Small Cell

kodvawala · New User Joined: 16 Dec 2007 Posts: 2

My Dad was diagnosed with small cell and he have had three chemo cycles, After the second cycle we got a CT scan which shows no change in the tumor, his doctor was shocked to see the results. She again did a CT scan after the third cycle and again no change. The Doctor thinks it could be non small cell and we should delay the chemo and get the sample retested. We went to get opinion from other oncologist and he says that its absurd to get so many CT scans. The tumors are some times thicker and their thickness might have decreased after the chemo but you cant see that on a CT scan. We dont know who to beleive...I am exhausted. Please help me.

a daughter

ksplat · Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:28 pm Post subject: Re:Small Cell

Hello Kodvawala
I am very sorry to hear about your Dad's diagnosis. This is a very difficult time for you & your family & my Prayers & Thoughts go out to you all.
I know from reading many posts on this forum that the chemo therapy will continue to work for a while after ceasing medication so I can understand a "wait & see" approach. But firstly you need to have the cancer diagnosed & find out if it's a "small cell" or "non small cell". Perhaps you need to go back to the first Dr & tell him you would like the "type" of cancer clarified as you need to make decisions about the type of treatment most suitable for your Dad.
You definitely can't be "left in the dark" with so many unanswered questions. You need to find out more info from your Dad's Dr.
I trust you will receive information from a more knowledgeable member on this forum soon.
Where is the primary cancer in your Dad's body? If you could advise a more specific type of cancer then we could move your post to the appropriate thread on this forum. As you would be aware there are many different kinds of tumours & cancer & we would like to help you with your questions in a more specific way.
Thinking of you.
Cheers, Aussie Angie.
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23 Sep 2008
http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=19227

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kodvawala · New User Joined: 16 Dec 2007 Posts: 2

Thanks for your prayers, my dad has lung cancer and it was diagnosed as small cell. Its kind of confusing since both doctors suggest a diffrent course of action.

brainman · Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 4:48 am Post subject: Re: Small Cell

I totally agree with Angie. How can the treat without knowing what cell type it as? It is not just necessary to know what cell type "family" it is in (small cell or non small cell) but specifically what cell type. I think that staking a second look at the biopsy is the right next step. Keep us informed.

Your father is in my thoughts and prayers.
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2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
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pbj11 · Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 1293

I am very sorry to hear about your Dad's diagnosis. I see why the oncologist is confused, because SCLC typically has a fast response to chemo. For some reason, the more aggressive the lung cancer, the better response to chemo. Sometimes, for unknown reasons, tumors can be very resistant to chemo and refuse to cooperate with first line therapy, but that's usually in NSCLC.

Sounds like another pathologist should review the sample and see what they come up with. It shouldn't take much time for results at all. In NSCLC, certain staining is done to clarify exactly what type of cancer it is. I don't know if this applies to SCLC. SCLC has no sub-types and usually has a distinctive "oat-like" appearance. NSCLC has many different sub-types (squamous, adenocarcinoma, large cell, adenosquamous, and undifferentiated). I'd get the sample re-tested lickety-split and then make decisions from there.

I do understand what the second doctor is saying about thickness of the tumors, but would think that the overall dimensions would shrink also. Did you even like this second doctor? He sounded dismissive in your post.

Gosh, this is tough. People can also have a combination of NSCLC & SCLC. Did the doctor tell you that your Dad's cancer was limited or extensive?

What are the two different course of action proposed? I'm curious.

Good luck on this situation and keep us posted. Second and third opinions sometimes are needed.

PBJ
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