Finally....some really great news!!!

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NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Finally....some really great news!!!

Postby NHMike » Sun Nov 18, 2018 2:39 pm

mpbser wrote:Just popping in to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving.

My brother's killer(s) entered their pleas this week and it was the first time I ever saw them in person. On top of that, work has been crazy as I have been slammed with motions I need to oppose by tomorrow. It's been an extremely stressful week, to say the least.

We go to Mass General the Tuesday after the holiday (27th) for his MRI, so we are both having a little scan-anxiety. My husband and I are going to have a very low key day because we both could really use a break from the grind.

Have a great week, everyone.


The US workplace is a tough place to be because the economy is running so well. But I think that many of us run on the stress too.

Glad that you guys are getting somewhat of a break. We're making the transition to winter and it's busy with work and getting a lot of home maintenance done that was deferred because of treatment.

Hope you have a good stay in Boston.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

mpbser
Posts: 953
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 11:52 am

Re: Finally....some really great news!!!

Postby mpbser » Sun Nov 18, 2018 3:32 pm

Thanks, NHMike! Hope you have a nice Thanksgiving!
Wife 4/17 Dx age 45
5/17 LAR
Adenocarcinoma
low grade
1st primary T3 N2b M1a
Stage IVA
8/17 Sub-total colectomy
2nd primary 5.5 cm T1 N0
9 of 96 nodes
CEA: < 2.9
MSS
Lynch no; KRAS wild
Immunohistochemsistry Normal
Fall 2017 FOLFOX shrank the 1 met in liver
1/18 Liver left hepatectomy seg 4
5/18 CT clear
12/18 MRI 1 liver met
3/7/19 Resection & HAI
4/1/19 Folfiri & FUDR
5/13/19 HAI pump catheter dislodge, nearly bled to death
6-7 '19 5FU 4 cycles
NED

Koreysue
Posts: 258
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2018 2:36 pm

Re: Finally....some really great news!!!

Postby Koreysue » Mon Nov 19, 2018 2:46 pm

Awesome news! Congrats to your husband and you :D
Dx: 6/2017 stage 3 CC
Sigmoid, 2 nodes
CEA at dx: 6.1
Sigmoid Colectomy/folfox (last chemo (1/31/18)
CEA 4/2018: 2.4
CEA 7/2018: 3.7
Colonoscopy 8/18 clean
PET scan 8/20/18 NED
CEA 11/2018: 3.8
CEA 2/2019: 3.2
CT NED 6/18/19 / CEA : 3.4
CEA 10/21/19: 3.2
CEA 3/9/20: 3.8
CT NED /CEA 6/17/20: 3.8
CEA 11/4/20 4.6 <——— whyyyy? (will retest in a few weeks)
CT NED 12/1/20 CEA: 3.5
CEA 5/21 4.2
CEA 10/21 3.4
colonoscopy 10/21 10mm polyp
CEA 4/22 3.7
CEA 7/22 3.8
CEA 12/22 4
CEA 1/22 3.2 and NED 5yr scan

mpbser
Posts: 953
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 11:52 am

Re: Finally....some really great news!!!

Postby mpbser » Tue Nov 27, 2018 2:08 pm

Husband and I canceled the MRI and oncologist appointments we had scheduled for today due to a snowstorm where we live. We did not want to risk the treacherous driving conditions over the mountain so we rescheduled the MRI to Monday, Dec 3rd. The time and day of the week work much better for us, plus the forecast says that it will be in the upper 30s with no snow.

We will be bringing our dog with us this time. He's a really awesome comfort to have around.
Wife 4/17 Dx age 45
5/17 LAR
Adenocarcinoma
low grade
1st primary T3 N2b M1a
Stage IVA
8/17 Sub-total colectomy
2nd primary 5.5 cm T1 N0
9 of 96 nodes
CEA: < 2.9
MSS
Lynch no; KRAS wild
Immunohistochemsistry Normal
Fall 2017 FOLFOX shrank the 1 met in liver
1/18 Liver left hepatectomy seg 4
5/18 CT clear
12/18 MRI 1 liver met
3/7/19 Resection & HAI
4/1/19 Folfiri & FUDR
5/13/19 HAI pump catheter dislodge, nearly bled to death
6-7 '19 5FU 4 cycles
NED

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Finally....some really great news!!!

Postby NHMike » Tue Nov 27, 2018 3:35 pm

mpbser wrote:Husband and I canceled the MRI and oncologist appointments we had scheduled for today due to a snowstorm where we live. We did not want to risk the treacherous driving conditions over the mountain so we rescheduled the MRI to Monday, Dec 3rd. The time and day of the week work much better for us, plus the forecast says that it will be in the upper 30s with no snow.

We will be bringing our dog with us this time. He's a really awesome comfort to have around.


