Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma urinary bladder case

[girishchandran]

Dear All,

My sister was diagnosed with Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma in urinary bladder and is currently under treatment here in Kerala. she was diagnosed with the disease in october 2013. She underwent a surgery to remove the tumor. The tumor was a huge one and weighted around 3.5 kg. The post- Chemotherapy have started and we have already done with 5 cycles of chemotherapy. Doctor has advised to continue the treatment for 1 year after the surgery. During the last chemotherapy, we had done an abdominal scan and it reveals still a small portion(around 5cm x 10cm) of tumor is remaining and is inseparable from Uterus and Bladder. My initial impression was that the tumor was completely removed and the chemotherapy is just given to destroy any invisible cells. The scan report makes me scary and I am really concerned about the status. But on discussion with doctor, he has told that the medicine is showing a good effect and that we can continue the treatment. I would like to get some advice from members here for some points:

- did the tumor reappeared after the surgery was done.

- does the tumor not showing good effect to chemotherapy

- the tumor was formed at the dome of bladder. will it effect any functions of the bladder?

Thanking you All.

[kontak TeamBCI]

Hi Girishchandran - welcome to the forum. Really very disturbed and sorry to know about your sister. My sister was detected breast cancer in the year Feb 2013. She has undergone surgeries, chemo and radiation.

Regarding your case we will seek Doctor Sumeet to guide and help

[girishchandran in reply to kontak]

Hi Kontak,

I am really thankful for your kind reply. How is your sister now? Is she alright?

BR,

Girish

[kontak TeamBCI]

Yes she is alright - except when the chemo was given through veins - it was chocked. Still the wound has not healed completely - otherwise she is OK now - had a routine yearly checkup - mammograms , USG - everything is OK. Only weakness & apettite not improved completely

[manish_vkg TeamBCI]

Hi girish sorry to hear about ur sister, i can understand ur pain...keep faith on god...all will be fine...for ur questions dr. Sumit will advice u..

[roops]

Hi Girish very sorry to hear...how old is she? How is she doing now? I am also reasently diagnosed with BC and under going chemo....where is she in kerala? I am from Kerala settled in Bangalore.

[sumeet_shah Administrator]

Dear girishchandran,

we are all with you and pray for the well being and quick recovery of your sister.

All the questions you asked can only be answered by your surgeon, as your surgeon only knows whether he was able to remove the full thing or not. Of course, we can make out from the pathology report, how much was removed, and whether the margins were clear or not.

As for the effects of chemotherapy, we always compare scans before and after chemo (either a CT scan or a PET scan). So I guess, the scans will solve your doubt.

My suggestion is, get an appointment with your surgeon, preferably the last appointment of the day, so he can give time to you as well as justice.

Ask him clearly, what does he think of the situation. You can also go through the operative notes, and see what they have written. Tell your surgeon, it's fine, whatever was done, but at least to tell you people the real situation, so you know what to expect and what best can be done for your sister to make her comfortable and give a good quality of life, as also to plan a correct treatment.

Just to give you an idea, we have a Joint Clinic (JC) here. In this, myself, my colleagues Medical Oncologist and Radiation Oncologist, and sometimes, also our colleague pathologist, jointly sit and discuss our almost each and every case, to ensure we give the best treatment to the person suffering from cancer.