updatefor my CT scan results

[curlysue50]

Mostly good news on CT scan results from Monday, from my oncologist today. Lungs are looking good and still improving. My adrenal which had a tumor and last scan was "thickened" is now "unremarkable"! Left lower lobe of lung which was the worst and likely original cancer site is starting to increase in air capacity. Septal thickening( I spent the afternoon Googling medical terms) is significantly improved and thinning out. Bone mets in chest and spine are stable and no pathological fractures. Still a small amount of pleural effusion, but no gas bubbles no septations or no obvious nodules or masses.

Most of my organs are now unremarkable, (good news) with the exception of my liver. I have a fairly large lesion (low attentuation) and multiple smaller lesions. The last CT scan of my abdomen was 10/3/11 after my second round of chemo. So when they did this scan that was their baseline for comparison. So I have to go back for a scan in 2 months to see if they have grown. Freaked me out a bit. Dr told me sometimes when cancer spreads, rarely it will start to be driven by a different mutation, but not to worry too much. My cancer was growing from Oct-January and we did not have scans from March to know how many and how big lesions were then.

They I went home. Kind of scared and bummed out. I looked over my CT scan report. I always ask for a copy to take home. My largest lesion was stable from my March CT scan. It is in upper liver area and can been seen in my Chest CT scans. There were even measurements. No one said anything about "stable" in my liver at my appt. So, I emailed my oncologist and asked some questions. There IS a high probability that the lesions on liver are all stable. We just don't have the evidence to support that conclusion now because they were not all scanned in March. Whew. A bit of a reprieve. Usually cancer will follow the same pathological progression in the same organ, (but not always). So, a concern, but no alarms need to be set off at this point. I will go back in August for more definitive answers, so it is time to continue enjoying my summer! Thanks for all the support.

Susan

[shineladysue]

Susan,

You've been on my mind all day. Sounds like you got a pretty good report. Improvements and stability are great news. As for the unknown, it is just that.. unknown and as your oncologist said, it just may well be stable too. Having a follow up in two months is a great idea , not too long , but long enough to give you some breathing time... Hope you can enjoy some good ole summertime before you have to think about scans again. And.. wow, that's really great that you can email your oncologist with your questions. Thanks for the update. Sending hugs and well wishes for the summer.

Hugs,

Sue

[nikkala]

Hi Susan,

Sounds like it was pretty "unremarkable" Who knew that could be such a good term. Hope you can relax and enjoy. Take good care.

[Janet B]

Sorry I didn't respond to this right away. I love that term "unremarkable". My oncologist uses that one a lot. I never thought being unremarkable was a good thing, but now I love it! So, it sounds like your scans were unremarkable enough to let you enjoy your summer, garden, watch the birds and enjoy. breathe! Hugs and peace!!!

[dianew]

Susan - Stable and unremarkable is just great news!! And when in the dark, always assume the best - Have a great summer.

[ginnyde]

unremarkable [ˌʌnrɪˈmɑːkəbəl]

adj

not worthy of note or attention

Sounds good to me.