Tatt's Update

[Tatt]

Well quick update from me - went to see the urologist and he was happy that i had nothing to worry about, and arranged for a follow up just in case in a month - a releif....

... until about an hour ago when my oncologist phoned up and said that one of my markers was raised in my last blood test (my first one since the chemo finished). Having to have it re done tomorrow to see if its a blip. All this on my first day back at work. Man, I dont need all this...

[Karen]

Tatt,
Marker blips seem to be something a lot of guys have at some point. Any feedback on your CT yet?

[Tatt]

Hi Karen,

Thanks for the positive note - i needed that! Seen a few people mention the occasional rise in markers so I'm trying to be positive about it. Especially so soon after the end of my chemo (only last month). TOday's first day back at work, and first thing waiting for me when i got in was message from oncologist calling me back in, so bit of a shock!

[Scott]

Did you find out which marker and how elevated it is? Wishing you the best of luck...

[Davie]

Hi Tatt,

Which marker was raised, and what was it's value?

There are plenty of reasons for false positives, not least lab error.

Davie

[Tatt]

The oncologist has a habit of being abrupt and cryptic - he said it was a different marker to that which was elevated before the chemo. So I think he means HCG and not AFP, but I'm not 100% sure. He also said it was only slightly above normal.

[Karen]

Tatt,
I'd suggest asking/telling him to check your testosterone levels if it is an elevation in HCG. Sorry I don't recall, but what was your pathology, pre I/O markers and stage?

[Tatt]

The good news is the results were a blip - second blood test had my bHCG <0.2 so everything (touch wood) seems normal. Hoping its also a good sign for the swollen lymph node only containing dead cells/teratoma after the chemo - have to wait til my CT scan in November to find that out

How soon will they do the RPLND after chemo and follow up scans? Would like a break from all this cancer stuff over christmas if possible - would be nice not to have it on my mind for a while!

[Davie]

Firstly, glad to hear the blood work was just a blip.

In my experience, once they've reviewed your CT scans and decided you need an RPLND, there's no reason to delay. You have to wait long enough for them to schedule the surgery. In my case this was 4 weeks, but the surgeon did have some vacation planned, so without that it may have been even sooner.

Hopefully you will not need an RPLND, but by the time mine came around I was keen to have it. At least it confirms whether you have any malignant cells remaining or not.

IMO, I'd do the surgey twice over rather than do any more chemo. For me the surgery wasn't that bad, and I'm a complete coward when it comes to that sort of stuff. I'm 9 days out of surgery and I'm driving again, off pain killers and pretty much getting on with my life, albeit in a more gentle fashion.

If you have to go through this surgery, insist on Mr. Christmas as your surgeon. You'll have to travel to London for the surgery, but he is by far the best in the UK. As my post said, I was his 389th RPLND victim, and he did my surgery with only a 6 inch incision.

Best of luck.......Davie

[Fish]

Glad to hear your hcg is back to normal. If they were to do an RPLND in November, you should be feeling reasonably well by Christmas... but hopefully, you won't need it at all.

Best wishes