Hello All -- Sort of hate to be back on the forum. I finished my five years on CT CAP and CEA surveillance in January 2023 and was excited to be a "sort of normal" person. But unfortunately, I just got diagnosed with breast cancer (two lesions, both IDC, grade 2, ER+/PR+, one is Her2Neu+ a...

I may have replied to this in the past, but I'll do a brief response. I am a radiologist, but this is NOT medical advice. I saw some information in the other posts that I wanted to comment on. CT has better spatial resolution than MRI, but MRI has better contrast resolution. They have different pros...

CT colonography disadvantages are radiation and inability to biopsy or remove lesions, polyps, etc. It is usually performed in those who cannot tolerate colonoscopy.

Talking to your primary care doctor about your concerns could be helpful.

It is a description of what the nodule looks like — solid, ground-glass (kinda hazy is how I would describe it) and mixed (both). The guidelines for how frequently a nodule is followed on CT is in part determined by whether it is solid or subsolid (Fleischner Criteria 2017). In any case, it is <6 mm...

Generally, a 7-8 mm lesion on CT can be detected on PET. Smaller lesions that are very hypermetabolic can sometimes be seen. But if a lesion is smaller than 8 mm, and it is negative on PET, you can’t be sure that it is truly negative because it may be too small. Sometimes a person will need all moda...

I don’t have any advice but just checking in to see how it is going. Hope it’s just late.

My tumor was also rectosigmoid and figuring out whether it was rectal or colon cancer was key. I looked up a lot of GU, CRS and radiology literature, and distance from the anal verge can vary. I think mine was 15 cm but it was treated as colon. If you’re at the border, it makes it tough. I had a rec...

Sounds like question has been answered, but in case someone sees this in the archive... MRI is better than US for evaluation of ovarian masses and cysts, but MRI protocols for surveillance of colon cancer are typically different than protocols that evaluate the “female pelvis” (uterine, ovarian, adn...

While on Xeloda, I traveled cross country for the holidays. I avoided international travel even though I wasn’t immunosuppressed. My labs were normal, no drop in white blood cells or platelets. Although my chance for complication was low, I didn’t feel like taking major risks. My main issue was hand...

You and I have the same TNM staging, same tumor location and same surgery. I did six months of Xeloda. My decision was whether to do Xeloda or nothing. All three Oncs I consulted did not recommend the platin based drug because the side effect profile is much worse. Also, the new data on 3 vs 6 month...

Congrats CAgirl!! So happy for you. I haven’t had any imaging since before surgery. I’m nervous. I get my first post chemo scan tomorrow. Onc wants me to do 12-month intervals also. I am a lower stage and I understand per NCCN. But I also feel unsettled about it. If all clear tomorrow, I may still g...

Has your wife lost a lot of weight? Loss of mesenteric fat can cause SMA syndrome. Hopefully putting some weight back will help.

Take care!

You can decline anesthesia. I did this for the sigmoidoscopy and rectal US I had 4 days after my initial colonoscopy. I wanted to see the ultrasound. It wasn't hard at all but I bet it would be more painful if I were awake for the entire colonoscopy, not just to sigmoid. For my followup, I plan to s...

I've had hand foot syndrome since cycle 2. I've been well moisturized with Udderly Smooth. What's weird is the itching started AFTER my last dose and despite the cream. Sometimes the cream seems to make it worse, and I've considered the possibility of a developing allergy to the cream. My HFS sympto...

Caveat about PET is that infection can also have increased uptake. So, while sometimes the SUV value on PET can favor neoplasm over infection (or vice versa), sometimes PET can't differentiate between the two.