Floating abdominal nodule?
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Good morning,
Thank you both for the replies and trying to help me find information.
Mary- that is great information about the 2 years recurrence. In hindsight (once again) I should have insisted on a CT/PET back in Jan- or at least this time around. The last one was over 18 months ago. The ONC said that if it came back, we would see on the CT and then subsequently would do a PET. I think Dr. M’s recommendation of annual PET is better for CC.
Yup- Mom’s case is unique but we have been very fortunate. To have CC and go treatment free for years is pretty great. However, I am being greedy and hoping this turns out to be nothing. but the CA-19 rose 15 points which although not much, is something she hasn’t had before. Her biggest complaint (although she tries not to mention it) is very bad adhesion/scar tissue. She’s been living with them for decades from a hysterectomy and the aborted resection in 2013 resulted in many more.
We also mailed her scans down to Dr. Moeslein- maybe he will have some insight to offer.
Thank you!
CatherineCatherine, Marion,
When I read this, I went poking around to learn about free floating masses. I did not find much, it is apparently uncommon, but one item google produced is actually from this board. But – the individual asks the same question as you do, namely has anyone heard of this?
http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?id=1368
Regards, Mary
Catherine….So surreal for another unusual situation to pop up. I don’t recall a single case report on free floating tumors, but remember speaking with a colon cancer patient. That’s when I learned about this unusually rare occurrence.
This is one of those catch-22 situation – nodule needs to be removed due to high risk of infection and of course for diagnosistic purposes.There must be some out there reading this posting, who can help us understand.
Hugs
MarionCatherine,
I am so sorry to hear that your mother may have a recurrence after such a long spell of good scans. And how concerning that the new growth was missed in the prior scan.
I don’t have personal experience, but have tried to read as much research as I can find on recurrence – a topic that is hanging out there for many of us. My impression is that the longer the period of remission, the more likely the recurrence will be outside the liver. My impression is this is particularly the case if the patient has had liver-directed therapy (e.g., radiation) rather than systemic treatment. One study suggested the dividing line for recurrences more likely to be outside the liver is around the two-year mark. The research on recurrence however almost entirely looks at resected patients – I don’t know if the findings are relatable to remissions/recurrences after other treatments. Your mother’s experience seems unique.
And of course, sometimes recurrences show up in more than one site.
I can try and dig up some references on this if anyone is interested. Of course, when looking at the case of one individual, any scenario can happen — the studies are averages over a group.
Hopefully an approach to biopsy can be figured out quickly so your mother can move on to treatment. Best wishes and prayers for a smooth path in this.
Regards, Mary
Hello,
I thought we were done with this stuff. but looking for help from all.Mom has been fortunate to have clean scans for almost 3 years since her last Y90. Scan taken earlier this month showed ” bilobed omental nodule in the left quadrant which was 1.6 x 1.1 cm in Jan and is now 2.4 x 1.5 cm.” (they missed seeing it in Jan)
She went in for a needle biopsy yesterday. Her ONC had shown it to us on scan and said it should be easy to access since it was right along abdominal wall. So… after being scheduled for 4 pm (and fasting since 8am) she was taken back at 8pm for biopsy. It appears this “growth” is not attached to the abdominal wall but is instead floating. They moved her around while scanning, but could not get a clear path to do a needle biopsy. She got home last night around 11pm and we still are not moving forward. We are waiting for ONC to let us know plan B, but she has not returned Mom’s call yet. We think they will have to operate to biopsy- I’m assuming if they open her up they should not just biopsy but remove the whole thing (please tell me if there have been other approaches).
After my rambling- question is has anyone had a reoccurrence where the original site still looks fine? Her bile duct/liver are still looking great with NED. And, when I read about patients who have mets in the abdomen, I usually see this like “lesions”. We have one “floating” tumor that is 2.5 x 1.5 cm. The IR last night said he had warned the ONC that it would be tricky to get a needle biopsy from- he equated it to poking an olive in a jar.
Love and hugs to all,
Catherine
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