symptoms of brain tumors?

[mstlyn]

Margaret: I would rather you call your doctor and explain how you feel and get some medical advice.

I have already talked to the oncologist about this. He just tells me that the lungs would fill up with cancer before it would travel to the brain. So I said .. well can you at least do his next tumor markers sooner than a month to make sure they arent rising again?
He said.. they aren't going to rise.
He gave him a prescription for something to get rid of the yeast in the throat, and maybe that is the problem.. who knows.
I still want the peace of mind and will feel better having the MRI done.

[Margaret]

Margaret I agree with you that its not good to search for info too much on the web, however I do pay close attention to what people in here say because everyone here has been dealing with the same cancer.

It may be nothing to worry about at all; but as I sat thinking about that, my very next thought was; but what if?

I would never be able to live with myself if the "what if" turned out to be the reality and I didn't push the issue to make sure.

I just think that since this is such an aggressive cancer, and anthonys did spread to the lung; it is better to do the mri and make sure.

I would rather be safe than sorry.

I already got a call back from Dorrie. She spoke with Dr. Bauer and he told her to go ahead and set the test up.

He also said that I should relax, because he thinks the test will be negative because all of anthonys margins are clear(I guess that means the lungs and markers)
She did say that sometimes the insurance may not approve the test and she wanted to forewarn me that if they wont approve it she cant set it up.

She also said she thinks that because of everything that has been going on with anthony, that they probably will approve it. We just have to wait and see..

I do feel better now that someone will listen though ..

Dorrie also said she has left a message with the woman from U of M to get back with her to schedule anthonys surgery.

This is what we need .. to see things being done.

I appreciate your concern that I am making myself sick with worry. I guess it can't be helped. Well, it CAN be helped by being proactive rather than reactive.. this MRI is something we really need.

I think the MRI is good idea...first you can never be too safe...and second...the peace of mind is worth it.

I was just nervous about some of the stories on the internet scaring you. I just don't want you to have more stress than you already have.

I am pulling for you!!!!

Hugs,

margaret

[mstlyn]

I think the MRI is good idea...first you can never be too safe...and second...the peace of mind is worth it.

I was just nervous about some of the stories on the internet scaring you. I just don't want you to have more stress than you already have.

I am pulling for you!!!!

Hugs,

margaret

I know you are pulling for us, and your point about internet info scaring people is a valid one.
I learned that several years ago, when I started using the internet to look up information about seemingly simple things and would find myself looking at pages of information that would scare anyone half to death.

Same thing with medical books ...

Unfortunately Anthonys cancer is a reality, so I just don't want to chance it..

For the most part I educate myself about TC on this forum, and the TCRC pages.

Hugs for you too Margaret ..

God bless ..

Tammy

[mstlyn]

I was looking for your post about where exactly the enlarged nodes are. Depending on where, a node pushing on something, a nerve maybe , could cause vomiting, nausea, or tightness, such as difficulty in swallowing.

as far as lungs being full of cancer, dont know about that one, but one way to tell is for the Dr to examine the nodes in his neck. That should be part of the normal examination. I would think that this is probably NOT a brain mets, but something else. As I think Scott pointed out, the markers are within normal range, so in your sons case as compared to to other posts, a brain tumor is probably not likely. There would have been more signs prior, and most likely, abnormal markers.

I will say again, that all my Doctor friends are treating people for this flu/stomach/ thing that is going around. I know with mine, it has been almost 3 weeks, and can think of numerous others who have had an extended battle with this. I normally do not hurl, but have had my battle with that the last few weeks. It comes and goes.

Another thing that I haven't heard you mention is what are the Drs saying about the Gynecomastia that was mentioned in the report? I think maybe that an Endocrinologist may be someone to see. It is possible that his hormonal balance is out of whack. Vomiting can be associated with gynecomastia, so that might be something to ask. Some people present Gynecomastia after treatment with chemo.

One more thing to consider is post treatment things. Is he worried? How is his outlook? A common thing after treatment is anxiety, or depression. Worry, as we all know, can make you sick to your stomach. Being worried, can give a " lump in ones throat", or a tightness. Remember, as treatment is a whirlwind, now, everything has basically stopped, and that is a big hole to fill. He is a young man who has faced cancer, and as we all know, there is a great emotional impact to that. There is almost no time from diagnoses to worry , and there is a whole bunch of time after treatment to in fact worry. Something to consider.

