Can Someone Help?......

[DAWN82]

BRIAN GOES FOR HIS 1ST POST CHEMO SCAN THURSDAY
I AM SO NERVOUS! EVERYONE KEEPS SAYING THAT THE TUMORS HAD TO HAVE SHRUNK OR ELSE HIS MARKERS WOULDNT BE GOING DOWN. HIS CURRENT TUMOR MARKERS ARE HCG = 15 THATS GREAT! BUT I AM HOPING FOR A GOOD SCAN

CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT THERE 1ST POST CHEMO SCAN WAS LIKE?
WHAT DID THEY FIND?

DAWN

[Karen]

Dawn,
Being nervous is natural in this situation, and even after many "all clears" it is still really hard to keep the anxiety of waiting for results in check. Being nervous isn't going to alter the results of the scan, so for the sake of your sanity try to keep busy and not dwell on it. I know it's hard. You are in excellent hands at Sloan. All indications are good that the chemo did the job. Hang in there Dawn....I know it's hard. We're here waiting for good news with you.

[TCLEFT]

Mine was a Seminoma so I had no Tumor markers. In a way it would have been nice to see numbers going down before the scan. I kind of described what the scans are like to me anyway in Joe's (Already Bald) thread. You almost sh*t a brick in nervous anticipation of the scan. You almost sh*t a brick waiting for the results. And sometime after they give you that Super Size Barium Beverage, you actually sh*t a brick.
Stay positive. Try not to worry about the things you can't control. The numbers are going down. That's a real good sign the tumor is losing the battle and you're winning the war.
Oh and one more thing, We are ALL behind you.
Mark

[Fed]

Even some of us who have had it "easy" with early pick-ups get the jitters right before our surveillance scans, and the CT experience couldn't have been more accurately -and colorfully- described by TCLEFT (especially the part on purging it from your system ). With markers having gone down, you have reason to be optimistic. We're here for you!

[dannysbrother]

Dawn,

Thursday can't come soon enough! I am looking forward to good news and some much needed relief for you and Brian. I know it seems impossible to get your mind off things, but like karen said, it's worth it to try.

Brain is lucky to have you in his corner, dawn.

Mark, funny.

-M

[Margaret]

Dawn, waiting stinks!!! I know this is tough on you, I will be watching for your news later this week. Call if you need someone to talk to.

Hugs,

m

[chipper]

The first post chemo scan and the wait for the results were nerve wracking. We told our doctor to always call and never make us wait for a follow up appointment. The first scan wasn't as good as we hoped, but the second one showed no changes. That was when we finally started relaxing.

[Already Bald]

BRIAN GOES FOR HIS 1ST POST CHEMO SCAN THURSDAY
I AM SO NERVOUS! EVERYONE KEEPS SAYING THAT THE TUMORS HAD TO HAVE SHRUNK OR ELSE HIS MARKERS WOULDNT BE GOING DOWN. HIS CURRENT TUMOR MARKERS ARE HCG = 15 THATS GREAT! BUT I AM HOPING FOR A GOOD SCAN

CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT THERE 1ST POST CHEMO SCAN WAS LIKE?
WHAT DID THEY FIND?

DAWN

Hi Dawn,
Waiting for the CT resuts is the hardest part- You saw the stress that I just went through, and that was my third post chemo Scan. The first one is going to be a real nail biter, that is just part of living this nightmare.
I'm pulling for you for good results. Like Karen said, keep busy, and like you said- Stay Positive!
If Brian has permission, try to get out and enjoy NY a little- soak up this great weather!

[mstlyn]

Hi Dawn,

I tried to reply to your message but your inbox is full.

Anthony has an appointment this morning so I have to run right now. I'll check again later and if there is room I will send you a reply.

Tammy

[DAWN82]

Thank You Freinds!

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to say thank you to all of the responses to my concern
this is what friends do they stick together!. Brian is soooo positive about tomorrow!.

