Postby roadrunner » Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:52 pm
You are asking a very tough question. I don’t think there is a definitive answer, but I’ll venture a little information that may help.
There are certainly many cases where pulmonary metastases are isolated or develop without disease elsewhere. This is more common with rectal cancer, but it can happen with colon cancer. So it’s definitely possible that lung mets are all you have. I assume you’ve been scanned aggressively, so the fact that nothing else is showing up a 1.5 years after removal of the primary is a positive thing. Of course, it isn’t good that it metastasized, as that indicates it is capable of spread. But it was stage 1, so perhaps it didn’t have time to seed beyond your lungs, or your adjuvant chemo (post-VATS) wiped out all microscopic cancer. The fact that you had that treatment before you saw other (non-pulmonary) issues is also potentially protective and a good thing.
Even better, your lung surgeon is saying that your remaining potential disease is resectable. If that’s so, and nothing else shows up, you’re good. If something else does, you may well still have good options. Pulmonary mets are usually slow-growing and there are many ways to deal with them. The greatest challenge comes when there are many or the disease spreads elsewhere.
Hope this helps.
I wish you a stable scan. You have my admiration for the strong attitude. I just had two small suspicious pulmonary nodules scanned and was pretty nervous (mine were potentially resectable too). Fortunately, they were stable. But it’s a tough job waiting for those results. Good luck!
7/19: RC: Staged IIIA, T2N1M0
approx 4.25 cm, low/mid rectum, mod. well diff.; lung micronodule
8/19-10/19 4 rds.FOLFOX neoadjuvant, 3 w/Oxiplatin (reduced 70-75%)
neoadjuvant chemorad 11/19
4 rounds FOLFOX July-August 2020
ncCR 10/20; biopsies neg
TAE 11/20, tumor cells removed
Chest CT 3/30/21 growth in 2 nodules (3 and 5mm)
VATS 12/8/21 sub-pleural met 7mm.
SBRT nodule 1/22
6/20/22 TAE rectal polyp benign)
NED from 3/22 - 3/23
4 cycles FOLFIRI
LUL VATS lobectomy for radio resistant met 7/7/23