mets to lung
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I am hoping he does. I have spent 37 years in a career where details made the difference between finding yourself in a lawsuit or having happy buyers and sellers. Missing details lead to trouble. I know that this report won't be enough to get the orthopedic surgeon to agree to surgery. He will want to know if it's safe. If I run into a brick wall I will either get them fully reviewed in a second opinion or get copies of the actual scan and find a medical friend to show me how to read them.
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brutersmom, I'm sorry your veins suck. I, thankfully, still have good veins for blood draws, infusions and other stuff. I am able to schedule my nuc med and CT scans for the same day so the nurse leaves the line in from the nuc med injection and then I go get my CT scan. They're always happy not to have to start a new line.
At my last CT with contrast, it felt different going in. I mentioned it to the tech (it wasn't unpleasant - just different) and he said it may be because I weigh less than I did at my last scan. Apparently, they calculate the dose of contrast based on your weight. I've gone from 130-ish to 115-ish.
I'll see the pulmonologist on the 18th. Hoping for answers.
I hope everyone had a good weekend. Our kids were here, which is always fun.
Carol
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If I have to have more then one test then I would definitely have everything done the same day. When I was first diagnosed and admitted to the hospital I think I had 4 sticks before they were able to get blood out of me and about 10 until they finally agreed to use an ultrasound. This time it was only 3. One of them let a huge bruise. They finally took my phone message off from Friday. Again they only wrote down half the message. I wish I had somewhere closer I could switch to. My Dr. is great but the staffing her is overworked and things get delayed.
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So the doc agreed with me ask that the right lung be discussed. The radiologist add "both lungs are clear except as mentioned". That is a little more specific. I will grill the doc tomorrow with my list of questions. I am going to take it as good news. It sounds like I might be NEAD.
I just received an article about a study done comparing the ability of Artificial intelligence verses the physician at reading scans. They came out equal in the study referenced. I don't think the radiologist who read my CT scan was part of that study. Didn't say if they were able to compare old and new studies.
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brutersmom Fingers crossed for the possibility at NEAD. We all welcome good news!
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Just return from the oncologist. The good news is that the cancer appears to be gone in the right lung. ❤️❤️❤️ There is still some pleural thickening and scarring but not enough to prevent me from having knee replacement surgery in early 2024 if my ca27.29 number stays down. Not that I want knee surgery but the knee pain is making it hard to do things.
We talked about the tree in bud on the ctscan. He said that they are seeing more of that on ctscan. He thinks it is from the cdk 4/6. They no longer test it unless it continues to get larger because the biopsies often come back indeterminate or inflammation no evidence of cause.
The bad news is my oncologist is leaving in November. The only two breastcancer Dr. remaining are the two I know. The one tried to pressure me into chemo which I didn't want and didn't need. The other one was nice but refused to deal with the horrible side effects I had from Letrozole He told me I needed to learn to live with them. I stopped the meds because I wanted to kill myself. I couldn't live on two hours sleep a night, feeling aggressive, ruining relationships because i would become angry at the drop of a hat. etc. After I stopped the meds. He told me if I wouldn't take the meds he would discharge me. I could come back if the cancer returned. I clarified about the follow up and he again said no need, but wrote on the chart I refused follow up after after discontinuing meds. I have a couple of months just not sure what to do there. At least I have a month or two to figure it out.
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Oh man Brutersmom that is terrible treatment from an oncologist! What in the world? I am so happy that the lung is clear from mets and will be rooting for you going into 2024 for that knee surgery. I agree, knee pain limits just about everything.
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brutersmom Glad to hear you got your questions answered and the right lung is looking good! Yes, onward with the knee surgery no sense living in pain.
Sheesh these MO's need a little compassion and better bedside manners for sure. Sorry to hear your MO is leaving, fingers crossed that you find someone you like.
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Good morning ladies, I have lung met since last year but i have been asymptotic until last week. How can I distinguish lung met symptoms from regular cough/chest congestion?
