Cancer Chat online community

Hi Tivoli

Thanks for posting a question, the nurses will answer you as soon as they can and hold live sessions here every Thursday. In the meantime, welcome to Cancer Chat.

Best wishes

Jane

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.  We were given two choices of Chemo together with Radiotherapy.

1. Carboplatin / 5-Flurouracil

2. Carboplatin and Cetuximab (Erbitux)

We had to give the answer today so we chose 2. Carboplatin and Cetuximab (Erbitux). I would like to know if what is the success rate although different people response differently for this trial. How can we monitor him closely so that we dont miss any signs of heart response. I think for that option 2 the clinical trial, we are told that he has to do more tests. Do you have any idea what kind of tests they might be?

Today I took him to replace his denture but he will has to remove 6 upper teeth before this treatment starts. His denture will be ready in 2 weeks and extract those teeth and he will be given antibiotic to recover. Not sure we should wait so that he has more time to recover from extraction and starts his cancer treatment quickly. But his current denture are quire filthy.

A lot of things to think about....

Regards,

Pwint

Hello Pwint,

Thanks for posting again. I’m afraid I don’t know which particular trial you are asking us about so I am limited in what I can tell you. In general until the results of a trial are known, it might not be possible to say exactly what the success rate is for each of the treatments being investigated. And as I think you have already understood, unfortunately it isn’t possible to use general statistics to predict exactly what will happen to just one person.

When your dad starts his treatment, his nurses and doctors will give him specific information about any possible side effects that could occur. They will also tell him what he needs to do and who he needs to contact if he has any problems when he is at home. Our website has more information about cetuximab at this link and about carboplatin here. And about radiotherapy here.It is often a question of looking out for any of the side effects and reporting anything that might seem to be one so the doctor or nurses so they can make an assessment. 

After his teeth have been extracted it is important that your dad’s mouth has healed before he starts his treatment. But I expect his specialist will check this out. We have a whole section about cancer of the larynx (voice box) on our website here.

I am sorry I cannot go into any more detail, but hope this information helps a little. The prospect of treatment can seem daunting before it begins, but once it has started, there will be nurses, doctors and other health professionals who will be there to support your dad and help him to get through it and cope.

I hope everything goes well.

Best wishes,

Julia

Nigela wrote:

 

Hi I was diagnosed at local hospital 3 years ago with a fibroid and they saw a small cyst on kidney-was told very common simple cyst got no follow up as not needed. The pains i was getting got alot worse thsi dec and i have now had a private consultation-turns out the cyst has grown and is not a simple cyst but a complex one of 5cm with calcification. I am now waiting to be sent to the urinologist and for a CT scan. I have read thta these can be cancerous or turn into it. Will the ct scan alone be able to tell thsi. how often should it be scanned or should it be removed anyway-frightened of it spreading etc. very worried.

I am 50 years old no periods for 17 months and getting very hot sweats at night. been told lots of little fibroids now too. discomfort of pressure dwon below. digestive disturbances-cannot tolerate wheat dairy etc. pains low down left side and high up left side plus low back pain side pain hip pain and leg pain all on same side.Extreme tiredness high blood pressure occasionallya nd headaches. Getting up in night frequently top pass water. plus more in the day too-pain comes on if wait too long.

Nigela

Hello Nigela,

I am sorry to learn about your situation.

It is difficult to know whether or not the CT scan will diagnose the cause of the kidney cyst. In many it cases it will give the specialist enough information to know if a cyst is likely to be cancerous. There are well established guidelines about the assessment of complex kidney cysts and these detail the changes that may be associated with kidney cancer.  Your specialist will work within these guidelines when deciding whether you need further tests or scans.

If the specialist is uncertain they may suggest another type of scan such as an MRI as this can sometimes give additional information. They rarely take biopsies to diagnose kidney cancer.

You may know that a biopsy is when a small piece of tissue is removed from the tumour and looked at under a microscope. Your specialist is only likely to consider a biopsy if the other tests do not provide enough information.  They will also consider removing the kidney if they think that there is a high risk that it could be cancer.  Unfortunately, until you have had the tests and the results are available it is not possible to know how your situation will be managed.

Waiting for tests investigations and the results can be stressful and I can understand that this must be a concerning time for you.  Many people worry about cancer growing while they wait for tests, but cancer is rarely an emergency in the same way as a stroke or a heart attack. Most people wait a short while before they start treatment as it is important to get a lot of information to help doctors decide on appropriate treatment.

I hope that you do not have to wait too long to see the specialist and get the test results.

Best wishes,

Jean