CT Scan shows mass

[Miasmom]

I welcome your opinions on this. I was originally diagnosed with stage 3c high grade serous ovarian cancer in 2009. Went thru 6 rounds Taxol/Carboplatin and was NED for 10 years. This April it came back. Went thru another 6 rounds, just had follow up CT Scan, it shows what might be a mass in my pelvis area. They were unable to needle biopsy due to my intestine being in the way. My Dr wants me to start on Rubraca and rescan in 3 months. Do you think waiting is a bad thing? They found no other evidence of cancer cells on my scan.

[Hidden]

Hi - I think the fact they wanted to biopsy indicates that they are not sure weather the mass is cancer or not, the plan is probably to treat and see if it disappears. This happened to me with lesions in my liver, after 5 or 6 cycles one has disappeared one has shrunk? I decided initially to go ahead with treatment as my CA125 was very high and I had ascites.

Good Luck x

[Miasmom in reply to Hidden]

Thx Lyn, my CA125 never elevated this time so it is frustrating not 100% knowing. I am going to hope in 3 months they can get a good look and feel confident about it not being anything to worry about. Take care!

[Hidden]

Hi Miasmom. This is a dilemma, isn't it?! I was diagnosed 3C in 2010 high grade serous. Two ops, 6 rounds chemo. Remission for 18 months. Then found swellings in my groin (lymph nodes). This is how it got started initially, so I knew it was back, so did my onc. Nothing seemed to prove it tho - 2 x needle biopsies, 2 x ultrasounds, a CT scan. Ca125 was only 19 but we knew it was back. Then a routine mammogram found it had already metastasised to my left breast. A PET scan then proved its presence (and that it was OC, not BC).

I thought it needed to be treated immediately as it was clearly happy to travel to places I didn't want it getting to but my onc wanted to "watch & wait", saying it was just as easy to treat with chemo further down the track but all I could see was that it would leave 'seeds' from which to re-grow at a later date.

As luck would have it, my onc went on long-service leave at that point & I saw his partner instead, who said he had a trial starting & was I interested. Indeed, I was, so I began on Carbo/caelyx/avastin (you call avastin by a different name), with avastin continuing indefititely as long as I had no major probs with side-effects & I kept within the trial rules. 5.5 years later, I'm still on the wonder drug, Avastin, which for me has been so successful.

I know this doesn't solve your problem but I hope it gives you a few more ways to look at the dilemma. Best wishes. Pauline.

[Miasmom in reply to Hidden]

Pauline, I hope all is well with you. It is a hard road to travel for sure. So many tests, so many treatment options. Take care!

[Lindaura]

Dear Mia,

One of our ladies on here always insists on a PET scan, if CT results aren’t clear.

Insisting is hard, but it seems like a smart way to go.

Who knows?

Maybe it is a benign mass that needs to be surgically removed.

Whatever it is, I believe further investigation is called for.

Good luck with this.

You have a hard choice, but you can do it.

Hugs,

Laura

[Miasmom in reply to Lindaura]

Thanks, it has been a journey. Due to other issues he doesn't want me to have surgery at this time. So that limited the ability to access the area. It is very frustrating that these things are not always clear to see if diagnose. I have to see him again shortly, I think I will have a deeper conversation with him about the PET scan then. Take care!

[shortfriends]

Hi, I agree with Laura, she has gained much more experience and knowledge than many of the doctors we see! Although it is difficult, please insist on the scan, an apology for not doing that later on does not help! I speak as someone whose GP insisted I did not have cancer until I had reached stage 4!! I now trust my own instinct and the opinions of the experienced members here. I do not mean to worry you or be negative but I feel getting reassurance and answers is very important, for your mental health if nothing else. Whatever you decide, remember you know your body more than anyone else and I believe you have the strength to challenge decisions appropriately. I wish you good luck , resilience and the warmth and support of all your forum friends. Please let us know how you get on. Lots of love Pat xx

[Miasmom in reply to shortfriends]

Thanks, it is so confusing really. They think the mass is part of my bowel or how I healed after surgery. They had to remove part of my colon and I currently have an ostomy. That side is where much of my detached bowel is. They are having me start on Rubraca, probably next week as they are working on approval. Just so tiring sometimes. I really appreciate everyone's responses, they are so helpful!