Morning everyone, yesterday my OC rang with the results of my half way CT scan. I'm on ICON 8 and this scan was 10 weeks into chemo before surgery. Her words were "a partial response" to the effects of the chemo, in that the tumours were less than half the size I'd started out with. Good news I know and she herself said she was surprised at the result (in a positive way) but I've fixated on the word "partial" and can't get past that to the excellent result of the treatment so far!
(I'm stage 3C and due Hysterectomy etc at the end of the month)
It is good isn't it? or should I have been expecting more?
Dawn xx
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baxbird
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Hummmm I think it is good news onward and upward love x G x
Just thought I would add that when I had a recurrence and the tumour I had shrunk by two thirds I said to my oncologist isn't it good news ? He replied "NO I told you it was not going to go away don't run ahead of yourself" (this was a week before Christmas) in the January I went for the result of a final scan after chemo ( bearing in mind less than a month after that remark) result ? my tumour had completely gone and hasn't returned.
I have since had another recurrence.. but in a different place so that particular tumour has gone ( maybe there is a place called tumourland )
Hi Dawn! It's good news! Any shrinking away of the ******* is great. The surgery should be able to get rid of the rest, hopefully. Have a look at the Hystersisters website if you want help with preparing for the op. There are all sorts of helpful hints on there.
It's natural to feel unsure, it is such a shock to hear we've got cancer, but keep the faith that your medical team know what they're doing and that the chemo is doing it's job.
Thanks for replying, happy for the surgeon to take as much as he needs to get on top of the b*****s! and have booked a place on my sun lounger, so to speak!
'Partial response' is a term with a specific meaning in evaluating cancer treatment, so any decrease over 30% is still called partial response unless the tumours have gone altogether. When I was on my trial and my tumours had decreased by 90% that was still classified as a 'partial response'
Definitions of RECIST Evaluation of target lesions
Complete Response (CR): Disappearance of all target lesions
Partial Response (PR): At least a 30% decrease in the sum of the LD of target lesions, taking as reference the baseline sum LD
Stable Disease (SD): Neither sufficient shrinkage to qualify for PR nor sufficient increase to qualify for PD, taking as reference the smallest sum LD since the treatment started
Progressive Disease (PD): At least a 20% increase in the sum of the LD of target lesions, taking as reference the smallest sum LD recorded since the treatment started or the appearance of one or more new lesions
Hi Sharon .. I thought partial had to be over 50 OC ? xx
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This is from cancer org
'The cycle of recurrence and remission
Most chronic cancers cannot be cured, but some can be controlled for months or even years. In fact, there’s always a chance that cancer will go into remission. There are different kinds of remission.
When a treatment completely gets rid of all tumors that could be measured or seen on a test, it’s called a complete response or complete remission.
A partial response or partial remission means the cancer partly responded to treatment, but still did not go away. A partial response is most often defined as at least a 50% reduction in measurable tumor. Here, when we refer to a remission it will generally mean a partial remission.
To qualify as either type of remission, the reduction in the size of the tumor must last for at least one month. There’s no way to tell how long a remission will last, so neither type of remission means the cancer definitely has been cured.
Some cancers (for example, ovarian), have a natural tendency of recurrence and remission. Often, this repeating cycle of growing, shrinking, and stabilizing can mean survival for many years during which the cancer can be managed as a chronic illness. Treatment can be used to control the cancer, help relieve symptoms, and allow you to live longer.'
So it is 50% or more I think internationally. I had this picture in my head ... and it entailed it going away.. Xx
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I was going to say too that even though it's a partial response, the rest of the disease cold be stable .. i.e. asleep xx
Well, mine was a partial response and the rest became stable and it was like that for quite some time.. until they started to grow slowly. I know some people who've gone longer than me. It's very hard to understand Ovarian because it's a difficult disease but what I found is, that, with the help of friends here, I was able to sort of live alongside with it. I won't ever be aligned with it but ... anyway, people here, have given me the courage to go forward. I hope that you can be with us as you go through treatment. There's always someone around to answer your questions, hear your rants, (not that you have a rant yet!) and your difficulties and to listen with understanding. Lots of love... T xxx
I think it's good news; firstly your tumour is responding to the chemo, and secondly the surgery will probably be easier (and maybe more likely to be successful) if the tumour is smaller.
I totally "get" the business about focussing in on one worrisome word rather than hearing the whole message. But i think any level of response means that the message is a positive one.
Thanks Mary, can't quite believe I've got a month off so to speak before surgery, what to do with my time now I'm not running down the hospital every week......mmmmmm?
Thank you all for your comments. My daughter has just been told partial response and we wondered what it meant but were to scared to ask. Too scared of the answer so many thanks all of you. Gillx
What to do with your time? As soon as got out of hospital and had two weeks before chemo.. I got the train up Snowdon. It was wonderful and helped me a lot Xx
It had actually been on my list before I got ill to climb Snowdon.. which isn't the kind of climb with a crampon and pick. It's actually possible to just walk up a path. Anyway, obviously this was out but I longed to see the view from the top which is breathtaking. We got the train from Llanberis (you need to book tickets online to guarantee a seat). Well, they have a wonderful commentary full of myths and legends of the area.. stories.. whilst you're on the train. Then, at the top, I walked the hundred or so yards to the top peak.. .. it was incredible. It really lifted my spirits when I thought I'd never get to the bottom to actually lift it up... xx
Tina, I did exactly the same a couple of years ago in between treatments. I had always wanted to go up Snowdon on the railway. It was wonderful. The views were fantastic till we got to the top and the mist came down -couldn't see my hand in front of my face, but it was so exhilarating and we had a lovely hot chocolate in the cafe!!! I must do it again!
Dawn, good luck with your op. Hope all goes well xxx Colette
Hiya, good luck for your hysterectomy later this month. The hysterectomy association website was invaluable to me after my op, wish I had found them before my op . You are put in contact with others that have their op in the same month so you can compare notes during recovery xx
I'm on day 10 post hysterectomy following a borderline serous tumour and am feeling very well. I had a lot of help from the hysterectomy association message boards and the hysterectomy toolbox. Most of the other women on the message boards are not facing cancer but everyone is very supportive.
Hi Dawn, know exactly how you feel, it only takes a word, just one little word to put a question in your mind. I'd say anything that had shrunk your tumours by half was more than partial! I had to tell one of my Doctors that he had upset me with his choice words and got a huge apology off him! We are encouraged to be 'positive' but we are also sensitive to what we are told which is only natural in the circumstances. Good luck with your surgery.
Hiya, thanks for replying. I know most of the time it's innocent comments or actions, or maybe we are just extra sensitive to them. Just sometimes they make a big impact both positive and negative
Hi Dawn, sounds like good news to me ! If halved in size with half the chemo then hopefully after rest of chemo and surgery it will be gone ! I had partially responded to inoperable primary peritoneal cancer by half way and at the end of chemo pet scan was clear ( even without surgery ) good luck- the treatments can work really well , love Hilary x
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i thought you might appreciate it xx
Good News.
Surprise Scan Result
Scan results all good. 
Good News!!!
Good news hopefully
