Connect
← Return to How do I get a call back from clinicians?
Discussion
How do I get a call back from clinicians?
Lung Cancer | Last Active: May 11 11:12am | Replies (8)Comment receiving replies
Thanks for your reply. PET scan confirmed cancer . Since Interventional radiologist could not get good biopsy, didn’t know if if’s lung metastasis or adrenal cancer. Now we know lung metastasis bc LC chemo eliminated the mass.
Surgeon is a surgical oncologist. Both he and oncologist said to finish chemo then recheck. Since there was a possibility that chemo would eliminate mass, but Oncologist would still think gland should go, then I think Adrenalectomy should have been performed when mass was present.
I understand surgeon and I understand oncologist, but I want what’s best for my husband. We are where we are now, and it looks like husband will be subjected to radiation bc oncologist fears cancer specs and another PET now will not reveal them. Or we get a second opinion surgical oncologist.
Replies to "Thanks for your reply. PET scan confirmed cancer . Since Interventional radiologist could not get good..."
Connect
@abob, there is no such thing as "lung chemotherapy". All chemotherapy attacks the quickly-replicating cells in your body. Chemo doesn't recognize cancer, at all. That being said, there are different chemotherapy drugs. For example, my nonsmall cell EGFR Exon 19 mutation was treated with a combination of Carboplatin and Pemetrexed. However, Carboplatin and a couple of others are used both in the treatment of adrenal cancer and lung cancer. Do you know which chemodrugs were used? Maybe that's what your doctor meant by "LC chemo". For example, Carboplatin is a platinum-based chemotherapy drug that is used to treat both cancers, but Pemetrexed is not used for adrenal cancer.
There may be multiple reasons your doctors are reluctant to surgically remove the adrenal glands. They sit on top of the kidneys, so there is the usual risk of bleeding and infection, plus the risk of damaging nearby organs. In addition, they produce the hormones that regulate blood pressure and sodium and potassium levels in the body. Ongoing low sodium levels are why I have a Nephrologist on my team. They also regulate cortisol levels, which affects metabolism and blood sugar levels. Sigh, I get those checked regularly as well. And I still have both of my adrenal glands.
It sounds like you do feel you have a good relationship with your Oncologist. I know how hard it is to feel that we are completely in their hands, but we are. They're the ones who went to school for a dozen years, including residency and everything else they have to go through to practice. And they're the ones reading the latest medical studies, trying to keep up with this rapidly developing field.
All the best to you and your husband.