If you feel it is serious enough for the ER, and want an MRI , go for it. let the insurance people battle it out later.

There are alot of different things that it could be, but in his case, I wouldnt jump to the brain mets thing so fast. Alot of sign against that.

R

Well the doctor has not said anything about enlarged nodes, but I checked anthony yesterday and found one on the right side of his neck.. It is not sticking right out but I can feel it, compared to the other side where I found nothing. I would say it felt like it was about an inch in size.

As for his markers, yes they are normal; except I am wondering about the LDH which is 213 .. that is the first time I have seen it up to the 200 mark, even though it hasnt been tested each time his blood is drawn.

My question about the markers being normal and brain mets is this..

He just finished chemo .. so, isn't it possible that the chemo cause the markers to normalize, and it could take a little time after chemo for markers to rise if there were mets to the brain? OR would the markers rise regardless of the chemo if there were mets to the brain or elsewhere in the body?

As for the gynomastia, nothing was mentioned about that until we brought it up again. The oncologist went to his books to read about it but gave us nothing. He said it will get better.
Is this something that we should be concerned about immediately?

[Fed]

As for his markers, yes they are normal; except I am wondering about the LDH which is 213 .. that is the first time I have seen it up to the 200 mark, even though it hasnt been tested each time his blood is drawn.

213 is within normal limits for LDH. Keep in mind that LDH is an imprecise marker because normal cells in the body produce LDH.

To answer your questions about markers going up, if it's a metastasis and the original produced markers, then you will see markers go up in the met because they are essentially the same cell type. The markers would probably take a while to go up because metastases start as single cells that travel and set up camp elsewhere. Once they set up camp, it takes them some time to multiply and build a blood supply.

As far as the costs of an MRI are concerned, I remember seeing in the posts about the costs of a CT that it's cheaper to get them done at places dedicated to radiology because hospitals charge up the wazoo for them. I would imagine that would be the case with MRIs, as well. Hopefully it won't come to you having to foot the bill for one; I don't quite recall where you are located, but I do have an off-the-wall suggestion that you might want to look into. If you live near a place where there are a lot of pro and college sports teams, you should be able to find stand-alone MRI facilities in the vicinity. Here in Boston there are at least 6 of them within a 5 mile radius. I sure hope, though, that Anthony's oncologist orders one to rule out your suspicions.

[mercyriver]

Regarding tumor markers

Tammy, this isn't to worry you, but to address elevated markers and active cancer.

My husband had his PET scan light up, in the lymph nodes and his tumor markers were not elevated at the time at all. I have no idea if this is true of lung and brain tumor metastasis, maybe they are always elevated.

My husband had elevated tumor markers prior to his orchiechtimy, none were elevated after, his lymph nodes just kept getting larger, then they did the PET and found them to be metabolicly active.

I really don't know how it all works, but keep working twards that MRI for peace of mind.

Becki

[mstlyn]

213 is within normal limits for LDH. Keep in mind that LDH is an imprecise marker because normal cells in the body produce LDH.

To answer your questions about markers going up, if it's a metastasis and the original produced markers, then you will see markers go up in the met because they are essentially the same cell type. The markers would probably take a while to go up because metastases start as single cells that travel and set up camp elsewhere. Once they set up camp, it takes them some time to multiply and build a blood supply.

I'm not sure I follow ...

As far as the costs of an MRI are concerned, I remember seeing in the posts about the costs of a CT that it's cheaper to get them done at places dedicated to radiology because hospitals charge up the wazoo for them. I would imagine that would be the case with MRIs, as well. Hopefully it won't come to you having to foot the bill for one; I don't quite recall where you are located, but I do have an off-the-wall suggestion that you might want to look into. If you live near a place where there are a lot of pro and college sports teams, you should be able to find stand-alone MRI facilities in the vicinity. Here in Boston there are at least 6 of them within a 5 mile radius. I sure hope, though, that Anthony's oncologist orders one to rule out your suspicions.

Im not sure I follow you about the markers/mets

Dorrie, from the urologist is trying to get the MRI set up. She is setting it up at a radiology center, and she said this place is faster than some of the others at getting people in. We just have to see if the insurance will approve it.

If the insurance does not approve it .. we are going to get it done anyway and I will have them bill me. I don't want Anthony to have to worry about paying for things like that.

