SANJO Posted April 26, 2003 Share Posted April 26, 2003 I am pretty new to this board. I had right upper lobectomy in February after stage IIIa tumor was reduced in size by chemothrapy. There was no lymph node involvement, suprisingly. Pathology reports were negative after surgery. I felt fine after a couple of weeks. No pain, great recovery Then oncologist suggested chemo and radiation of mediastinum as "insurrance" against recurrance. NOW he is suggesting cranial radiation and I am scared! He admits that for Stage IIIa thre is no research that he knows of as to whether the brain radiation helps or prevents anything. Does anyone out there have any infor on this? I plan to get a second and maybe third opinion before starting the brain radiation but hope someone has had experience with this. THank you all for being here. It ihas been a great source of compfort for me to read your stories, etc. God Bless you all. Joanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Posted April 26, 2003 Share Posted April 26, 2003 Joanne, Sorry, I don't have good research on the preventive cranial radiation question...we need John or Sam here. It sounds as if your doctor(s) really took an aggressive approach to your situation, and with good success up to this point. However, I agree that 2nd and/or 3rd opinions would be a wise move now. Wishing the best for you and so glad to see your picture and have your participation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginnyd Posted April 26, 2003 Share Posted April 26, 2003 Joanne, My husband had whole brain radiation, but he had had a met (1 tumor) to his brain. There were two small suspicious spots in another part of his brain in an MRI taken the day after his brain surgery. No one were sure what they were - thus the whole brain not targeted radiation. His latest MRI's are clean and that is excellent news. However, he definitely has some short term memory and concentration problems. They do appear to be improving. He is also dizzy when going from sitting to standing and other times. The drs indicate that the radiation probably did some damage to the inner ear and that he will have to learn to compensate for it. The meds to help vertigo make you sleep alot. He has had chest radiation and is considering chemo - both of these were recommended as preventitive. It is easy for me to say - get EVERYTHING that might help cure this lousy disease - I am not the patient. But from what I can see, the treatment while tough, offers the best chance for life. Sounds like a good option to me. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SANJO Posted April 26, 2003 Author Share Posted April 26, 2003 Thanks everyone for replying to my post on cranial radiation. Your support and input are much appreciated. I will report on my next consultation with medical centers here in California. God Bless us all. Joanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted April 27, 2003 Share Posted April 27, 2003 Hi. Sam the MD might be able to help. Or get a few other opinions. PCI is used for limited SCLC after remission. I think this is correct. Never heard of it for NSCLC, but I'm not a doctor So let me get this straight though. He gave chemo before (neojunctive) the surgery AND after? From my understanding again it could be wrong is that chemo/radiation is usually done before or after surgery not both. I heard the best thing for IIIa is chemo before surgery. So the margins were clear and there was no vascular invasion into the tumor? Might be good to know the grade. Might be able to get a test for the P53 mutation or ras oncogene (bad prognosis for these). But there are vaccines that target these particular genes Take care Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted April 27, 2003 Share Posted April 27, 2003 There used to be research into using MMPI to treat brain mets. It did not work. But one researcher I read, said that the MMPI was probably not given early enough. At this point in time I do not think much research is going into the area. Matrix metalloproteinases http://www.slip.net/~mcdavis/dbas9697/97448957.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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