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Why aren't oncologists recommending RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION?
Hello!
My sister has been surviving with ovarian cancer after having been diagnosed with stage III 5 1/2 years ago. She is now platinum resistant.
CT scans showed that she had 2 tumors in her liver and 4 cancerous lymph nodes.
In her oncologist's waiting room she read an article about the use of RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION being used to treat tumors resulting from OvCa at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Her oncologist advised against it, but my sister decided to go for it!
She contacted MGH radiology, sent her CT scans for review, was accepted and just last week had RFA done on her liver tumors! They appear to be GONE!!
She had a couple of days of feeling sore, but today tells me that she is feeling BETTER THAN SHE HAS IN YEARS!! She has energy and her terrible back pain that she has been having to take morphine for daily, seems to be gone!
She will have a follow-up PET/CT in a month to be sure that the liver is clear- and, the radiologist said the IF any tumor is left he can "re-ablate" it!
The lymph nodes were too close to the aorta at this time, so the radiologist along with an OvCa oncologist from MGH are planning to try to shrink them with a combo of Avastin and Cytoxan and, if need be then re-evaluate whether to use RFA or surgery later to remove them.
My question is: With such great statistics on RFA- tumors often "killed permanently", WHY IS IT THAT RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION is not being recommended by oncologists?
Thank you!
Crayolabarb
My sister has been surviving with ovarian cancer after having been diagnosed with stage III 5 1/2 years ago. She is now platinum resistant.
CT scans showed that she had 2 tumors in her liver and 4 cancerous lymph nodes.
In her oncologist's waiting room she read an article about the use of RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION being used to treat tumors resulting from OvCa at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Her oncologist advised against it, but my sister decided to go for it!
She contacted MGH radiology, sent her CT scans for review, was accepted and just last week had RFA done on her liver tumors! They appear to be GONE!!
She had a couple of days of feeling sore, but today tells me that she is feeling BETTER THAN SHE HAS IN YEARS!! She has energy and her terrible back pain that she has been having to take morphine for daily, seems to be gone!
She will have a follow-up PET/CT in a month to be sure that the liver is clear- and, the radiologist said the IF any tumor is left he can "re-ablate" it!
The lymph nodes were too close to the aorta at this time, so the radiologist along with an OvCa oncologist from MGH are planning to try to shrink them with a combo of Avastin and Cytoxan and, if need be then re-evaluate whether to use RFA or surgery later to remove them.
My question is: With such great statistics on RFA- tumors often "killed permanently", WHY IS IT THAT RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION is not being recommended by oncologists?
Thank you!
Crayolabarb
they do use it and recommend it on patients like your sister who have very specific lesions like she does in the liver. they can do it there. The type of tumor that OC is in the abdomen does not lend itself to RFA in many instances.
This is what I wrote in an earlier post that Alan had put up:From what I've read they use it in OC and pretty much any cancer when there are contained tumors, ie one area in the liver, no inflitrates. Same with the lung or the kidney or lung, not good for us who scatter the disease all over the place. Oh for the cure.
Your sister is one of the lucky ones, not everyone gets successfull second surgery as I did with a team of 3 specialists. It depends upon the Gyn/Onc and how much they have kept up, and make referrals. Good luck to you sister may the chemo do well on the lymph nodes.
The discussion was 8/3, you can review the post.
This is what I wrote in an earlier post that Alan had put up:From what I've read they use it in OC and pretty much any cancer when there are contained tumors, ie one area in the liver, no inflitrates. Same with the lung or the kidney or lung, not good for us who scatter the disease all over the place. Oh for the cure.
Your sister is one of the lucky ones, not everyone gets successfull second surgery as I did with a team of 3 specialists. It depends upon the Gyn/Onc and how much they have kept up, and make referrals. Good luck to you sister may the chemo do well on the lymph nodes.
The discussion was 8/3, you can review the post.
The only way we are going to get the Onocologists to listen to us is too go where they do the best work on eradicating this disease.
You know what assuming stands for, but I'm going to give it a shot. Many probablly don't have any experience (extensive or otherwise) with it, thus while it may be 'proven', it's "unproven" to them. Doctors like routine...things that have worked for them in the past. This may be scary and unknown for them. Maybe there are not enough studies for them. Maybe they are awaiting the NCI to say it's recommended. Who knows. It's up to us (the patients and caregivers) to do exactly what your sister did....take your healthcare in your hands. My mom's new oncologist said it right...mom's the pilot, she's the co-pilot.
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