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Anx789 Ussualy coughs from colds or asthma are productive. Before my diagnosis I had more of a dry hacky cough with shortness of breath. What type of cough did you have when diagnosed.
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anx789, I'd recommend tracking your symptoms and letting your MO or pulmonologist know. Hopefully, it's "just" a cough and nothing worse.
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@brutersmom I did not have any symptoms when diagnosed, they found 2 nodule in my lung during PET scan a year ago. These 2 nodules seems stable on my recent scan but who knows.
My first symptoms was losing my voice before Thanksgiving, until now I still don’t have my voice back. Then last Monday, I started having nasal and chest congestion and mild cough, but no fever. I’m on antibiotics since Friday. My coughing stop but still have nasal and chest congestion and I still feel sick, not feeling better physically.
@sunshine99 they never refer me to a pulmonologist. I will ask my Onco if possible to refer me to one.
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Anx789. Did they confirm that the nodes are cancer. I have a few nodes that are benign. No symptoms. I just recently got over a bad sinus infection. Sever nasal congestion, no voice, cough, no fever no chest congestion but inflamed sinus and air way opening. PA said the infection was pretty bad. I am on Ibrance and my neutrophils get very low. This fall has be rough on my sinuses with very low neutrophils. Just a thought.
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@brutersmom no biopsy was done to confirm the lung met but they think it’s either met or another primary. I still have congestions, I do hope this is just some virus. My ANC is low too (.800-1.00) due to Kisqali.
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Anx789. It sounds like a virus. I think a low anc makes us slower to recover. Maybe the should consider a liquid biopsy. Which is a blood test that can tell if you have any mutations.
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Brutersmom, I still have nasal congestion and little chest congestion, very little coughing, and I still don’t have my voice back. I saw MO yesterday and he thinks it’s virus, too, but he’s a little concerned with my TM going up, he wants to do a bone scan instead of Pet scan which I think doesn’t make sense. What kind of imaging do you to do monitor your MBC?
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Anx789 In a way it does. I looked at my original bone scan. It references my bones, joints, activity on my lung, spine, etc. No cancer but other spine and joint injuries or damage. Since my cancer was in the pleura it showed diffuse uptake there as well. You have mets to the bone so the MO may just want to start there. If the bone scan is negative or shows nothing new, it might show it somewhere else but not clearly. The MO would know to order additional scans.
As for scans that has been a concern and there has been some disagreement among my Drs. I have only had one chest CT since my original diagnosis. That was at 7 months. My tumor markers followed my cancer. My clinic feels they are an acceptable way to monitor my cancer. I am not sure I agree however for selfish reasons and since I feel healthy I decided not to fight that fight right now.
I was to have knee replacement surgery last January. Because of cancer, it was put on hold. I started pressing for clearances last summer. My quality of life sucks because of my knee. I am scheduled for January 8 2024. Little a anxious, because my lung mets were found January 3, 2023. My old MO retired and I just got a new MO in November. As a result, I have been setting all the time tables and decided no scans until after surgery. So far I have all my medical clearances. Blood test on 1/2/24 and hopefully my numbers are all were they belong after 5 weeks off Ibrance. They are bouncing back slower then I expected.
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@brutersmom I wish you a successful surgery and quick recovery. My tumor markers were all going up since July last year, it’s about 6x-10x normal range right now. I’m was not concern at the beginning because i expected myself to have elevated TM and my old MO did not monitor TM. But with my normal voice not back , i am concern because I think it has something to do with my lungs. I have a squeaky voice that’s sounds like I have asthma and im running out of air when talking, then I will have this coughing reflex.
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Anx789. Thank you. Have you had a lung xray to see if you have pneumonia, bronchitis, or inflammation from Kasquali. It sounds like you have something going on and it needs to be checked out. Check with your PCP or oncologist. If you feel really bad go to an urgent care or ER. I ussualy end up at urgent care because my Dr. Is booked months out.
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@brutersmom Thinking of you for your knee surgery tomorrow. You've waited so long and jumped thru so many hoops, it's gonna give you a much better quality of life.
