Question to huddlers that have had to deal with

[Whiskey Pimp]

My mom has Crohn's Disease and contracted colon cancer a few years ago. She went through chemo and the cancer was beaten. She had the cancer come back so the doctor scheduled what was supposed to be a 3 hour surgery to remove it. Well, the surgery lasted 7 hours instead and the tumor is too big to remove all of it.

 

This all happened last week on Thursday. My mom was supposed to see her cancer specialits the next day but it was a long weekend up here and he was not available until this week. My dad has now informed me that she is now not going to get to see the doc until a few weeks from now and in his office instead of in her hospital room.

 

My question is has anyone here ever experienced something like this? Is it a good or bad sign that instead of her seeing the cancer doc immediately after her surgery that revealed a tumor too large to remove that she sees him in a few weeks off site? Once told the tumor is too large to remove we were under the impression that it is terminal.

 

A little help if possible please.

[Big John]

My mother had rectal cancer. The surgeon was able to remove the tumor, but the incision had to heal before she could start chemotherapy. A biopsy was performed and showed the cancer to be aggressively moving. She died 2 months after the surgery.

 

Sorry, but that does not look good.

[skylive5]

Is it a good or bad sign

 

 

Once told the tumor is too large to remove we were under the impression that it is terminal.

 

 

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I have dealt with this twice since 1999. I really hate saying this... but it is a bad sign.

 

If the cancerous tumor is too big to remove you are not looking at a good outcome. This sucks... but your impression is most likely correct.

 

I am very sorry to hear this.

[cre8tiff]

My mother had rectal cancer.  The surgeon was able to remove the tumor, but the incision had to heal before she could start chemotherapy.  A biopsy was performed and showed the cancer to be aggressively moving.  She died 2 months after the surgery.

 

Sorry, but that does not look good.

 

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+1

 

Find a better specialist now. There are many resources for finding out this information, but I would get that second opinion from a top cancer specialist now. My Mom felt her doctor was just as good as the top-5 specialist I was trying to get her to go to in STL, but we will never know. By the time the doctor she was using got around to telling us it was terminal, she had progressed too far to be admitted to the Siteman Cancer center in STL.

[T_bone65]

My mom has Crohn's Disease and contracted colon cancer a few years ago.  She went through chemo and the cancer was beaten.  She had the cancer come back so the doctor scheduled what was supposed to be a 3 hour surgery to remove it.  Well, the surgery lasted 7 hours instead and the tumor is too big to remove all of it. 

 

This all happened last week on Thursday.  My mom was supposed to see her cancer specialits the next day but it was a long weekend up here and he was not available until this week.  My dad has now informed me that she is now not going to get to see the doc until a few weeks from now and in his office instead of in her hospital room.

 

My question is has anyone here ever experienced something like this?  Is it a good or bad sign that instead of her seeing the cancer doc immediately after her surgery that revealed a tumor too large to remove that she sees him in a few weeks off site?  Once told the tumor is too large to remove we were under the impression that it is terminal.

 

A little help if possible please.

 

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My brother also has Chrones disease and he also has lung cancer. He also has chrnoic pancreatis (sp) which totally complicates everything. He is only 51 but has been suffering for the last 20 years. Both my Mother and Father died of cancer, I will pray for you.

[Caveman_Nick]

I don't have the experience, but I'm sorry to hear that Whiskey

[twiley]

to the Siteman Cancer center in STL.

 

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My business partners mom went there and they did a great job prolonging her life. She was diagnosed a year and half ago and her doctor in Scottsdale only said she had a few months to live. Well that wasn't the case. Unfortunately, he's at the hospital right now because his mom only has a few hours left.

[aqualung]

Sorry to hear this Whiskey. You and your mother will be in my prayers.

 

It doesn't get easier. I have lost my mother, my mother-in-law, my sister and my brother to this dreaded disease.

 

Good Luck my man.

[Hugh-mongus]

Cancer sucks!

 

Sorry to hear that, Whiskey.

[Whiskey Pimp]

Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes. I appreciate the info given as well from some of your personal experiences.

[The Irish Doggy]

Stay strong.

[TimC]

I haven't dealt with cancer in the family since the early 80's. I really hope it is better news since medicine has improved so much since then. Best of luck to you and your family, Whiskey.

[Perchoutofwater]

Sorry to hear that Whiskey Pimp. I lost both my grand mother and my mother-in-law to cancer. It does suck. There is alway hope though, and you should hang on to it as long unitl the doctors tell you their is no hope. I'll be praying for both your mom and you.

[wiegie]

I can't do anything tangible, but I will pray for your mom.

[tonorator]

whiskey - my mom is a breast cancer survivor and i can tell you that the most important thing with cancer is to understand where it is and how widespread it has become, and then the earlier you can catch it, the better.

