Cancer Treatment Options Forum - January 6th, 2011 - 10 Comments
if the cancer is gone then why does she need chemo or radiation?
my mother was recently diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer..they did the major surgery (went through her stomach) and removed it all they said (it was 3inches by 4inches)..
anyway if they removed it why are they saying that now she either needs chemo or radiation?
is it that they found more or because of cancer cells?
i live in another state so therefore cannot go talk to her doctor..
any ideas??
Likely for precautionary methods. Just cuz they can’t see any cancer, doesn’t mean there aren’t any cancer cells in her bloodstream just looking for a new place to take up residence. The chemo/rads will kill any stray cells floating around.
If a single cell has escaped the surgery it can start a new tumor growth.
Chemo and radiation are often used as a precautionary measure to lower the risk of recurrance.
Usually chemo is done just in case a few cancer cells have entered her blood stream. This is done to try and get rid of any, its just a precaution. Radiation is done also at the site to get rid of any remaining cancer cells that are unseen by surgeons.
When they do surgery sometimes they don’t get it all out, so they like to follow up with chemo to kill any cells they may have missed. It’s routine & done all the time. As far as speaking with her doctor, as long as your mother gives permission you can call him & explain who you are & the MD will tell you her problems & treatment he is doing. In most states there are privacy rules all medical personnel must follow where the patient has the right to only tell her condition to certain people, so just follow the rules so you can be reassured. If you can, I’d advise you to also plan to visit her. Sometimes FAMILY is the best medicine. Good luck.
They removed the tumor or tumors. They can’t get the microscopic cancerous cells that will eventually turn into another tumor without chemo or chemo/radiation.
Megan (handofhope), what cancer were you diagnosed with? What chemo did they put you on? When were you dx? Just wondering, cause I haven’t seen you on here and I was dx with brain cancer also.
Even tho I went through getting my thyroid out because of cancer, I went through the radiation to make sure that all of the cancer cells were killed off. It’s just a precaution. They got all of mine, but for a peace of mind and because I had two types of thyroid cancer, I did the radiation. If you mom put down in her records that you can get information about her, then you can call and talk to her doctor. With my mom, she has lung cancer, and we are on her medical records, even my daughter (nurse) so that she can call her doctor for information.
most of the time when they remove a tumor they do follow up treatments like chemo and radiation for back up. radiation usually goes around the targeted area of surgery and chemo is to remove any cancer cells still there that radiation doesn’t kill don’t panic most of the time it is likely that they use these tactics for precautionary situations.
The reason why they are doing Chemo or radiation is because it was at stage two (How far it spread). The other reason is because they want to prevent it from comming back!
Hope this helps!
Good luck, i know cancer is a hard thing but i know she will get through it!
It’s called "adjuvant" chemotherapy. Cancer cells are tiny, and can be left behind in surgery. You can’t see tumours until they have got growing for a while. The chemo will kill off left-over cells, and reduce the risk of a recurrence.
This therapy (adjuvant chemo) is standard practice for colon cancer at stages 2 & 3
Good luck to your mother, family and you!
Post-surgical chemotherapy is routinely administered to "poison" any remaining cancer cells the surgeon may not have cut out. Even if only a very few are left behind, the tumor will most likely grow back, so the best way to kill them is with chemotherapy. With larger tumors, the treeatment usually starts with surgery because enough chemo to kill a big tumor would also probably kill the patient.
Colon cancer is a fairly good cancer to get, if you insist on having cancer; success rates in treating it are very, very high, and chances are your Mom will be fine now…