Thank you, Fed

Tammy

[Savin16]

Glad to hear the MRI is being booked, if it doesn't work out, go to the emergency room. As for the bill, they can not turn you away, they will bill you. When my brother found out he had cancer, he had no insurance, he just went on payment plans. As for looking on the internet for answers, we are all guilty, we just want to learn as much as possible, and get as much info as possible. When we first found out about my brothers cancer, I was on my computer, all the time, it actually consumed me. Until I made a packed to keep it off for 2 whole days out of a week. You would be surprised of how much time we actually are on these damn things. But I would not be nearly as informed on things without it.
Bottom line, stay strong, get whatever test done that will ease your mind to get to the bottom of this. I will say when my brother had his VIP, which he said was much worse than the 4x's BEP he had, he threw up for a while, his doctors just told him to continue with his prevacid, for the acid reflux. But Anthony's case sounds much different. I pray for you both.

[mstlyn]

Glad to hear the MRI is being booked, if it doesn't work out, go to the emergency room. As for the bill, they can not turn you away, they will bill you. When my brother found out he had cancer, he had no insurance, he just went on payment plans. As for looking on the internet for answers, we are all guilty, we just want to learn as much as possible, and get as much info as possible. When we first found out about my brothers cancer, I was on my computer, all the time, it actually consumed me. Until I made a packed to keep it off for 2 whole days out of a week. You would be surprised of how much time we actually are on these damn things. But I would not be nearly as informed on things without it.
Bottom line, stay strong, get whatever test done that will ease your mind to get to the bottom of this. I will say when my brother had his VIP, which he said was much worse than the 4x's BEP he had, he threw up for a while, his doctors just told him to continue with his prevacid, for the acid reflux. But Anthony's case sounds much different. I pray for you both.

Thank you. Yes you are right about the computer and how easy it is to lose time on them.
Dorrie just called me again (from the urologist). She put URGENT on the MRI and spoke someone at the insurance company. She told them " The last time I tried to do this you took seven days to let us know anything, and I want you to know that this time I'm not putting up with it"

Go DORRIE!!

[Karen]

Go Tammy!!!!!!!!!! A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do!

[Margaret]

Tammy, I am glad that they are going to get him in there. I pray that you write back all smiles telling us all is okay!! I am praying for you and your son.

Margaret

[Fed]

Im not sure I follow you about the markers/mets

I re-read what I wrote, and it was indeed confusing. My bad. What I meant to say was that a metastasized cell will behave much like the one from the original tumor. Therefore, if the original tumor produced markers, then the metastasized cell will produce them, too. Hopefully this clears it up a bit.

And awesome that Dorrie is getting everything set up for the MRI. I said it before, and I'll say it again, you are doing a phenomenal job as a caregiver and advocate to Anthony. Hats off to you for that!

[Scott]

Therefore, if the original tumor produced markers, then the metastasized cell will produce them, too.

It doesn't always turn out that way. For example, I had elevated markers from my yolk sac and embryonal carcinoma elements, but my recurrence produced no markers and turned out to be seminoma.

[mstlyn]

I re-read what I wrote, and it was indeed confusing. My bad. What I meant to say was that a metastasized cell will behave much like the one from the original tumor. Therefore, if the original tumor produced markers, then the metastasized cell will produce them, too. Hopefully this clears it up a bit.

And awesome that Dorrie is getting everything set up for the MRI. I said it before, and I'll say it again, you are doing a phenomenal job as a caregiver and advocate to Anthony. Hats off to you for that!

That clears it up perfectly and makes me feel even better knowing that.

Dorrie did an awesome job for us today. By 4:30 this afternoon she had an MRI approved and set for May 2nd.

She decided to push them a bit more and now we have it set for this saturday!

Her friend from U of M also called her back today and they are now working on getting anthonys surgery scheduled asap.

Dorrie said she thinks the doctor will be Dr. Ohl and she referred to him as a testicular cancer expert.

Has anyone heard of him? know anything about his RPLND experience?

I'll be watching closely ..

Thank you again, Fed!

Tammy

[mstlyn]

It doesn't always turn out that way. For example, I had elevated markers from my yolk sac and embryonal carcinoma elements, but my recurrence produced no markers and turned out to be seminoma.

Testicular cancer seems to travel a fairly predictable path for the most part, from what I have learned in here, but I see that there are instances where that is just not the case, so no doctor should rely on that.

For a cancer that is so aggressive, no chance should be taken once the cancer has spread beyond the testical.

Thank you, Scott

Tammy