 

not seeing a doctor for several weeks, given her condition, is hard to understand. you should push to clearly understand her current condition and her prognosis for the future. in a nutshell, you shouldn't be wondering if this is terminal, your doctor should tell you. there are cases where you need to wait a bit and see how the tumor is acting (growing/shrinking/staying the same), but you should clearly understand that you are in that phase.

 

the most uncomfortable thing about your note is that you do not know where things stand. that would be unacceptable to me and i would push to see another doctor sooner or to get more information from current doctors.

 

thoughts and prayers are with you.

Edited May 26, 2006 by tonorator

[georgemoe]

Prayers here for you and the family Whiskey.

 

My wife had cervical cancer 15 yrs ago and once detected, she was given a 30-50% chance of surviving. We were scared chitless. She beat that and a year or so later she contracted lung cancer. Had about half of one lung removed. She kicked it's a s s too. She's been cancer free for over 10 years.

 

Sometimes thing don't look so good, yet everything works out. Hope this is the case with you.

[Brentastic]

Whiskey Pimp,

 

I hope you make it through this tough time. I wish your mother and all your family the best. My grandmother, who was essentially my mom, died of colon cancer back in 91. Tell the doctor you need some info NOW. Again, my thoughts will go out to your family during this tough time.

[MojoMan]

First of all WP, let me say that I am sorry to hear of your mother's illness. I am very close to my mom and when she gets sick it will be very difficult for me.

 

Second, like GeorgeMoe implied, cancer statistics are just that...statistics. A single patient is a single patient and where there's life, there's hope.

 

Next, I have copied and posted your original post and commented in italics. I am giving the party line, no punches pulled although, like I said above, any individual patient is an individual. Support is super important and I'm sure she'll get it from you and the rest of your family.

 

My mom has Crohn's Disease and contracted colon cancer a few years ago. She went through chemo and the cancer was beaten. She had the cancer come back so the doctor scheduled what was supposed to be a 3 hour surgery to remove it. The fact that the tumor is recurrent after adjuvant chemotherapy is BAD. It means that the current tumor is composed of bad@$$ cells that survived the first chemo. Well, the surgery lasted 7 hours instead and the tumor is too big to remove all of it. Bulky disease and the fact that they could not resect it all again is bad. They will have to try chemo and radiation (if possible...depends on what she had the first time and her current state of health.

 

This all happened last week on Thursday. My mom was supposed to see her cancer specialits the next day but it was a long weekend up here and he was not available until this week. My dad has now informed me that she is now not going to get to see the doc until a few weeks from now and in his office instead of in her hospital room. I am torn with regard to this issue. Personally, I think any doc, especially an oncologist, should be personally available soon after a major procedure, particularly if the outcome is bad. However, oncologists are very busy and your mom's oncologist may be having difficulty having enough time to go around. I will state that I am in no position to pass judgement since I do not practice medicine.

 

 

A little help if possible please.

Edited May 26, 2006 by MojoMan

[alexgaddis]

My Father-in-law had colon cancer and was in stage 4 basically where it had spread to 5 of 9 lymph nodes...he had surgery and chemo last year and apparently got rid of it...

 

I don't know why they don't tell you more of what to expect...to this day it's as if he never had cancer but who knows how soon it will return?

 

Best of luck

Edited May 26, 2006 by alexgaddis

[Bier Meister]

my heart and thoughts go out to all of you.

 

 

possitive vibes to all

[Czarina]

Whether or not her cancer is terminal, I find it unconscionable that she's being made to wait so long to see an oncologist. Most of the docs I know who do this work are tremendously dedicated and available to their patients. Maybe I'm just lucky.

 

I would seek a second opinion immediately. Even if the tumor could not be fully removed...it could possibly be reduced with chemo/radiation if she can tolerate it. If she can handle the treatment, it could give her improved quality of life and extended life. An oncologist should have been on hand within a couple days of the surgery to go over this, however.

[untateve]

you'll be in my thoughts.

[whomper]

Im sorry I dont have any information to add but wanted you to know my prayers are with you and yours.

[rhippens]

whiskey, you will be in my thoughts and prayers.

 

strange timing to read this post as my father died at age 53 on memorial day 5 years ago from multiple sources of cancer.

 

i won't speculate on your situation because every case and every individual is different, but i do know that amazing things happened in the face of a hard time for me and many other members of my family.

 

let me know if you'd like to hear more or have questions, otherwise, just know i'll be thinking of you and your family.

[Deacon Bill]

Lost my mom to breast/lymph node cancer and my mother in law to brain cancer. For what it's worth, you and your family will most certainly be in my prayers WP. Peace.