 mos); start Vectibix 7/22
Stop Vectibix 12/22 (lungs stable 5 mos this time)
SBRT on lung Mets scheduled for 1/22, will restart Folfiri

claudine
Posts: 809
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2019 2:41 pm
Location: Montana

Re: Surgery scheduled

Postby claudine » Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:05 am

Yes!!! Take as much of the damn thing out as possible. We've always been happier when surgery has been an option, and all of them went really well.
I hope it all goes smoothly today XXXXX
Wife of Dx 04/18 (51 yo). MSS, KRAS G12A, no primary

Tumors: L4 04/18; left adrenal gland & small lung nodules 03/19
rectum 02/22 (pT3 pN0 stage 2A); L3 09/22

Surgeries: intestinal resect. 05/18 (no cancer - Crohn's); adrenalectomy 02/20
L3-L4-L5 fusion and corpectomy 05/20; LAR 04/22; ileo reversal 09/22
L2-L3 fusion and corpectomy 09/22

Treatments: EBRT 04/18; SBRT 02/19; Failed adjuvant Xelox ; Folfiri/Avastin 03/19 - 01/20
adjuvant chemorad (Xeloda) 06/22; SBRT 11/22; Xeloda/Avastin since 01/24

catstaff
Posts: 177
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2021 11:37 am

Re: Surgery scheduled

Postby catstaff » Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:05 am

Best wishes for a good outcome. I'm surprised they are removing distal lymph nodes, especially so many, since surgeons always say "we can't remove the lymphatic system." They were unwilling to do anything about my husband's distal nodes except radiation on the first ones.

Removing mets that could become dangerous would seem likely to buy time. And in addition to the standard chemos available now, there are new treatments on the horizon, and I've seen some discussions that the newer treatments may work better with a lower tumor burden.

It will likely be a long recovery, even at his age. But he'll get through it.
D/H Dx 10/2019 RC age 61
Clinical T4bN2M1a (common iliac and para-aortic lymph nodes)
MSS KRAS G12D
CRT 11/19-1/20 FOLFOX 3/20-7/20
Pelvic exenteration w/LAR 8/20
ypT4bN0Mx G3 0/14 nodes LVI not seen PNI-
CEA 10/19:20, 1/20-11/20:1.6, 4.3, 3.4, 2.7, 2/21:9.0 3/21:18,40 4/21:28,19, 5/21:13.3,8.6
PET 3/21 recurrence in distal nodes, L5 vertebra, pelvis
FOLFIRI+bev 3/21-


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