My father was diagnosed July 2010, twice daily radiation, 6 cycles chemo and PCI he was declared NED he has been clear for 3 years and went for his last PET Scans and they found a mass in his abdominal wall in the umbilical area where he once had a hernia repaired in the same area. Post surgery they removed the whole thing and biopsied it and it came back as Rhabdomyosarcoma now were being told he may have to be operated on again to clear the margins. It's localized. Everything else is clear per the PET Scan. What is the prognosis with something like this? He recently had bladder tumors removed via cystoscopy and hydrocele procedure done, are the two cancers linked? I never worried about the bladder cancer, the SCLC was a miracle in itself now this? I just can't find any information on it anywhere. He is 70 years old and the last three surgeries took a huge toll on him.
Thank you in advance
Reply # - June 17, 2014, 07:05 PM
Reply To: 3 Years NED with LTD SCLC, new Diagnosis
We really don't have the expertise in sarcoma here, nor the details in his case, to offer any information on prognosis. His doctor will need to address that.
It's hard to imagine how these could be linked. There are rare genetic syndromes that can lead to an increased risk of sarcomas as well as various other cancers, but that's usually when someone pops up with multiple cancers before age 40 or 50. If someone over 70 has several cancers over time, it's more likely to just be a coincidence of unrelated events, unless it's a cancer in the radiation field many years later, or a leukemia that can develop years after treatment with certain chemo drugs for breast cancer. These are examples of secondary cancers induced by the prior treatment -- but that doesn't sound like the situation here.
Good luck.
-Dr. West