Last night Brian and I were laying in bed watching TV and asked him, "do you still have any side effects from the chemo?" He smiled at me ans said, "nope, i feel great!" thats the positivity that has kept me going. just to see how good he is doing makes my day. a few weeks ago when he was getting his chemo, if he had a bad day. i had a bad day. if he was hurting i was hurting for him. Dr. Bosl said from the very beginning, Brian is going to know right away if the chemo is working. the paid will go away and the tumors will shrink. and YES! all of his pain is gone! so know it worked. i just dont know if there could be any complications from the dead tumors? or if they will be hard to remove and we will get bad news the dr. said that everything is real time, which means that the ct-scan results will be ready immediatly. tomorrow is going to be a long day. Last Bleo shot in the AM, ct-scan in the early pm and then a 4:30 appt with Dr. Bosl and we will finally meet his surgeon Dr. sheinfeld and then we will know when the surgery(s) are going to be. Brian still has to have his right testicle removed. I dont know why that wasnt done immediatly? everyone else i have heard from had theirs removed right away. When they did the sonogram in the beginnig of the stay at sloans, they found a BURNED out mass? in the testicle. this sounds serious?


Dawn

[Margaret]

Dawn, glad to hear you sounding better

The testical is usually removed first but in some cases, they wait to remove it. Did you know that Danny (of Danny and Michael) has yet to have his removed? I learned from them that they do not always take it first.

You will love Dr. Sheinfeld, he is very nice and so is his staff. I can't wait to hear your good news!!

[Fed]

Brian is soooo positive about tomorrow!

Dawn, I was really happy to see this. Such attitude will help both of you sail through this without a hitch. As far as the prospects of future surgery and other masses, you'll have to wait until you cross that bridge: take it one day at a time. Dead tumors are just that: dead, and they can cause no harm. Sometimes, though, it's hard to tell in a CT scan between a dead tumor and teratoma, so that's why they are usually removed anyways. As far as the "burned out" tumor in the testis, this is likely the carcass of a tumor that grew so fast that it outgrew its blood (and nutrient) supply and just died of starvation. That being the case, the rapid growth was what was probably responsible for the spread.

Waiting is the worst, but it sounds you are holding up well. Looking forward to hearing from you,

[dannysbrother]

Hi Dawn,

Yes, Danny still has yet to have his testicle removed. Sometimes in case of stage III TC with a very high HCG and rapidly spreading metastases, a decision is made to start chemo immediately, bypassing the orchiectomy and focusing on the spreading disease elsewhere in the body. However, from my understanding doctors will always go back after chemo and remove the testicle. Not sure whether that will happen before or after Brian's RPLND, but I know it will be necessary. I'd ask The Bosl.

So great to hear how good he's feeling!!! That is great on so many levels!

No doubt that you both keep each other going.



Michael

[boyce]

A favor

Hi Dawn,

Sheinfeld did my RPLND in November, and he is the best. Not that everyday "great guy, The Best", but really the very best on the planet.

He has a Fellow who is from Russia, and I forget his name. Would it be too much to ask you to pay attention to his name and remind me of it? You'll have a million other things on your mind, but he was SUCH a nice guy. He took out my staples and called me a "girly man" for being so wimpy about it. I Hated getting those things out!

Sheinfeld is very old-school in his ways, and Very particular about how he does his thing. But he is very well respected by the medical community and by the staff. (3 different docs checked on me during recovery and said I was ready for real food, but Sheinfeld will not let anyone else make those decisions, so they called him and he Still said no food)

Recovery was tough, but completely free of complications, in large part due to his strictness and my following every single thing he said to do.

We will be thinking of you, and please take comfort knowing that you could not possibbly be in better hands

[DAWN82]

THANK YOU BOYCE,

Its comforting to know that we have a GREAT surgeon! i will definatly find out the dr's name for you.

I k now its going to be a tough recovery. Its just a fear i have, to see someone you love so much in that shape.

well, i will let everyone know the results. its going to be a long day tomorrow!

Dawn