Quilter Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 2018 i had a section of my left lung removed robotically. An annual ct showed nodule .6 on my right lung. Had a pet scan on Wednesday and waiting for results which I will receive Tuesday afternoon with my oncologist. I forgot to ask at my appointment if this would mean the nodule has metastasized. Would any of you be able to give me your opinion? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJM Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 Not too get technical but I believe the answer is... it depends. To over simplify a bit, if a mass shows up in the same general location it is called a recurrence. If it is a distance away (another part of the body) it is considered metastasized. Somebody please confirm. Peace Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 1 hour ago, TJM said: Not too get technical but I believe the answer is... it depends. To over simplify a bit, if a mass shows up in the same general location it is called a recurrence. If it is a distance away (another part of the body) it is considered metastasized. Somebody please confirm. Peace Tom That's true in some cases. In my case, though, in which I was diagnosed this summer as Stage IV after a lobectomy for Stage Ib back in 2017, none of my doctors have been able to determine whether my latest cancer is a metastasis/recurrence, or a totally separate cancer unrelated to the original. Ultimately, they tell me, it doesn't really matter--the new cancer needs to be treated, either way. And as far as they are concerned, the treatment is the same either way. Sorry, Quilter, it's a sucky situation to be dealing with a cancer you thought was behind you. Trust me, I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilter Posted December 5, 2020 Author Share Posted December 5, 2020 What was your treatment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb W Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 I had stage 1B and had a ULL lobectomy in 3/19. In 4/2020 I was told I had Stage 4 and it was a recurrence , and they believe I had micro metastasis which couldn't be seen on the CT or PET during my follow-up scans after surgery so they determined it was the same cancer. Additionally, there was a new small nodule and endoscopy showed positive for adenocarcinoma in two lymph nodes and the left hilar mediastinal area. Although the oncologist said it was a very small amount of cancer, it was still staged at 4. I am happy to report that I've been in remission since August. Deb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 41 minutes ago, Quilter said: What was your treatment? My original treatment was a lobectomy. When I was diagnosed as Stage IV, I was started on a course of chemo/immunotherapy. I've finished the primary treatment for that, and hopefully next week I will be switching to a less-intense chemo with immunotherapy as maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilter Posted December 5, 2020 Author Share Posted December 5, 2020 You had a recurrence after the lobectomy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 Well, as I said above, either a recurrence/metastasis or a completely separate, new cancer. Since I was a smoker for many years, I'd remain at risk for lung cancer in general for the rest of my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJM Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 53 minutes ago, Quilter said: You had a recurrence after the lobectomy? FWIW....I have a recurrence after a lobectomy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb W Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 I had a recurrence after the lobectomy. My treatment was 4 rounds of Carboplatin/Alimta/Keytruda. After that the Carboplatin was dropped I was put on maintenance of Alimta and Keytruda. The plan was to keep me on Alimta and Keytruda until February 2020 and then drop the Alimta. I made it until the end of October - the fatigue was too much and so I asked my Oncologist if I could take a break from the Alimta. He said yes, and didn't think it would matter. So, the last 2 treatments were Keytruda only and I feel like a different person - it's like someone turned the lights back on. I still have fatigue, but it's more toward the end of the day. I will have a scan at the end of December. My next treatment is Tuesday and I'm not sure if he's going to add the Alimta back. I will go with whatever he recommends because I trust his judgement. He's a researcher and very up on the latest in lung cancer research and treatment. He could benefit from some skill development as a clinician, but sometimes we just don't get it all with an oncologist. Deb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan Cornett Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 `I had an upper left lobectomy in 2016 followed by a recurrence in 2017 and another recurrence in 2018. My cancer had spread to my lymph nodes prior to diagnosis so it was not a surprise that the recurrence was in a lymph node in the aortic arch part of my chest. My second recurrence was in the bottom of my lower left lung. With the first recurrence, Super Doc biopsied it to confirm it was the same cancer (it was). With the second recurrence, he didn't recommend and I didn't request a biopsy. I didn't care what "flavor" it was - I just wanted it gone. I'm now cancer free 2+ years since the last recurrence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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