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07-12-2007, 08:00 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 63
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Brain Mets MRI -How to Read?
For those who have been diagnosed with brain mets - I'm wondering how your radiologists have read that the mets have "resolved". I've seen some people post that they have been told their brain has been declared "NED" or something similar. I'm just wondering if that means that the lesions no longer show up on the MRI - or if the edema has been resolved - or something else? It seems that some continue to show necrotic lesions - but I'm wondering what others have experienced.
With much gratitude,
Amy
__________________
Amy age 37 at dx
Feb 2008 Multifocal DCIS
Apr 2008 Bilateral Mastectomies
Sister to Laura age 37 at dx
April 2006
9 cm ER-/PR- Her2 +++/bone mets
neoadjuvant TCH plus Zometa
November 2006
bilateral mastectomy - Change to ER+/PR- Her2 +++
January 2007
innumerable tiny brain mets - WBR
March 2007
good response to WBR - some gone, all smaller
currently on Lapatinib and Xeloda
Feb 2008
Brain MRI: brain mets went from innumerable (jan '07) to 5 (june '07) to 3 (oct '07) to 1 that is getting less conspicuous(feb '08) PET/CT: Slight uptake in some sclerotic bone mets
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07-13-2007, 05:22 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: RHODE ISLAND
(Ed getting me a latte on 2nd Cancerversary Cruise 2008)
'BELIEVE': To accept as true or real, To have faith in, To presume
ALWAYS BELIEVE
Posts: 2,999
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Good Question
Good question that I need the answer to also, just keeping this post atop so we can get some answers!!
Waiting For A Miracle...and expecting one soon>>Believe51
__________________
9/7/06Husband 50yrs=StageIV IBC/HER2+,BoneMets10/06TaxotereX10,'H'1X wk,Zometa,Tamoxifen4/12/07Last Tax5/18/07Pet=Rapid Cell Activity,No Organ Mets,Lytic Lesions,Degeneration,Some Bone Repair5/07ChemoFail6/01/07Pleural Thoracentisis=Effusions,NoMalignantCells6/19/07+7/2/07DFCI
6/25/07BrainMRI=BrainMets,Many<9mm7/10/07WBR/PelvisRad37.5Gx15&Nutritionist8/19/07T/X9/20/07BrainMRI=2<2mm10/6/07Pet=BoneProgression
10/24/07ChemoFail11/9/07A/Cx10,EndTam12/7/07Faslodex12/10/07Muga7512/13/07BlasticLesions1/7/08BrainMRI=Clear4/1/08Pet=BoneImprovement,
NoProgression,Stable4/7/08BrainPerfect5/16/08Last A/C8/26/08BrainMets=10(<9mm)9/10/08Gamma10/30/08Met=5mm12/19/08Gamma5mets5
12/22/08SpinalMets1/14/09SpinalRads2/17/09BrainMRI=NoNewMets4/20/09BoneScan5/14/09Ixempra6/1/09BrainMRI=NumerousMets6/24/09DFCIw/DrBurstein6/26/09Continue
Ixempra/Faslodex/Zometa~TM now lower7/17/09Stop Ixempra By Choice9/21/09HOSPICE10/16/09Earned His Deserved Wings And Halo=37 Month Fight w/Stage 4 IBC, Her2+++,My Hero!!
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07-13-2007, 12:45 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 484
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NED is not a really well defined clinical term. In my case, the edema and the lesions were completely gone on the follow-up MRI, so I considered myself NED.
Necrosis can have complications as well, causing edema and pressure on the brain, but is not clinically cancer, so I would consider myself NED if necrosis was present but not active cancer tumor.
I know different people have different definitions, but go with whatever one makes you happy!
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07-13-2007, 01:13 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: RHODE ISLAND
(Ed getting me a latte on 2nd Cancerversary Cruise 2008)
'BELIEVE': To accept as true or real, To have faith in, To presume
ALWAYS BELIEVE
Posts: 2,999
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I love your smile
Esther, I love your spirit. You are an inspiration to all, and that smile speaks a thousand words!! As far as I am concerned, you are in NED!!
