Just had a PET Scan this am in followup to my CA125 tripling this past 3-4 months. Does anyone know what the above means. It is evidently a nodule between my vagina, bladder and sigmoid colon in my lower pelvis. We have decided to start with chemo for 2-3 weeks before determining if surgery may be needed. The drug protocol I will be starting Friday is Gemzar, Carbo and Avastin. I previously have done 6 cycles of carbo/taxol with good results we thought until emergency surgery the 6 months later that showed cancer still remaing even though CA125 4 and CAT clear. Then did 4 month treatment with IP Cisplatin/Gemzar IV. Had no problem with either of these therapies other than usualy blood level drops. No adding Avastin, I am wondering if anyone can give me an idea of what to expect with this combination. I would really appreciate any insights in - 1) what is a hypermetabolism .....2: side effects of this combination and or Avastin.
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"hypermetabolism with an SUV of 32.4"
- By ccdatty2
- Posted June 9, 2009 at 4:06 pm · 9 replies
- In Recurrence
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- By jeaniet
- Posted June 9, 2009 at 5:56 pm
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Hypermetabolism means cancerous activity. My Onc told me that SUV over 5 is bad, so you are really up there. I have a lymph node at 16.
Jeanie
- By ccdatty2
- Posted June 9, 2009 at 7:26 pm
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Thank you for responding. Did you find that online or only by your doctor telling you. What is normal? What does SUV stand for ?
- By jeaniet
- Posted June 9, 2009 at 8:05 pm
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My doc told me, but only after I asked what it means.
SUV stands for Standardized Uptake Value. It is the measure of how much of the radioactive sugar the cancer takes in, (how active the cancer is). The higher the number the worse it is........like I said, he told me that anything over 5 is bad. So a low number is better. Higher is worse.
There can be some uptake that isn't cancer, so there is some "normal" uptake. I had a HUGE zit on my back once, and it had a tiny uptake. Also my arthritis has some "mild uptake."
If you ask to see the images, you will see how the cancer is lit up. Bright spots.
Jeanie
- By ccdatty2
- Posted June 9, 2009 at 8:07 pm
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Too bad they make it so hard to find out this information. I reallly appreciate your candor.
- By Shamrock2009
- Posted June 11, 2009 at 2:25 pm
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Pet Scan SUV elevations can be high for many reasons----any inflammation, infection, prior surgical area as well as cancer. Pet scans are not an exact science.
The following link as good information regarding false positives:
http://www.lymphomation.org/tests-PET.htm#false_positives
- By ccdatty2
- Posted June 11, 2009 at 4:57 pm
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Thank you for your post. I trust my gyn/onc and the PET Scan as neither the CA125 nor the CAT Scan have been indicative of my disease. The same day of the PET a pelvic was performed and the mass felt as it appears in the PET. Therefore, I am proceeding with 2-3 rounds of chemo and then we will redo the test before deciding on surgery.
I will keep this link handy; however, for future reference. Thank you again
- By GEPI
- Posted November 2, 2009 at 11:39 am
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Hi,
My doctor is considering cisplatin / Gemzar / Avastin. So I am wondering if you went along with the treatment and how it went - that is if you do not mind shearing.
GEPI
- By ccdatty2
- Posted November 2, 2009 at 12:11 pm
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I did proceed with Avastin/Gemzar/Carbo treatment. The 1st treatment went fine, the 2nd I had a reaction to Carbo so did not receive it then and 3rd treatment I did Avastin/Gemzar/
Cisplatin combo. This round put me down for about a week or so but after the 3 treatments the PET showed no evidence of the tumor. I am now doing continued treatment every 21 days with Gemzar only. Side effects of this treatment was the horseness in my voice off and on and continue to have mildly but irritating runny nose. My counts stayed good throughout except platelets from time to time but rebounded without need for transfusion. In anticipation of mouth sores I used my WaterPik and did it with peroxide diluted in the water and I did not have any. If you proceed with this combo, I hope and pray it works for you as well as it appears to be working for me.
- By quacker
- Posted November 3, 2009 at 10:56 pm
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The vaginal cuff must be a common area for recurrence. I have a nodule there too. The good side of a high SUV is that the tumor is growing rapidly and will be more sensitive to chemo. Mine is growing slowly and is not affected at all by any chemo. Either way, cancer sucks. The only good thing is that it makes us stronger and more appreciative of the things we used to take for granted.
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