How long should my dad go after chemo ends before having a scan?
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Isisman,
I think some of the confusion you are feeling is related to the rarity of this cancer and the fact that there simply is no Standard of treatment after surgery (as there is for say, testicular cancer). There just haven’t been the trials carried out on enough people to say what can and can’t work. There are also different types of cholangiocarcinoma (schlerosing, nodular etc) which behave very differently.There does seem to be a Standard of treatment in the case of inoperable or recurrent CC – GemCis. However doctors are still obviously free to suggest ideas from their own experience.
I’m so sorry that you’re finding it so confusing, such a rare cancer is sadly not very well known or researched. This board does so much to drive things forward and raise awareness.
Michael, 3 months seems like a long time to wait, but I’m afraid that does seem to be fairly usual (it is in the UK) although my dad is having a CT scan the week before his chemo finishes (for the purposes of his trial).
Kate
I got scans about a month after finishing a chemo regime. The doctor said wait about 6 weeks if you have had radiation. However, I didnt have too many problems with chemo that would have caused swelling so your dads case might be different. Yet, 3 months does seem a long time.
Kris
Michael, all I can tell you is that Teddy had Radiation before his Cyber Knife 2 years ago and the Radiologist said the Radiation keeps working for about 3 months. At least that was what he told us. Teddy also had no scan until that 3 months was up.
Here is what I don’t understand. My husband had F5U too for 24/7 and radiation 5 days a week for 5 weeks. That was it. They said you wait one month after that then do labs and scans. All came back fine, so we just go back every 3 months. What I want to know is why is your husband having to go through so many chemo treatments? Why not just the first set and see how that did? Why didn’t my husband need more than one set? Everyone’s treatments and type of chemo and length of time etc are all different. It kills me. same type of cancer should be one strong documented approach. I can never understand why they are all different, by doctor, by person. My doc said 5FU is the most effective, if so, why didn’t everyone get that? My impression is that since your husband is having so many treatments, that he will need some time to stabilize himself. What I heard was the radiation works up to a month after it is done, not sure about affects of chemo in the system. I would love to say that you have to trust your doctor’s direction, but then again, I’d so disappointed in the medical profession. Only thing you can do is ask why in 3 months and not 2 or 1…
I haven’t posted in a long time but I visit the site daily. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone.
My dad who is 67 had a 2.5cm mass removed from the confluence of his bile duct back on October 14th 2009. He also had a partial liver resection.
He had chemo (5-FU) 24/7 along with radiation (5 days a week) for 6 weeks. He tolerated this fairly well with little side effects. He had 6 weeks off and then started a second chemo regimen which involved 1 treatment of Gemzar one day each week for 3 weeks on and 1 week off. He completed one cycle and wound up in the hospital. Doctors changed his treatment so that he did 1 week on and 1 week off which extended the time period he would receive chemo but gave his system some time to recover. He is about to get his last chemo treatment. My mom just told me the Doctor said my dad would not get scanned for 3 months from his last chemo treatment because the Doctor said his insides are swollen due to the chemo and the scan would not be able to pick up anything due to how swollen he is.
My questions are:
Is that common practice not to scan for several months after you stop chemo?
How long is too long to wait before scanning after chemo is completed?
Does waiting 3 months seem to long to wait?
What has your experience been for how long to wait after you finished chemo?Thank you for your time and input. I wish everyone better days ahead!
Michael
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