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Hi there,

My Mom saw the Surgeon yesterday so when my Dad called me last night I was expecting more bad news on top of the PET scan results we got earlier this week. What I got was the exact opposite!! The sound in my Dad's voice was wonderful to hear. He said that both he and my Mom really liked the Surgeon and that this was the first doctor to give them thorough information in a positive manner. The Surgeon spent quite a lot of time with them just talking.....which meant so very much to my parents. Especially after the past few weeks of doctors, tests, phone calls.........all overwhelming. I'm so glad that they seem to have hit it off well and I'm hoping this "positive" mannered Surgeon can help instill feelings of hope back into my Mom. My Dad mentioned a few things that I wanted to ask you all about:

The Surgeon told them that some of the "hot" zones (thyroid & lymph nodes) shown in the PET scan may not prove to be cancer cells, but instead small infections in the areas which would also show "hot". Have any of you heard of this?? Also, the tumor in my Mom's lung (7cm) seems to be dead in the middle. I'm not quite sure what to make of that. The Surgeon wants to do some more testing on my Mom, to include another CT scan of her neck and chest. He also wants to do another bronchoscopy and biopsy more tissue.

It seems that the Surgeon may prove to be the "primary" physician for my Mom. Is this typical??

Be Blessed,

Donna

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I know that a lot of people have had success with chemo and/or radiation prior to surgery. Would they have been as successful if they had waited till after surgery, who knows? But it's a common plan to do all that prior to surgery to try to shrink/kill tumors so that they are easier to remove during surgery.

My lead physician for this is my surgeon. And that suits me just fine. He's the guy who was in there and saw what there was to see and he also has seen all my x-rays and scans all along. I have every confidence in him. And, it is normal for your surgeon to take the lead in your care for this.

As to the uptake in the nodes and thyroid, uptake can come from inflamation, infection, or tumor. No one is ever sure until a sample of tissue is taken.

It sounds like you're in good hands.

Cindy

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Add me to the list of folks diggin this news big-time! (And if all of US are, I can't imagine how happy your family must be!)

If I ever see a post where surgery is an option...WOW..what GREAT news!

I'm so happy for you guys and wish your mom all the best. It's so nice when you've found a physician that you're comfortable with and you just *know* you're in good hands.

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Yes doing "neo adjuvant chemo/radiation" (chemo and/or radiation) before surgery has shown to be I think more effective in some cases.

A central mass that is big is sometimes squamous cell cancer which has a slightly better prognosis (from what I have read) than other types

Of course trying to quit smoking is important if surgery is going to happen because of the lung function will be affected

Good news and good luck

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I also am living proof. I had a 'doom and gloom' primary doctor who told me that there was no sense in having surgery because the cancer showed spread to two lymph nodes on the PET scan. My surgeon had me to have 6 weeks on chemo and radiation. After that time I was able to have surgery. I followed about a month later with adjuvant chemo for two sessions. July 1st will be two years since my surgery and I am doing very well and am very grateful to my surgeon and team of doctors. Needless to say I dumped Dr. 'Dooom and Gloom'.

Hope this helps.

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I also had chemo/radiation for 6 weeks followed by 7 more chemos. The Ct Scan showed no lymph node involvement anymore. They could not tell with the lung because I had so much scar tissue. I decided it was best to have my lung removed. I am still in recovery from the surgery but plan on living many more years.

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