Waiting For A Miracle..and expecting one soon..>Believe51
(and if anyone knows it is Esther!!!)
__________________
9/7/06Husband 50yrs=StageIV IBC/HER2+,BoneMets10/06TaxotereX10,'H'1X wk,Zometa,Tamoxifen4/12/07Last Tax5/18/07Pet=Rapid Cell Activity,No Organ Mets,Lytic Lesions,Degeneration,Some Bone Repair5/07ChemoFail6/01/07Pleural Thoracentisis=Effusions,NoMalignantCells6/19/07+7/2/07DFCI
6/25/07BrainMRI=BrainMets,Many<9mm7/10/07WBR/PelvisRad37.5Gx15&Nutritionist8/19/07T/X9/20/07BrainMRI=2<2mm10/6/07Pet=BoneProgression
10/24/07ChemoFail11/9/07A/Cx10,EndTam12/7/07Faslodex12/10/07Muga7512/13/07BlasticLesions1/7/08BrainMRI=Clear4/1/08Pet=BoneImprovement,
NoProgression,Stable4/7/08BrainPerfect5/16/08Last A/C8/26/08BrainMets=10(<9mm)9/10/08Gamma10/30/08Met=5mm12/19/08Gamma5mets5
12/22/08SpinalMets1/14/09SpinalRads2/17/09BrainMRI=NoNewMets4/20/09BoneScan5/14/09Ixempra6/1/09BrainMRI=NumerousMets6/24/09DFCIw/DrBurstein6/26/09Continue
Ixempra/Faslodex/Zometa~TM now lower7/17/09Stop Ixempra By Choice9/21/09HOSPICE10/16/09Earned His Deserved Wings And Halo=37 Month Fight w/Stage 4 IBC, Her2+++,My Hero!!
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07-13-2007, 07:39 PM
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#5
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Founder - HER2 Support Group
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Carlsbad, CA
Posts: 361
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Amy,
Brain mets may take months to completely resolve. Generally the physician who reads the MRI's compare them to previous ones. Hopefully they will show a marked decrease as the treatment takes effect.
Edema is actually a leak in the blood brain barrier and may be a blessing in discuise. Some oncologists believe that this may permit chemo treatments an opportunity to enter the brain that would have otherwise been blocked.
Hugs
Christine
__________________
1990, July DX 1.1cm er-, pr-
Lumpectomy, 5U4, radiation
1999, June mets to chest and brain
HER2 3+++, er- pr-
AC, Taxol, Herceptin, Gamma Knife (3 treatments) WBR
NED July 2001
December 2001 - Founded HER2 Support Group
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07-13-2007, 07:50 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 63
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Thanks, so much, for your responses.
I'm just trying to figure out what a "good" MRI would read. It seems to be a similar situation in both bone and brain mets - where you often continue to have something show up on scans, but the news is positive according to the oncologist. And then again, I sometimes read that others have scans show up as "clean" or "NED" or something similar. It all seems like semantics, but it makes you question if things are really going in the right direction.
Fondly,
Amy
__________________
Amy age 37 at dx
Feb 2008 Multifocal DCIS
Apr 2008 Bilateral Mastectomies
Sister to Laura age 37 at dx
April 2006
9 cm ER-/PR- Her2 +++/bone mets
neoadjuvant TCH plus Zometa
November 2006
bilateral mastectomy - Change to ER+/PR- Her2 +++
January 2007
innumerable tiny brain mets - WBR
March 2007
good response to WBR - some gone, all smaller
currently on Lapatinib and Xeloda
Feb 2008
Brain MRI: brain mets went from innumerable (jan '07) to 5 (june '07) to 3 (oct '07) to 1 that is getting less conspicuous(feb '08) PET/CT: Slight uptake in some sclerotic bone mets
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