Did your tumor grow?

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hray1993
hray1993 Member Posts: 342
edited May 2020 in Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After

During chemo did anyone's tumor shrink and then grow? My tumor started at 3.5x3cm at diagnosis (on biopsy/MRI) and when I started chemo two months later it was 7x7cm (by physical exam). I keep a check on it and I notice when it changes and I had told my oncologist I felt like it was bigger and he measured it and I was right. It measured 7x7. He said it could have grown or it could be scar tissue from the biopsy. Well, I'm on a clinical trial and along with taxol I was also receiving pembro and SD101 injections directly into my tumor. I felt like the injections really helped a lot and at the last injection I got he measured it by physical exam and it was 3x3. It was very squishy feeling and obviously felt a lot smaller and we could move it around a lot. Since my last injection, 4 weeks ago I feel like my tumor has gotten a lot more firm. Feels like a rock in there and it feels much bigger than it did when it measured 3x3. I haven’t had any injections or shots since then for this new growth to be scar tissue I just finished up 12 weeks of taxol last week. I will have a biopsy and MRI tomorrow to see where were at before starting AC next week so I'm anxious to see what size it is on scans and physical exam. I feel like it's going to be bigger than 3x3cm. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this happen, your tumor shrunk during chemo then got bigger? Any experiences I'd love to hear. I'm sure I won't know the results of my tests until I start AC on the 21st

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  • buttonsmachine
    buttonsmachine Member Posts: 930
    edited May 2020

    hray, if I remember correctly, one doctor told me that tumors sometimes appear bigger or "flare up" during chemo because they are irritated - hopefully because the chemo is killing the tumor! In my case though, my cancer did actually grow on chemo, which was not great. I guess either thing is possible. I hope you get good results, please keep us posted.

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  • hray1993
    hray1993 Member Posts: 342
    edited May 2020

    That gives me a little hope that it may not actually be bigger. Thank you! I’ll definitely update once I find out size. I’m going to see if my oncologist will do a physical measurement today

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  • hray1993
    hray1993 Member Posts: 342
    edited May 2020

    Buttons machine, how much did your tumor grow on chemo? Also, how did they know that it grew and didn’t just flare up

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  • hray1993
    hray1993 Member Posts: 342
    edited May 2020

    I’m done with my mri and biopsy. When I went for my biopsy I asked what size it was because I felt like it was bigger and she said she didn’t want to go over another radiologist so she couldn’t tell me exact size but that it is bigger since my last mri

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  • buttonsmachine
    buttonsmachine Member Posts: 930
    edited May 2020

    Hray, my situation was a bit different, because I had skin lesions over my right breast. While I was on dose dense AC chemo the spots on my skin actually got bigger and became more firm. Since the breast cancer was on my skin, it was easy to see the growth increase. An oncologist I saw for a second opinion thought that the skin lesions were progressing, rather than just being inflamed due to irritation from chemo.

    Different people and cancers respond very differently - the upside of doing chemo first is that you have a better idea of how well the chemo works on your cancer. I hope you get some answers soon - waiting can be so hard!

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  • hray1993
    hray1993 Member Posts: 342
    edited May 2020

    thank you. All I know so far is that it is bigger than it was on the last mri. She wouldn’t tell me the size but I did look at my scan of my mri and the ultrasound when they did the biopsy and it looked a good big bigger So I’m pretty concerned.

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  • buttonsmachine
    buttonsmachine Member Posts: 930
    edited May 2020

    Yeah, it is a scary thought for sure. If there is growth, hopefully they can try a different drug combination that will be more effective. I'm hoping you get good news when you talk to your doctor.

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  • hray1993
    hray1993 Member Posts: 342
    edited May 2020

    I start AC chemo Thursday and that's when I'll be meeting with my doctor. So I'm sure the treatment plan won't change since I'll be starting a different chemo anyways. I was on 12 infusions of taxol and immunotherapy pembrolizamab and SD 101 injections. Now I'll just have 4 infusions of AC then surger

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  • hray1993
    hray1993 Member Posts: 342
    edited May 2020

    I just Talked to my doctor about my scans I just got. He said my tumor has grown. The previous mri was 2.9cm and the mri Friday it was 5cm. He said it seems to have built up a resistance to the chemo but we are started AC chemo on Thursday and he's pretty sure that will knock it down but that we will be on high alert and if it seems to get any bigger during AC then we will stop and go straight to surgery.


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  • buttonsmachine
    buttonsmachine Member Posts: 930
    edited May 2020

    I'm hoping the AC chemo works better for you. Sometimes chemo can be really hit and miss, and it takes a couple tries to find the one that works for you.

    After TC and AC didn't work great on me I did eight cycles of Xeloda, after my chest wall resection surgery. For me Xeloda was the mildest chemo, and your hair usually even grows back on it! So if your doctor mentions that as an option don't be discouraged.

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