We had slush (Nashua area) and I'd guess that Boston was fine but I know that Portsmouth got about 8 inches. Are you spending the weekend or just zipping in and out?
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

mpbser
Posts: 953
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 11:52 am

Re: Finally....some really great news!!!

Postby mpbser » Tue Nov 27, 2018 3:40 pm

Just driving in and out for the appointment without staying overnight. We will probably stop in Leominster-Fitchburg for dinner on the way home.
Wife 4/17 Dx age 45
5/17 LAR
Adenocarcinoma
low grade
1st primary T3 N2b M1a
Stage IVA
8/17 Sub-total colectomy
2nd primary 5.5 cm T1 N0
9 of 96 nodes
CEA: < 2.9
MSS
Lynch no; KRAS wild
Immunohistochemsistry Normal
Fall 2017 FOLFOX shrank the 1 met in liver
1/18 Liver left hepatectomy seg 4
5/18 CT clear
12/18 MRI 1 liver met
3/7/19 Resection & HAI
4/1/19 Folfiri & FUDR
5/13/19 HAI pump catheter dislodge, nearly bled to death
6-7 '19 5FU 4 cycles
NED

mpbser
Posts: 953
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 11:52 am

Re: Finally....some really great news!!!

Postby mpbser » Thu Dec 27, 2018 2:37 pm

I never know whether to start a new thread or which of my threads to post updates on. I chose this thread to update because it has a positive tone to it and today I am feeling optimistic. This is going to be a long one so please bear with me.

So, it's been nearly a month since my husband had his most recent MRI at Mass General (MGH) and a few weeks since I read the report that said he has a 1.5 cm metastasis on segment 6 and a 1.6 cm suspicious but inconclusive mass in the caudate lobe. We saw his MGH oncologist on December 13th who said that they wanted to biopsy them and then ablate one or both, depending on results. My husband, ever the pragmatist, asked why don't they prophylactically ablate while they are CT-guided in there to take the 1 cm+ biopsy: what's the difference between the damage and if negligible, just do it. So, we got a call from the interventional radiologist last Wednesday who discussed the plan and he agreed to doing that for segment 6 but did not want to do anything just yet for the caudate, even biopsying it because of the risk of missing it and getting a false negative.

We were supposed to hear from MGH by the end of last week to schedule the procedure for sometime in January, but we didn't. I emailed the nurse practitioner at the end of the business day Friday and told her that we had not heard as we were promised. She sent a group email out and assured me that we would hear this week. Hmmm hmmmm. I think she is great but the rest of my husband's team has really dropped the ball in my mind and as you all might know from my other threads, I'm pretty much fed up and we've been making other plans to explore options at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK).

So, yesterday - after a really nice Christmas with my family in the NYC suburbs - we spent the day at MSK.

Dr. Kemeny showed my husband the pump and explained that because of the discontinuation of the model they had been using they are doing a trial for the new HAI pump. My husband nearly passed out when he saw the size of it which is a good 4 inches or so in diameter and half inch or so thick. We went over the process of the pump chemo and systemic chemo and were told that he would do this for six months IF we go ahead with this route. Because it's a trial, there are some financial plus sides, like if insurance doesn't cover it, MSK will. As many of you know, you can't have lung mets and do the pump, so she put orders in for him to have a CT-angiogram that afternoon while we were there.

We went up a few floors to Radiology and waited quite some time before he got in. Our dog was at our hotel in Westchester and the delay was making me a bit anxious. I phoned my family and my aunt asked if we wanted her to drive dinner over to the hotel. I said YES!!! PLEASE!!! (SO NICE OF HER) and asked while they went over there if they could take our dog out. He had last been out at 7 am and it was around 4 pm or so at this point. I made arrangements with the front desk to let her and her husband in. They dropped off a lovely dinner of leftovers from Christmas and a bottle of pino noir. They fed our dog and took him out. What a relief because I had no idea when we would get back!

Around 4:45 pm, with the CT-angiogram done, we saw Dr. Kemeny again. She brought in a resident oncological surgeon with her. Dr. K told us that that CT looked good (PHEW!!!!!!!!) and that she isn't sure that the liver masses are mets, even the one on segment 6 that MGH seems to think is certain to be cancer. Wow. Ok.... I like how that sounds. Much better than the "the lung nodules look like mets" news that I had braced myself for. She told us that she wants confirmation via PET scan and we spoke about us going to the Westchester campus of MSK for that late next week. Ok!

We managed to hop on a 5:15 pm express Metro North train out of there (her office is only about .6 mile from Grand Central) and were back at our hotel by 6:10 pm. At around 9:15 pm, Dr. Kemeny's office called to let us know that the PET scan has been scheduled for the morning of January 4th, next Friday. Awesome!