@anx789 You really should get checked out for those changes. It could be a reaction to your meds, or one of these crummy viral infections going around.
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@irishlove , I saw an ENT a month ago for my voice issue, he ended up referring me to speech therapist 😏, I saw my MO 3 weeks ago, he thought its viral because I had congestion, but now it evolved to dry cough. I will see him next week, I will ask to be referred to a Pulmonologist.
@brutersmom sending you prayers for tomorrow’s procedure.
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Have you had a scan or a chest xray since the virus?
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Hi @brutersmom, I’m glad the surgery went well, I hope you’re feeling better today. I have not had a chest X-rays or scan, the last scan I had was PET/CT in October 2023.
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Looks as though I may be officially joining this club. Having had a repeat chest CT right after Thanksgiving, a suspicious area looked worse so my oncologist wanted a bronchoscopy with biopsy before changing treatment from paclitaxel/gemcitabine to ENHERTU. The pulmonologist must have missed the spot because no malignant cells were seen in the sample.
However, my CA 15-3 (which has been a reliable indicator for me) had gone up. The new therapy started mid-December at full strength with dexamethasone and 18mg of ondansetron to prevent nausea. Zofran worked too well, inducing constipation. Unfortunately, my hemoglobin tanked and I felt anemic all through Christmas, mostly laying on the sofa!
Second infusion last week was at a reduced dose & my tumor marker had come back down, an encouraging sign. Handling this cycle much better with an aggressive bowel regimen, I even went to a water exercise class but sat on the edge of the pool. Hopefully, my next scans will continue to show liver improvement and further clarify what is going on in the lungs.
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Please keep us posted, @vlnrph, keeping you in our thoughts!
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@vlnrph Sorry to hear you have been forced in this club, it just stinks! I am glad to hear your treatment seems to have provided a good response, that's great! Hope your body adjusts to Enhertu and you have more good days than bad. Sending good vibes and healing thoughts your way.
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@vlnrph I am sorry you have had to join the club. Hoping your new med works well.
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Good to see you posting. How is the knee healing progressing?
Hope things are going well.
Eleanora
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@eleanora been a couple of days since I have been here. We have had 5 days of rain and fog and I am ready for hibernation. I have been walking without a cane or crutch since day 14 post surgery. Today is day 22. The muscles are finally loosening up. I have one muscle that has taken a beating over the last year and during surgery so it is taking longer to heal up. It is slowing me down a bit but I am still progressing. I had home therapy for two weeks and that was really helpful. She took a different approach with me because of the muscle issue but my knee continues to get stronger and is moving better. I don't think all this cold damp weather helps but I have lived in the area all my life and some years are cold and damp. Some years are sunny and snowy. January is almost over. The ground hog will make his prediction on Friday about spring and the March and sunshine will be here.
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I wasn’t sure where to post this, so I thought I’d start here. I got results from the CT scan I had on Monday. There is one issue and I wonder if anyone has any insight. The report states:
Right paratracheal adenopathy, new. Differential diagnosis includes reactive versus metastatic disease.Lungs and Pleura: The airways are patent. No suspicious pulmonary nodule. There is no pneumothorax or pleural effusion
> > > Mediastinum and Hila: There is a right paratracheal lymph node measuring 1.1 cm, previously 0.3 cm
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Everything else on the CT scan is good. The oncologist’s NP called with these results. In October of last year, I had femoral rod surgery and during that time, I had a pulmonary embolism. I’m now on blood thinner meds. Other than that, I haven’t been sick or had a cold or any kind of infection. The NP said I could scan again in 2 months to see what is going on with the lymph node. I have an oncologist appt in two weeks and will discuss further. My blood work looks good, except for the CA 15-3 is slightly elevated at 37. It has been that number for three consecutive months. I’m not sure what is meant by reactive vs metastatic disease mentioned in the above report. I’m currently on Xeloda, which has been my treatment since March 2020.
Has anyone else had this occurrence? If so, could you please tell me your experience? Would the pulmonary embolism have anything to do with the enlarged lymph noe?
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