When a misdiagnose can be fatal

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When a misdiagnose can be fatal

Postby grandmaturtles » Mon Mar 05, 2012 3:57 pm

Star was dx in April 2009 with what they thought was rectal cancer. When she went in for the biopsy, the doctor/ surgeon took out her anal sphinter as well as performing the biopsy. She didn't start chemo ( mitomycin & 5-FU) once a week and radiation until July of '09. She was given a PET scan shortly there after and it showed the cancer was found in her lymph nodes on the left side of her groin. After completeing her chemo and radiation, the oncologist's told her she was in remission and everything was fine.


Fast forward to November 11, 2010...She had found some lumps on the right side of her groin and it was found that the cancer did in fact come back. It was also found that not only did the cancer come back to the groin area, but it spread to her labia, and anus and nodes. Now she was staged at lllb Squamous Cell Carcinoma. This time around she went to a NCI hospital in Madison, WI. And she found an old pathology report, dated from April 2009, which stated in black and white, she was dx with SCC of the anus in situ. She started Cisplatin once a week along with radiation everyday for 4 weeks, then will stop the radiation and continue with the high doses of Cisplatin for the next four weeks. When she went back to the onco she explained that she felt her lumps were coming back and they told her they didn't think it was cancer.

In March of 2011... She contacted me and told me she was scared that the doctors weren't listening to her and she was afraid that she would be staged very soon at lV or worse. I made some calls and sent her to Dr.Amy Halverson who specializes in anal cancer out of Northwestern University , Chicago,Il. Star contacted them and they told her the doctor's she was seeing at the NCI hospital knew what they were doing, but they would look at her to see if perhaps they could help a bit more as Dr. Halverson specializes in anal ca. Her apointment was for March 2012 and guess what they found.......Her thoughts were right, she was now told she had less then a year to live, she was in fact..in end stage. They told her they couldn't do anymore surgery because of all the radiation she had and that she could continue with the chemo, but Star, didn't want to. So they put her on some maintanence drugs and she basically left treatment to go and live her life as best as she could.
In June 2012 she saw her first born grand daughter being born and spent a few months in TN with her son and daughter -inlaw and the new baby. She started to take vitamins and learned some relaxation tips and started swimming for exercise, she seemed to be doing rather well honestly. The lumps were still growing but not causing her any pain. In January of this year she started hospice and the cancer had spread into her thighs and she no longer could walk as she was wheelchair bound and her fatigued levels were getting the best of her. Last month the pain was getting worse and at our last phone call, her and her husband were planning a trip back to TN to see their granddaughter turn 1. As of today March 5,2012 she is still living and beating the odds.
grandmaturtles
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Feb 29, 2012 4:26 pm
Cancer Diagnosis: squamous cell carcinoma of the anal, stage lllb
Relationship To Patient: Self

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