Help, please...I need Answers - Cancer Message Board

Flash13 · 09-06-2003, 10:51 PM

Hi,
I have a few questions and I will explain why. To start, my Uncle has cancer in his arm. It started out like a golf ball lump under his skin on the top of his forearm. He has had one hell of a battle with it. First, they biopsy, then removed the lump, then they said they got it all. Then it came back so they “removed the rest” and said they got it all. Now, it came back, they have taken most of his muscle off the top of his arm and it is now on the bone. They are going to do radiation and if that doesn’t work then amputate.
O.K., here goes....My mom now has a lump the size of a golf ball in her forearm, on the underside (where your elbow creases) They are not blood related and live 2500 away from each other. How freaky is this!!!!
Anyway, The doctor said it is a cyst, but the MRI showed something in the center of it that looks suspicious. On the report, the called it a “possible soft tissue sarcoma”. I asked the doctor if it is a usual site for a ganglion cyst (what they said it could be) and he said “no not really.” So of course after what my Uncle has just gone through and is still facing, we all are scared to death for my mom. My question is, why would they do a biopsy? They said the would go in, cut on the lump and biopsy it. Should it come back cancerous, then they would go in and remove it. Why wouldn’t they just remove the whole thing now? Why wait for a biopsy? Wouldn’t time be of the essence here? That’s what they did to my Uncle....first doctor appointments, scans and tests, biopsies, then removed the cancer. It appears as though if they would have jumped on the situation right away, he would have had a better chance. Is doing a biopsy really necessary? Also, is it true once you open up a cancer site, it spreads????
Thanks...Please...I hope someone can put my mind at ease. I am trying not to show fear because my mom isn’t. She is just convinced that it’s nothing because it’s too far out to happen twice in one family. She said positivity is the key and not to be negative. Please someone give me something positive to grasp onto!!

projapoti · 09-07-2003, 09:38 AM

Quote:

My question is, why would they do a biopsy?

Because it would dictate what type of surgery they will do following the results of the biopsy. You see, if it's cancerous, they not only have to take out the lump, but a large area around it...if it's a cyst, they just take out the cyst. The difference is a huge amount of tissue loss. You don't want the doctors taking out the lump with lots of extra tissue around it if it's just a cyst.

Quote:

Why wouldn’t they just remove the whole thing now? Why wait for a biopsy?

I hope I answered this above.

Quote:

Wouldn’t time be of the essence here?

Well, yeah, it is. But I think they suspect that it is probably a cyst (with the ultrasound you can tell whether there is fluid inside the lump, and if there is, it is less likely to be cancerous)

Quote:

That’s what they did to my Uncle....first doctor appointments, scans and tests, biopsies, then removed the cancer. It appears as though if they would have jumped on the situation right away, he would have had a better chance.

Not necessarily true. They had to find out the characteristics of the tumour in order to proceed with the planning of the surgery; otherwise it would have just been a hack job. I know it seems to you that they didn't know what was going on...you have to remember that cancer just needs 1 bad cell to accumulate in to a tumour. They have to make sure that they get every single cell when they are slicing it out--this takes planning and they only want to cut what's necessary to cut.

Quote:

Is doing a biopsy really necessary?

For most cancers to characterize the lesion, yes.

Quote:

Also, is it true once you open up a cancer site, it spreads????

It can....but cancer surgeons are trained for years in how to properly resect tumours.

Flash13 · 09-07-2003, 12:12 PM

Hi,
Did I understand this right....if it has fluid in it it is less likely to be cancer??

They do see fluid and said it is a cyst, but there is something in the center of it that needs more investigation.