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Flare phenomenon 6 weeks after final chemo? Good news
Hello all.
Roughly 6 weeks since hubby’s last chemo, he had another nuclear bone scan.
The report indicated increased size and number of lesions - but flare phenomenon may be considered.
Upon reading more on this, it sounds likely to be flare phenomenon, and that’s what I’m hoping. Oncologist appointment is on Monday.
Overall, he has been feeling better, although progress is slow (as to be expected). He has some fatigue, but is showing improvement. He doesn’t have any increase in pain.
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Good news from the oncologist this morning - she said "everything looks great".
The CT scan was reassuring as it showed no progression of the cancer.
There were some 'flares' on the nuclear bone scan, but she said they are likely due to the treatment - after successful therapy for metastatic disease, the healing processes of new bone formation can cause an initial increase in tracer uptake, and scans carried out during this phase are likely to show increased intensity and number of hot spots.
The long and short of it is the treatment worked and is continuing to work. Fingers crossed for the long term!
He still has some fatigue (to be expected), as well as a few other lingering symptoms from the treatment, that will take time to improve. The good thing is there are no new symptoms, and none are worse.
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1 Reaction@canadaanne, thanks for explaining the flare phenonomen. A bone scan flare phenomenon is a temporary worsening appearance or increase in the number of bone lesions on a scan. It actually signals healing and a positive response to cancer treatment rather than disease getting worse.
Here's an interesting article:
- Flare phenomenon in prostate cancer: recent evidence on new drugs and next generation imaging https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7907710/
Were you aware of flare phenonemon when you read the scan result? How are things now? Is the fatigue improving?
@colleenyoung
I’ll check out more of the article later - that’s a lot of info to absorb! Thank you.
The oncologist had mentioned ‘mixed results’ and flare at a previous appointment, so that was good when I looked at the results. She also explained it at the follow up.
The fatigue is slowly improving. I know It will take time.
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