On January 1st a new lymph node popped out on the right side of my brother's neck. Same spot as before. Oncologist ordered a CAT Scan which lit up as cancer.
He then had his 3 month PET scan.
Made appointment with ENT doctor who ordered a Core Needle biopsy with Dr. Juks.
His options are surgery or Immunotherapy.
I'm hoping it is just dead cancer cells showing on scan. The biopsy will tell.
New Lump- 1.6X2.1X2.2cm
Node #1 - reduced to 2X1cm
Node #2 - reduced to 1cm
Now that I have had time to soak in what we heard today I can think a little clearer now. And it dawned on me that his results of the CAT scan showed 3 different measurements of lymph nodes. This leads me to believe that this is a new node.
They give the size of the new lump, then node number 1 and then node number 2. All different cm. So if there are 3 different measurements then there are 3 different nodes involved. Not good.
Next thing I found is that nodes larger than 1cm are considered abnormal or malignant. His node number 1 is 2X1cm. Not good.
Another question I have that the ENT couldn't answer is - did scan show anything throughout the body. Is there another primary tumor? The Medical Oncologist will be able to answer this for us on Wednesday.
The biopsy will show if the new lump is Squamous Cell Carcinoma or not. If there is no primary tumor then is it Lymphoma, which is cancer of the lymph node and not Squamous Cell Carcinoma. If it is SCC then it is called Regional Recurrence with no primary tumor in the body somewhere.
If the new lump is just dead cancer cells - we still have to worry about node number 1 being larger than 1cm. This makes me want to throw up. Been nauseated since seeing the results of the CAT scan. It was like it was being told to me and not to my brother.
Looks like surgery is his best option. Quick and done. There is a 3-4 week recovery from neck dissection surgery. Lots of folks on my support group have had it done. Immunotherapy won't be quick and may not be as effective as surgery. It's his decision. And it is a hard one. Not sure what I would do.
New Lump- 1.6X2.1X2.2cm
Node #1 - reduced to 2X1cm
Node #2 - reduced to 1cm
Now that I have had time to soak in what we heard today I can think a little clearer now. And it dawned on me that his results of the CAT scan showed 3 different measurements of lymph nodes. This leads me to believe that this is a new node.
They give the size of the new lump, then node number 1 and then node number 2. All different cm. So if there are 3 different measurements then there are 3 different nodes involved. Not good.
Next thing I found is that nodes larger than 1cm are considered abnormal or malignant. His node number 1 is 2X1cm. Not good.
Another question I have that the ENT couldn't answer is - did scan show anything throughout the body. Is there another primary tumor? The Medical Oncologist will be able to answer this for us on Wednesday.
The biopsy will show if the new lump is Squamous Cell Carcinoma or not. If there is no primary tumor then is it Lymphoma, which is cancer of the lymph node and not Squamous Cell Carcinoma. If it is SCC then it is called Regional Recurrence with no primary tumor in the body somewhere.
If the new lump is just dead cancer cells - we still have to worry about node number 1 being larger than 1cm. This makes me want to throw up. Been nauseated since seeing the results of the CAT scan. It was like it was being told to me and not to my brother.
Looks like surgery is his best option. Quick and done. There is a 3-4 week recovery from neck dissection surgery. Lots of folks on my support group have had it done. Immunotherapy won't be quick and may not be as effective as surgery. It's his decision. And it is a hard one. Not sure what I would do.
We'll be hoping for the best for your brother.
ReplyDeleteVirtual hugs,
Judie
Thank you Judie.
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