Hi Doreen here...
Lee had 1st MRI following surgery, (and chemo/rad which ended mid July.) Scan showed "fluid collection" and "abnormal Tissue" in another area. This fluid collection opened up and drained pus. We are now packing 2x daily with strip gauze and is on Clindamycin. Our real concern is the abnormal tissue. Docs did scope him and saw "no evidence of cancer" day before MRI. They are considering biopsy or maybe doing another MRI in month or so. Also said could just be post rad changes. But they did say they were concerned. I am sick with worry-he has suffered so much and is only now beginning to feel human. I don't think he-we can take much more. Has anyone heard of this? I have read here several times that it isn't cancer til they say it is, but I feel like I'm on the edge right now. WE have a followup in 3 days, but I'm going crazy in the meantime. I'm sorry if I sound so needy.
Thanks for any info.
Doreen

I am sorry you had to hear that Doreen. There have been many people here that heard the same thing and it turned out fine (I think Gary had several such scan results). "Abnormal tissue" happens because of healing and because of radiation besides the possibility of cancer. Yes he should have follow up but it could very well be nothing to worry about.

Doreen,
I can really empathize with your being "sick with worry." II have been there myself. But Mark is right about changes due to radiation and healing as a possibility. I know that our doctors wouldn't even do the first scan until about 3 months post radiation/chemo because of all the scar tissue, damage from radiation, etc.

I'll be thinking of you and hoping things turn out well.
Anita

Hello Doreen,

Having an MRI so soon after treatment is rare. Most wait at least three months to six months out. Gives the body time to heal. Many of us have had false positives on the first scans after treatment. I hope this is true in your case. Try not to worry and remember he can beat this!!!

All My Best, Danny Boy

Thanks for the info. They did the scan 7 weeks out because he was having a lot of neck drainage and they were looking for possible fistula,infection, etc. They did tell us the MRI after rad can look like a scrambled mess and must be correlated with physical findings, so I will try not to worry.
Thanks
Doreen

I just had a question.... Danny Boy & others stated that generally it is best to wait for up to 6 months to scan so that the results are accurate and not misleading due to the radiation and healing. If the cancer was not obliterated from the treatment (in my moms case imrt & chemo) wouldn't that give the cancer time to start to metastasize?

I am so stressed about waiting for too long to hear what the response is. My fear would be that it would be spreading while we are waiting. Isn't there a way to find out sooner? My Mom is 3 weeks out from her last imrt and chemo. We have no clue if it worked.
Tami

Tami, there are a couple of issues here. First off most scan modalities can't pick up tumors larger than 2mm anyway and a lot of the time it's scar tissue or other false alarms. The early scans can cause a lot of angst. They will be examining her with visualization and palpation which is the gold standard for followup anyway.

They should have done a midpoint ct so they should have a clue whether it worked or not...