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time table for treatment??


Guest robd1

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hello all , cancer discovered via xray jan14th.. had biopsy jan 21, had to another; jan 28th; got results;;determined nsclc.. likeley stage 3b

oncologist wanted to do PET. done FEB 7TH... IS TIME WASTING..?

still waiting results for PET.. (tomorrow 5 weeks since discovery)?

IS THIS COMMON/ UNUSUAL??

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Hi Rob.

Welcome to "hurry up and wait"...

Most all of us have been through that one way or another. With experience, you will gain the insight of how the medical world works..it is not always on our timetable.

I have learned that squeeky wheel gets the grease. Sometimes, you gotta bark, sometimes you gotta bite. Sometimes, you gotta get em with honey.. however you can manage to do it, get what you want as soon as you can. Has your dad had the bone scan yet? That also needs to be done. Then he has to meet with the radiation oncologist and the whole set up fixed up. That includes a scan and then they will need to tatoo him and get all that going... it is a process. You are just into it....barely.

The PET is done. See if the PET radiologist has read it yet. Then it needs to be sent to the onc. not just the report but the PET itself. Sometimes it helps to expedite if you volunteer to hand carry rather than send by mail or courier.

So much to do. Your angst is understandable.

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Hi Rob

I am thinking there is no set rule to this, as my mom was having chemo and radiation within 2 days of her dx, wella ctually dr came by with path report about 5 on a Tuesday while Mom was in the hospital and by 940 the next am she was discharged from hospital and we were in the oncs office and had chemo and did the pre radiation markings that day. It was nice because everything,chemo,radiation,lab,appointments,scans,etc... is done in one place.

I have heard of this happening to others as well as some waiting and waiting and then more waiting.If the cancer has been dx, what is the petscan going to show that they need to wait for it? Did the dr say? I know nsclc does not spread as fast as sclc, so that is good. I would definetly be finding out why you are still waiting for treatment to start. If the doc does not seem to be in big hurry to do something, then you get in a big hurry to find a doc that is.

Good luck and keep us posted on the progress

Kim

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Hello - Sorry you had to come here but glad you did. My mom felt the exact same way it was about 2 months before treatment began and she was fuming that they weren't doing anything right away. They do have to be sure they get the right diagnosis and the right treatment plans for the best results. Hurry up and wait does seem to be the routine. Best of luck

Heidi

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My surgeon got the PET really quickly but the surgery calendar was full for a few weeks, so I had to wait to get scheduled. He told me that what I had would take about 90 days to increase in size, so we needed to get it scheduled as soon as possible, but it wasn't a dire emergency.

This was my timetable: May 14 or so--questionable chest x-ray, May 20--ct scan. May 27--1st appt with surgeon for consult, May 30---PET scan, Pre-surgery tests--June 10, Surgery--June 20. Chemo started August 14, finished chemo Nov. 6.

My advice would be: get the PET...it will give more information and thereby you can make a more informed decision.

Cindy

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Hi Rob: It was Oct 31 2003, when my mass was found. I had a bronchoscopy which was inconsclusive, a lung needle biopsy whch was inconclusive and then a Pet Scan which showed a malignancy. By this time it was Dec 1. I did not have surgery until Jan 2, 2004. The waiting is the hardest part.. (sounds like the lyrics to a song). If there is going to be any surgery, the PET scan will help figure that out. The PET scan will show if there is any distant metastasis, in which case there will probably be no surgery and your dad will proceed to chemo. It helped me to get copies of all the reports. I looked the stuff up on line and educated myself a bit. It gave me the sense that I was doing something about it. I tried to get the reports ahead of the appointments to discuss them so I could anticipate what questions to ask and look the stuff up. If your dad signs a release form at the time you have scans done, you can have them sent to you by fax or pick them up at the facility when they are done.

You and your dad have my best wishes.

Don M

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Rob,

Cindi is right, it is hurry up and wait. I will never understand why it always takes so long to get these results. The last PET scan I had took about three weeks. I kept calling the dr., and he kept calling the other department to get the result. Guess what they had misplaced the test. This was not the first time my file had been misplaced. Also look at my signature, and see how long it took before my treatment was started.

Remember the doctor is working for us. So call him.

Keep us posted.

Best Wishes,

Dee

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I agree with the rest, it's a slow nerve wracking wait. They found my mass in April and I didn't get into surgery until July. I was so scared, every day I felt like I was giving that darn stuff more growing time. When all was said and done I went into surgery with every test having been done and the surgeon confident that the cancer was in one area only.

Kathy

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