Adenocarcinoma Question

[Candy]

We were always told that Hugh's father died of a malignant brain tumor (he passed away in the 70s). Supposedly it was found by the eye doctor when he went for a routine eye exam. We never had any reason to question this as this is what his mother told us. However, recently my sister-in-law decided to get copies of death certificates to have on file for both of Hugh's parents. When she got the certificate for Hugh Senior I was shocked to see that the primary cause of death was adenocarcinoma. From being on this board I have seen that many times and now I wonder IS adenocarcinoma strictly a lung cancer or is it a type of cancer that can be found in other parts of the body? I really want to know if his Dad had lung cancer with brain mets or was the brain cancer a primary? I know next to nothing about any kind of lung cancer except SCLC.

For some reason this just is making me crazy. The sane part of me says that Hugh's outcome wouldn't be any different whether we knew his father had lung cancer or not. Also, all of Hugh's history at the doctor's office say his father had brain cancer. I want his records to be accurate. I want the medical people involved with Hugh to KNOW that his father had lung cancer if that's the case. Would he have been screened differently if our doctor knew his father had lung cancer??? Would Hugh have given up cigarettes at a much earlier age if he knew this? Does it make a difference for my sons in the way their medical care is done and their chances of getting LC?

I don't know why this is eating away at me it just is.

[beckyg]

Adenocarcinoma can occur in lots of places. I know that doesn't help with your question about what was the primary in Hugh's father's case, but adenocarcinoma is not just a lung cancer word.

[john]

It probably was either lung or colon. I don't think adeno can be a primary brain according to the following link. I think the sane part of you that says the outcome probably would not be different. Since it was in the brain - he was stage IV.

As far as your sons go, make sure they don't smoke. I am not too sure about the genetics. It personally worries me a little. My mom was a non-smoker (not implying that smokers deserve this - no one does).

However, the chances of lung cancer are pretty small from what I have read. Only 10% of smokers will get lung cancer - This is not a reason to stop smoking though - smoking causes other cancers and other health problems.

http://virtualtrials.com/faq/faqs.cfm

What are the different types of brain tumors?

There are many different kinds of brain tumors. The first way to divide brain tumors is based on whether they are primary or secondary. Primary tumors are tumors that begin in the brain. Secondary tumors are tumors that started our elsewhere in the body and spread, or metastasized, to the brain. For example, secondary brain tumors could have begun as breast cancer or lung cancer. Primary brain tumors can be further divided based on what type of cell the tumor began as. Some types of primary brain tumors are astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, meningiomas, medulloblastomas, neuronomas, ependymomas, craniopharingiomas, pineal tumors, germ cell tumors, and schwannomas. The name of a tumor depends on what kind of cell it comes from. Astrocytomas come from astrocytes, oligodendrogliomas from oligodendrocytes, meningiomas from meningeal cells, medulloblastomas from medulloblasts, etc. For more information on specific tumor types (and treatments) go to National Cancer Institute's Brain Tumor Information Page.

[kimblanchard]

For what it is worth, the chemo Becky is on is primarily used for adenocarcinomas for breast cancer, so it is at least there as well. Don't really know.

And even if the underlying cause was brain cancer, it could be that it spread somewhere else, and the secondary tumor was the immediate cause of death. Bottom line is I see no contradiction in any part of the story.

Curtis