Topic: Got a PET Scan coming up!

[Ken (OP)]

Time to update this topic and I'll do so in some detail soon.

For now the short version is this:
Finally got back for the (re)scans and they first gave me a CT scan that didn't look so good, so next they gave me a PET scan and that news pretty much sucks.
Some good news; although both of the lungs now have several spots and the spots are bigger they do not think that it's cancer.

Now the bad... there is a mass growing where the right kidney was removed in 2013, so this coming Tuesday they are going to take a biopsy to try and see what it is.

I'm hoping for the best, but it was cancer before when my kidney was removed, so what are the odds? 

[Skhilled]

Well, just stay positive and hope for the best. 

I'll keep you in my prayers!

[Ken (OP)]

Thanks Steve.

[Skhilled]

I meant to ask how long will the biopsy results take?

[Ken (OP)]

I've not heard that information yet, but there are labs in the hospital so it should not take long.

[Ken (OP)]

OK, biopsy done. 

It went well and produced a bit of good news... the procedure itself was more boring and tedious than anything else, long waiting periods and only a short time on the table, about 20 minutes. Total time for being in the clinic was about five hours. 

The good news was related to the size of the tumor/mass... it's about the size of an olive and not the size of a baseball as had been the original assessment. So, samples taken and sent up to the lab and now we wait to hear back on those test results, we should hear those on Thursday or Friday.

One note on the prep... one of the meds that they gave me was Dilaudid and I find it to be very nasty stuff. I know that some people do get hooked on it, but to me it's just a totally shitty medication. It made me feel very 'sickly' and weak yesterday after they gave it to me and I'm still feeling like crap today. Next time I have anything done I'll pick morphine instead of this junk.

[Skhilled]

Great news!

Morphine may also keep you higher longer. LOL

[Ken (OP)]

Morphine may also keep you higher longer. 

[Ken (OP)]

Got the results of my biopsy and the news is what we expected, my cancer has returned.

Final Diagnosis
Abdomen, right nephrectomy bed (mass), needle core biopsy: Findings consistent with renal cell carcinoma.

Next we'll be seeing a cancer specialist to set up a treatment plan... hopefully some sort of radiation, chemo, or the like... and, hopefully not surgery.

[Skhilled]

We will keep you in our prayers to help speed things up.

[Lesmond]

We will keep you in our prayers to help speed things up.

Dito

[Ken (OP)]

Thanks guys... at least this time no one is talking about taking out my kidney! 

[Skhilled]

That's a good thing!

[Ken (OP)]

Update on my Oncologist visit of yesterday, the 8th.
My Doctor, Heather, (love that name!) said surgery was not the way to go on the small renal cancer cells in my lungs and the one in my kidney(former) bed because they are small and very slow growing. We opted for the pill, 'Votrient'. We will have a brain scan done to make sure that it has not metastasized to the brain. If it has, we do nothing. If I can tolerate the pill we will do that, or, if not, there is another pill that has to do with genetics that we may have to use. Whatever, I will fight this. Everything is small, so hopefully , taking this pill helps and it eventually goes away!

... although Votrient may at first sound a little like a chemotherapy drug, this info from their WebSite calls it 'targeted therapy

How Votrient Works:

Votrient is not a chemotherapy drug but one of many "targeted therapies."  Targeted therapy is the result of about 100 years of research dedicated to understanding the differences between cancer cells and normal cells. To date, cancer treatment has focused primarily on killing rapidly dividing cells because one feature of cancer cells is that divide rapidly. Unfortunately, some of our normal cells divide rapidly too, causing multiple side effects.

Targeted therapy is about identifying other features of cancer cells. Scientists look for specific differences in the cancer cells and the normal cells. This information is used to create a targeted therapy to attack the cancer cells without damaging the normal cells, thus leading to fewer side effects. Each type of targeted therapy works a little bit differently but all interfere with the ability of the cancer cell to grow, divide, repair and/or communicate with other cells.

There are different types of targeted therapies, defined in three broad categories. Some targeted therapies focus on the internal components and function of the cancer cell. The targeted therapies use small molecules that can get into the cell and disrupt the function of the cells, causing them to die. There are several types of targeted therapy that focus on the inner parts of the cells. Other targeted therapies target receptors that are on the outside of the cell. Therapies that target receptors are also known as monoclonal antibodies. Antiangiogenesis inhibitors target the blood vessels that supply oxygen to the cells, ultimately causing the cells to starve.

Votrient is designed to block tumor cell growth in several ways.  Votrient targets  several proteins (called tyrosine kinases) on the surface of cancer cells, as well as targets within the cell. Several of these targets are thought to be involved in angiogenesis (making of blood vessels).  By blocking these targets, it is hoped the cancer will shrink.

Research continues to identify which cancers may be best treated with targeted therapies and to identify additional targets for more types of cancer.

[Skhilled]

They can do so many things today with cancer it mind boggling! Well, here's something to pick you up!