Midway scans

[Mally]

Just wondering if anyone had scans midway thru chemo treatment ? I had a lobectomy and a wedge taken from my left lung and they found 7/20 lymph nodes had cancer in them so i worry that things could be worse and the oncologist said ill have a full body ct scan on completion of the chemo ....and also i have a blood test before each chemo treatment and thats checked for kidney and liver function and white / red blood cells and other things so i wonder if that would give an idea how im going ? I see the oncologist every 3 weeks and he doesnt talk a lot

 

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[Tom Galli]

Mally,

During my first, second and third line chemotherapy treatments, I had scans midway through each treatment.  It is my understanding that the primary function of the blood test prior to each infusion is to check the level of red and white cell counts.  Depending on the chemo recipe you are receiving, perhaps kidney and liver function enzymes are checked but I think the primary purpose is to ensure your red and white counts have recovered sufficiently to allow another infusion.

I do not believe these blood test results give the doctors any indication of the effect the chemotherapy is having on your cancer.

Stay the course.

Tom

[Mally]

Thanks tom its just worrying that the lymph node cancer cells could be off and growing somewhere else and the chemo im on may not touch it .the pathology nurse taking the blood said they test for red and white cell regeneration and liver kidney and electrolytes and full blood picture so im telling myself if all weren't good something would look wrong surely and i havent lost my hair and its been 2 months of chemo and the dr said i probably wont lose it but maybe some thinning so does that make it a weak chemo ? And i dont get fatigued a lot which is normally a common side affect of treatment so while im grateful for this lack of severe side affects it leaves me worrying that its not working on the escaped cells through lymph nodes ...sorry for the rant ...

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[Mally]

And i have a combination of chemo Gemsitabine and Carboplatin on day 1 and day 21 and just gemcitabine on day 8 and the 2 weeks off is great because no nausea in that 2 weeks but i havent seen anyone mention gemcitabine since ive been on this forum so is it new or specific to my cancer cells ?

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[Susan Cornett]

Mally,

I had a CT and a brain MRI before I started chemo last year. I had last treatment in May and my next scan was July 1st, so I didn't have scans during treatment. Doc put me on a 90 day scan schedule.  I had clean scans from August until February of this year. I'm just getting started on a course of radiation and chemo now. To my knowledge, no scans until I finish this course of treatment. Hope this helps.

[Mally]

Thankyou and i guess too many scans can put us at risk of other health problems .so im going to stay positive until i have a reason not to and enjoy the fact that i feel well

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[Tom Galli]

There you go Mally.  You are in the zone now.

Stay the course.

Tom