ct scan results, very worried

[zu11y]

hi all, my mother has been told she has a mass on her brain as revealed by a ct scan , i managed to right some of the reports on paper before visiting time was up any ideas on what this is? and how serious it sounds?

ct head:unable to gain venous access. non contrast examination performed. apparent solitary mass in the right mid brain extending up through the cerebral penducle as far as the inferior right thalamus , rather heterogenous but generally high in attenuation values with central cystic areas ,

thats all i managed to note down, will get the rest up tomorrow

so from the above any ideas

[rumpled]

Thanks!
I am off for my own CTs and PET scans coming up so keep your fingers crossed!

[zu11y]

just a quick update for you guys, my mum is doing great now doctors decided to giver her letrozole as it is showing promising results for patients with ovarian cancer. id like to thank everyone on this forum who helped me cope

and a special thanks to rumpled (i pray for your long life and good health so often its unbeleivable)

[rumpled]

I hope your mom continues to make progress and gets better. Weakness is not fun.

Are you also posting on the ovarian cancer community? The folks over there are super nice and may be able to give you some tips and support as well!

[zu11y]

hii sorry guys been a while since i last logged on, been extremely busy with uni life, my mum when under 6 round of doxil and another drug, on her ct report the doctors were extremly delighted that both tumours had shrunk significantly, they then decided to give my mother gamma knife radiation, we are awaiting follow up checks of the head to see how it has worked, as for the abdomen tumour, it has shrunk alot however my mum still gets pains but that could be from other things such the stent she has in she also has frequent visit to the toilet which sounds odd if it was related to a tumour as i would have thaught that it would of cause a blockage rather than frequent toilet use.

other than that she is great still in a very weak state due to the amount of chemo and lack of activity over the past 6 months but it seems like a dark cloud has lifted over the family

thanks for all the support guys will keep you all updated

[rumpled]

There should be one doctor that is managing the case overall even though many doctors are working with her - so find a nurse or a social worker and ask them to give you the name of that doctor and the contact information. Get that doctor to give you the straight story.
You are not expected to know what is going on - but the doctor(s) are and if you are not happy - you should be able to get another opinion as well as seek care at another location.

[zu11y]

the docs here dont have a clue as to what they are doing and neither do we, due to the different departments ascoiated with my mum we cannot find the head of the case but on my mums nxt meeting i will go have a word with the doctors

[rumpled]

Glad you came back for an update but sorry to hear about your mom. The cancer as well as the medications can change mood and memory so it is hard to tell what is what, so you have to be patient with her. I would however, be a bit up the doc's case as they don't seem to be on the ball much, huh...

[zu11y]

furthermore symptom wise its very hard to decipher weather its a symptom of cancer or jus from stress and being worried, mum is fully mobile and can walk up the stairs with a little help at the end, eating fine but rather sensitive to spice, facial swelling has been an issue but she is taking steroids and having chemo, her memory is brilliant rather funny as sometimes its even better than mine and i am a healthy 20 year old.

she has full awareness and seems with everything, so we are all praying for good news now

[zu11y]

sorry for the late update, basically the past few months have been a one sided story, with some big shocks and lots of confusion,

a abdominal mri showed a mass near the colon after a biopsy it was confirm to be a recurrence of the ovarian cancer, without a biopsy of the brain the doctors have said the brain is also cancer related, mum is now on 6 rounds of doxil and one other drug which i cant remember.

she had 2 mri scans yesterday to see how it is all looking now, but its been a rollercoaster ride, but the family is rather confused nw, her ca125 level was at 26 after her first treatment and after her third it is down to 20


will keep you all updated

[rumpled]

Oh good! At least your mom can rest a bit easier for a while... it is hard enough when you don't know then to be told silly stuff.

[zu11y]

did what you said rumpled had a word with her oncology doctor, he told us that the other hospital has not even had a meeting yet, to reach any diagnosis.  well she seems a little happier but i really do feel for her, she cant understand or speak english so hearing words like cancer or stuff like that must really make her anxious, but we are hopefull as her mri did say the appearance was typical of infection

[rumpled]

I would try to get hold of her overall doctor and let him/her know what has happened right away.

