6 weeks out of tx for SCC BOT Stage 3/4. Had 42 radiation & 3 cisplatin. Had my first post-tx scan on Friday.

Just got back from meeting with my surgeon. He said the CT looked pretty good. There is still lymph node enlargement on the right side. There is also mild enlargement near the original tumor site. e'd like to do a selective neck dissection for the right side nodes. While he's got me out, he'll biopsy the original site.

I think this all makes sense, but is there anything I should consider/ask about?

Clint

David had a hot spot on the PET scan 6 weeks post treatment. The nurse kept assuring us not to be alarmed...btu that the doc would need to biospy it to be ont he safe side. Since rads continue to work for 4-6 weeks (or more) after treatment, it is not unusual for a hot spot to show up on a PET scan at 6 weeks. He had the biopsy and it was clean...btu while they ahd him out, they went ahead and scoped his throat since he was complaining about not being able to swallow very well. I was havig to cut his pilsl in quarter and they were still stickign in his throat (these pills were the size of an aspirin, so a quarter fo a pill was TINY!) Sure enough, it turned out taht the scar tissue from the rads and tumor had pushed backwards from his larynx and caused his esophgus to collapse. They were able to dilate his esophagus and now, 16 months later, he hasn't had another problem.

Anyway, I don't know if this will help you any, but I thought maybe hearing that someone else had some anomalies post treatment that turned out to be benign might make you feel a little better.

I appreciate it. I've seen so many "I'm cancer free!" posts & I was hoping to add mine. Guess there's more work to do...

Clint, I know that there is nothing I can say to put your mind at ease but I just wanted to let you know that I also had a lymph node that never shrank and I always seem to have mild or minimal mucosal changes on all my sacns since. The only reassurance I can offer is that was over 7 yrs ago.
Best wishes,
Mark D.

Clint, I had almost the same results you have. I finished the end of Sept. and had my CT and they have found a lymph node that is still enlarged too. I go in on the 28th for a ultra sound then if they see concern in it, they will do a needle biopsy! So i do know how you feel, but i have also been told not to worry to much about it, ( yea, like that is going to happen, after being through this) All we can do, is hope...other than the enlargement, i am feeling better and better everyday, I just cant wait to be "normal" again

Best of Luck to you, let me know how it went, and i will let you know what they say about mine too!

We discussed the needle biopsy, but he said that he would recommend the surgery regardless, so I decided to skip it. I'm mre worried about the biopsy of the original tumor. It'll be good to know, but I'm scared to death that it will come back positive. I don't even know what they'd do then.

As several folks have said it is not at all unusual for something "suspicious" to show up on a first scan. Especially one done only six weeks out of treatment, the usual recommendation now is 3 months for a first PET/CT, to reduce (but not eliminate) the risk of false positives.

We asked our ENT what he would do if Barry's PET/CT showed something suspicious. He said, he would order an MRI of the area, then wait a month and do another PET/CT and see what changes had taken place. If it still looked suspicious, then surgery or biopsy might be in order, depending on location.

Fortunately Barry's PET/CT showed nothing that was not obviously inflammation from the treatment. His second scan, which they do at Hopkins at 6 months, showed that all this had resolved and there was no sign of the cancer.

Gail

Clint, I was talking to my Rad. Doc yesterday, and she said the Rad. can continue working in your body as long as 8 weeks, so try not to worry and "think positive" take one day at a time, that is all we can do!

my first two post treatment scans showed the same as yours. I also had some residual nodes...my DRs wanted to do a limited dissection and biopsy. I was feeling better and better every day and felt it was more likely scar tissue and residual swelling than anything else. So I opted to wait and see a little longer. I'm now 5 mos post Tx and the nodes are gone and I feel great. I have PET/CT scheduled for jan 8th but am confident it will be clear. My Drs supported my decision to not let them do the dissection, and now confirm that it was a good choice. Everyone is different, of coure, but this is my expereince for whatever its worth.

dw