So very positive developments, though my husband says that the thought of placing a pump on his liver with six months of chemo and the pump remaining in for another two years is not all that appealing. We may also need to come down to Westchester every two weeks to get the pump refilled and cleansed. But apparently, Dr. Kemeny thinks that Folfiri is the appropriate systemic chemo for him and he should not have done Folfox/Xelox (same thing essentially). She also strongly felt that he should have done mop up chemo after his liver resection. I have a good feeling that she is the absolute best oncologist option in the world and I hope my husband decides to switch.

We STILL haven't heard from MGH about scheduling the biopsy/ablation, which we are going to schedule while my husband takes some time to make this huge decision. If he decides to switch, we will simply cancel the appointment.

We are very pleased with the level of attention and coordination by her office. It’s very reassuring. All in all, VERY grateful that Dr. Kemeny agreed to see us and has such a positive outlook on things. To say that the last few weeks have been an emotional and physical train wreck for my husband and I would be an understatement. But we have a very positive view of the future.
Wife 4/17 Dx age 45
5/17 LAR
Adenocarcinoma
low grade
1st primary T3 N2b M1a
Stage IVA
8/17 Sub-total colectomy
2nd primary 5.5 cm T1 N0
9 of 96 nodes
CEA: < 2.9
MSS
Lynch no; KRAS wild
Immunohistochemsistry Normal
Fall 2017 FOLFOX shrank the 1 met in liver
1/18 Liver left hepatectomy seg 4
5/18 CT clear
12/18 MRI 1 liver met
3/7/19 Resection & HAI
4/1/19 Folfiri & FUDR
5/13/19 HAI pump catheter dislodge, nearly bled to death
6-7 '19 5FU 4 cycles
NED

heiders33
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2017 11:08 am

Re: Finally....some really great news!!!

Postby heiders33 » Thu Dec 27, 2018 4:03 pm

That’s great news. Dr Kemeny and her office are the best. Just curious, I wonder why she said he shouldn’t have done FOLFOX? That’s a normal first line treatment.
40 year-old female
May 2017: Dx rectal cancer T3N2M0
MSS, KRAS G12D
6/17: 28 days chemorad
9/17: LAR/loop ileostomy, CAPOX six rounds
3/18: reversal
9/18: liver met, resection/HAI pump, 11 rounds 5FU, 1 round FUDR
11/19 - local recurrence, brachytherapy, 3 weeks targeted radiation
12/21 - end colostomy

mpbser
Posts: 953
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 11:52 am

Re: Finally....some really great news!!!

Postby mpbser » Thu Dec 27, 2018 5:19 pm

Yeah, it is the normal first line treatment but I have noticed that the majority of people with the HAI pump do Folfiri. Curious.

Maybe I misinterpreted the remark and she was just simply saying that this time around she would be having him do Folfiri.
Wife 4/17 Dx age 45
5/17 LAR
Adenocarcinoma
low grade
1st primary T3 N2b M1a
Stage IVA
8/17 Sub-total colectomy
2nd primary 5.5 cm T1 N0
9 of 96 nodes
CEA: < 2.9
MSS
Lynch no; KRAS wild
Immunohistochemsistry Normal
Fall 2017 FOLFOX shrank the 1 met in liver
1/18 Liver left hepatectomy seg 4
5/18 CT clear
12/18 MRI 1 liver met
3/7/19 Resection & HAI
4/1/19 Folfiri & FUDR
5/13/19 HAI pump catheter dislodge, nearly bled to death
6-7 '19 5FU 4 cycles
NED

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Finally....some really great news!!!

Postby NHMike » Thu Dec 27, 2018 5:46 pm

I'm glad that you're having a good experience at MSK.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

mpbser
Posts: 953
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 11:52 am

Re: Finally....some really great news!!!

Postby mpbser » Thu Dec 27, 2018 6:01 pm

Thanks, nhMike!

We got a call about a half hour ago from Dr. K's office telling us that they've scheduled a consultation with the surgeon for January 14th -- assuming pending the PET results, just to get an appointment set. Makes sense. So loving how on top of things they are!
Wife 4/17 Dx age 45
5/17 LAR
Adenocarcinoma
low grade
1st primary T3 N2b M1a
Stage IVA
8/17 Sub-total colectomy
2nd primary 5.5 cm T1 N0
9 of 96 nodes
CEA: < 2.9
MSS
Lynch no; KRAS wild
Immunohistochemsistry Normal
Fall 2017 FOLFOX shrank the 1 met in liver
1/18 Liver left hepatectomy seg 4
5/18 CT clear
12/18 MRI 1 liver met
3/7/19 Resection & HAI
4/1/19 Folfiri & FUDR
5/13/19 HAI pump catheter dislodge, nearly bled to death
6-7 '19 5FU 4 cycles
NED


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