My dad had a colonoscopy on March 20th.
He had a "mass" which after biopsy turned
out to be cancerous. A CT scan done on
March 26th. The doctor said the lymph
nodes look fine, but they need to do an
Ultrasound to confirm that the cancer has
not spread outside the colon and determine
the stage and how they will proceed. They
scheduled the Ultrasound for April 3rd and
then have an appointment set to meet with
a "team" of surgeons on April 15th to
determine exactly what they need to do.
My question is doesn't this seem like a
long drawn out process? Isn't time of the
essence? Shouldn't the time from the
diagnosis to the surgery be quicker?
One of my reasons for concern is that my
Dad is going to the VA Hospital and I am
very unfamiliar with whether they provide
the best treatment or not. From my Dad's
impression, they are really busy. Does
that mean his care will suffer? My
parents are living on a very fixed income,
but I would like to help be sure they are
getting the best treatment possible.
Thank you for any info you can provide
whether good or bad.
Jean
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MandMs
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 26 Jan 2007 Posts: 1857 Location: Strumica, Macedonia
Thanks: 20
Thanked:10
Hi, Jean! Posted: 04-01-08 04:50am
Patients treated at any hospital center,
should receive effective therapy for colon
cancer (there is a great improvement in
diagnosis and treatment of colorectal
cancer)
The most important thing to do before
starting with treatment is to decide on
the best treatment for patient's
colorectal cancer, which depends on
knowing its stage.
Doctors will do tests to 'stage' the
cancer to determine how best to treat it.
And, in most cases, the actual size of the
tumour is not the most important factor
that determines outcome. More important is
how much the tumour has spread.
What kind of symptoms your father had?
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JeannieMB
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 31 Mar 2008 Posts: 2
Thanks for the response Posted: 04-01-08 10:14am
My dad has had some blood in his stool,
although not much. He originally though
it was hemerroids which he battles often.
He had a stool sample checked during a
routine overall exam at the VA Medical
Center. They confirmed blood in the stool
about a month ago, then scheduled him for
the colonoscopy.
From what they told him after the CT scan,
the cancer doesn't appear to have spread
to the organs and the lymph nodes looked
good. Which is definitely reassuring.
My only concern at this point is whether
they are continuing to move things along
rapidly enough. An ultrasound is
scheduled for the 4th of April and then he
goes back on April 15th for a consultation
with a "team" of surgeons. After that is
when they schedule the surgery.
I haven't been able to find anything on
the internet as to how quickly colon
cancer spreads. The doctor told my dad
last night that a few weeks won't matter -
is he right? I know people have to be
their own advocates, but we don't want to
be unreasonable either.
The fact that my dad is going to the VA
Medical Center and not getting any second
opinions was a little bit of a concern as
well, but I truly hope that what I've
heard so far on the VA surgeons being very
good is correct.
|
MandMs
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 26 Jan 2007 Posts: 1857 Location: Strumica, Macedonia
Thanks: 20
Thanked:10
Posted: 04-14-08 03:28am
I was trying on several occasions to find
some info about exact time needed for
colon cancer to develop from first to
second stage, but, in vain.
I agree with the doctor who told you that
couple of weeks won't matter. For ex., it
takes 3 to 7 years for cancer cells to
divide to form a local cancer of 0,4 inch.
What are the ultrasound results like?
Please, write back about tomorrow's
appointment!
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