northstar Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Hello everyone. I've stayed away for a while since I'm feeling a little more depressed about my mom. As you may have read, her tumor and lymph nodes started growing again after she finished her Taxol/Carbo treatments She wasted a bunch of time getting on her new chemo because of a second opinion (which was a waste of time that I wont go into) Anyway. She started Alimpta (sp?) 2 weeks ago. My concern is that her last scan was Dec 29th or so. It showed growth. We dont know when her next scan is, there is none scheduled right now. My thinking is there must have been more growth between the Dec scan and her start of treatment. SO.....how will they compare/gauge this chemos effects?? Even if the drugs works and it starts to shrink things....if they dont know how big it was at the start, how will they know if it shrunk?!? And if they dont find a change on the next scan and wait to see if any change occurs, thats another 5 weeks or so!! A long time if the drugs really not working! I know I'm not making any sense. Just wondering if anyone has any advice here. Can we 'demand' a scan? Should we just trust they know what they are doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connie B Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Why don't you just ask them when they plan on doing a follow-up Scan? If she had one the end of Dec, well..... it's only the beginning of Feb now. They don't do CT's all that often. Or you could ask maybe they could do a chest x-ray. You have to ask the doc's what the game plan is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Wood Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 My wife just started Alimta last week and will have it every three weeks for 4-6 cycles. Probably, she will have a scan after the fourth cycle has had a chance to work. So we are looking at 12 weeks before a scan. Sounds normal to me. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamasbabygirl Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 I think Don's story sounds about right. Mom had a scan after her 4th Alimta treatment and since it was working so well, the oncologist decided to do two more rounds of Alimta. So, she had 6 total. By the way, her last Alimta treatment was in April and it has held her stable since then. Prayers to you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northstar Posted February 10, 2006 Author Share Posted February 10, 2006 Thanks for the replies. Don, I hope Lucie is tolerating the chemo well. So far (1 treatment) my mom is holding up well. 3 days after the chemo she was tired and her stomach was a little 'off' but nothing too uncomfortable or severe. I'm so glad to hear the alimta stablized your mom mbg! Connie, I'll ask if I can but I dont know if I can get over to my moms onc appointment this next time round. Her time with the dr is so few and far between, and then when the appointment comes its like you have to rush to ask your questions before he moves on to the next patient I know they will take another cat scan, but my worry is how they will read it. What if her tumor grew by 30% since her last scan in Dec.. Even if the Alimta works and shrinks it by 25%.....that will STILL look like growth and they may think the chemo is not working. How can they make decisions on outdated information? Oh well.....sometimes I just have to get used to the fact that this is out of my hands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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