I have been reading many of the posts on this forum for the last 2 months, and have learned so much. My husband (42 year old) was diagnosed in August with Stage IV colon cancer, originating in his sigmoid colon. He is a very healthy, active person with no underlying health issues, so the diagnosis came as quite a shock. His only symptom was constipation, which he had for a couple weeks prior to diagnosis.
We are receiving treatment at University of MI, and we also consulted with Cleveland Clinic for a second opinion. He has 6 liver mets, and we’ve been told they are operable (the 2 largest were 5 cm and 3 cm, rest are ~1 cm). He has completed 7 rounds of FOLFOX w/ Avastin, and will be doing 2 more before his next set of scans, and then a review by the tumor board.
His first set of scans did show shrinkage in his primary tumor, and the liver mets. His CEA started at 65, and is now at 15, so Chemo appears to be working.
However, he also has lymph node mets, which is where the complication comes in. Our oncologist advised that surgery is unlikely to be curative because of these lymph node mets, though they can be treated with chemo and maybe radiation. Below is the notes from the PET scan regarding the LN that are involved:
Hypermetabolic borderline enlarged lymph nodes at the aortic bifurcation and lower para-aortic region; the largest hypermetabolic right para-aortic lymph node at the level of L4 measures 1 cm with SUV max of 4.6.
I am looking for any advice/recommendations. From reading through some posts, it does appear that some have had successful surgeries to remove lymph node mets. Obviously we are hopeful for a curative treatment, but we are also realistic, and know this will likely need to be managed as a chronic illness. Since we are still relatively early in the process, we want to do whatever we can to give him the best chance. We just welcomed our first child in November, and are hopeful that he can beat/manage this.
Thank you for any help/insight you can provide!