Tumor is tumor - it is treatable based on many things and not treatable based on other, but I have not heard it not being treatable just based on being metastatic... frankly usually it is size and/or location but advances these days well, maybe she was speaking out of her um...

Tell your mum to hang in - not everyone is perfect and that you are investigating. Let us know what is happening.

[zu11y]

hiii , very very annoyed today, a trainee doctor in my mother current ward said to her that its a brain metastatis and the neuro-oncology team will not be doing anything about treatment anytime soon,

now this has made me very angry, first of all how could she of made this diagnosis without a biopsy even when the mri has said it could be an infection. and secondly how can they even think about treatment when the exact course is unknown, i dont know weather is a reality or the doctor guesswork based on her ct scan and history of ovarian cancer.

this news has made my mother vey anxious and is already having a physical effect on her,

[rumpled]

The radiologist is working in isolation - and I also think he has to put some of the stuff on the report as cya... It sounds like your team has already worked out that it is not a metastasis - so that leaves all the other options. I think though the fact that they put that it *could be infection* gives another potential diagnosis so a lot has to be explored.

More testing... ugh for your mom... stress for everyone else.

[zu11y]

please take into account that the ward she is in now do not currently know the about the all clear given by the gynecology team so i dont know weather they could rule out solitary metastasis, as i believe this would mean that the cells would be ovarian cancer cells and not brain cancer, resulting in a elevated ca125 level

[zu11y]

below is the mri report from yesterday

as demonstrated in the previous ct scan there is a mass in the right side of the mid brain, the mass measures 2.5 cm, i note that the mass
is high attenuation on the ct scan


patient with known malignancy, this may represent solitary metastasis, a primary brain tumoir or lymphoma cannot entirely be ruled out.
the appearances would be typical for infection

discussion at the neuro-onclogy mdt is suggested

[rumpled]

The lack of link is good, still having the lesion is not good.
I am glad they have moved up the scan.
Keep us posted.

[zu11y]

thanks for tht rumpled

a little update and finally a bit of good news

the ct scan and mri have been changed to friday

however my mom had a meeting with her gynecology team today

she was in hospital around 2 months ago with a elevated ca125, blocked intestines and strong pains, her new bloodwork has seen her ca125 level return to normal and the biopsy of her intestestines showed no cancer aswell as her ct scan of the abdomin which was also clear, her gynecology team have informed her that this new brain issue is not linked to her previous cancer , this has relaxed the family .

[rumpled]

Some tumors can be treated with straight radiation, some respond better to other treatments like chemo - so the type of tumor needs to be determined and then they will go through all the treatments and the risks and benefits and do it based on what she has and what will work best.

I have had three family members with cancerous tumors.

[LivingInHope]

I remember I cried when I learned a loved one of mine had a brain tumor.  It must be very scary for you right now.  If possible, I recommend what she did- avoid open surgery.  She had gamma knife surgery in 2002.  There is also cyber knife and tomo therapy, which is good for larger and more complicated tumors.

[zu11y]

she seems much better from only two days of steroids,  on the doctors note i read it said  
solitary mass . d/d - suspected malignancy awaiting further testing

[rumpled]

CTs and MRIs show different things - a lot of people get both. It depends on what they are looking for and what the doctor wants to see.

The steroids are to reduce inflammation, so it may help symptoms in some ways, but do be advised that steroids themselves have side effects so if she gets cranky, tired, starts to gain weight - that is the steroids. I hope the steroids work at keeping her symptoms at bay without starting too many new ones.

[zu11y]

basically shes been having symptoms such as blurred vision and coordination issues for around 3 months, first the doctors said it was because of her diabetes, she went in for a checkup with a new doc and he performed some physical tests and recomended further scanning, she has been on the steroids for around 2 days and already symptoms are much much better

[testdeprived]

what  idont udnerstand is why theyd do a ct cscan if they were going to do an mri