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Thank You Ladies for your help and helping others that will read this !!!
Hi Susan,
I was ductal..non invasive.....in the distant past i had heard of
cancer to the eye but never in a million years connected BC with the
eye..what a bummer!!
I was diagnosed in August 1999. Had radiation to both eyes and they have not recurred. Bones seem pretty stable (extensive
but stable),
however in the last year the liver and lungs have progressed some. Anyway, I'm one of the "old time" metsters, having plodded
along with this stinkin' stuff for 6 1/2 years.
I also love my Retina Doc, he's the best, I see him every 6 months now.
Jeanne
(I added this with this in here because the sinus so close to the eyes)
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Cavernous sinus tumors
• Acute or slowly progressive ophthalmoplegia is the dominant presentation, with diplopia (double vision) being the
most common symptom.
•
• At times, painful diplopia is present.
•
• Usually the patient has a preceding history of cancer. Occasionally, cavernous sinus syndrome is the first manifestation
of a systemic neoplasm.
•
• Exophthalmos can be seen.
•
• If the tumor is a pituitary adenoma, endocrine symptoms and visual loss may be present.
when i blink, it has trouble reopening
> for a second. and sometimes, it's like someone is pulling a string on it
and
it
> sort of closes a bit for no reason. somtimes it's like someone is pushing
on
> it from the inside
out. (hard to describe). just above that eye, in my
> forehead, i also have been having a mild pain that comes and
goes, very
> infrequently at first (3 weeks ago), like, every few days and in the
morning usually.
>
now it happens even other day or so, sometimes a few times a day.
> it's kinda freaking me out.
Debbie,
I developed a tumor behind my left eye last July. One of the symptoms was
ptosis, which was a gradual inability to
move my left eyelid. Finally, my
eye stayed shut and I was unable to open it at all. My other symptom was a
chronic,
excruciating headache behind my eye and extending upwards into my
head. The tumor was too small to be seen on CT scans
at first and it took
three months of head scans to finally see it. I also had an ocular
ultrasound, which gave
us a much better picture of it. I had focused
radiation to the tumor in October and I now have clean scans.
I'm on Taxol now for liver and skin mets and whatever might still be in back
of my eye.
Karon**********************************
A book called FOREVER MOM. It was
written by Kelly Ashey, and just published this year.
In fact, Amazon
has it set for release in March. Kelly's recurrence was
to her eye also. She tells about her journeys to Sloan Kettering,
Columbia and cancer centers in FL. She also tells of a spiritual
awakening during that year of dealing with
the eye.
It is such an unusual place for a recurrence,**********************
I've been having head aches and beyond fatigue for a few months now
but we did an MRI and the brain showed clear....skull
is full of mets and so
is mastoid. I also have a lot of weakness in lower legs and my eyes are
becoming extremely
sensitive to light.
Eye Exam: Examination of the eye by an ophthalmologist (a medical doctor
specializing in diseases of the eye) is the
most important step in
diagnosing melanoma of the eye. The doctor will look for enlarged blood
vessels on the
outside of the eye, which can indicate a tumor inside the
eye. Using an ophthalmoscope, the ophthalmologist can get
a very good look
inside the eye and detect a tumor or other abnormality. Most of the time
this examination alone
can make the diagnosis. To confirm the diagnosis,
imaging tests such as ultrasound may be required. Very rarely, will
a biopsy
also be needed.
Ultrasound: This test works by "bouncing" high frequency sound waves off the
tumor and reading their pattern. It is
the single best test for diagnosing
eye melanomas because they have a characteristic appearance on ultrasound.
Using
this test, doctors can confirm a diagnosis of melanoma of the eye in
more than 80% of cases.
Angiography: This is another technique used by ophthalmologists to help
diagnose melanoma of the eye. A fluorescent
dye is injected into the
bloodstream through a vein in the arm. Pictures of the back of the eye are
taken with
light that causes the dye to fluoresce (glow). Although melanomas
do not have a special appearance with this test,
some other eye problems do.
Doctors can use this method to tell if something is not a melanoma.
Computed Tomography (CT or CAT scan): This test uses a rotating x-ray beam
to create a series of pictures of the body
from many angles. A computer
combines the information from all the pictures to produce a detailed
cross-sectional
image. To highlight details on the CT scan, a harmless dye
may be injected into a vein before the x-rays are taken.
CT scans may
sometimes be helpful in diagnosing eye melanomas.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): This procedure uses large magnets and
radio waves instead of radiation to produce
computer-generated pictures of
internal organs. The pictures look very similar to those of a CT scan, but
are
more detailed. MRI may also be useful in diagnosing melanomas of the
eye.
Biopsy: In this procedure, a small needle is passed into the eye, and cells
from the tumor are sucked up into a small
syringe. After processing and
staining, a pathologist (a doctor who specializes in looking at tissues
under
a microscope) examines these cells. Although a biopsy is recommended
for confirming the diagnosis of most cancers,
it is usually not used for eye
cancers because it is very difficult and risks damaging the eye and possibly
spreading
the tumor outside the eye. Because of this, and because almost all
cases can be accurately diagnosed by the eye exam
and imaging, most people
with melanoma of the eye are treated without having had a biopsy. ***************************************************************************
I kept noticing these flashes in the
> bottom of my field of vision. Then every day it
> creeped up a little
higher. It looked like flashing
> worms wiggling around in a circle... like cells moving
> under a microscope.
By the time I got back and saw my
> onc, 12/21, he just couldn't believe my eyes had
> anything to do with the
cancer. Two days later i went
> to the optmitrist to look at my retinal pics and the
> rest is history, albeit,
very recent Hx.
>
> I'm seeing one of the top rentinal oncologists in the
> country (so they tell me)
Devron Char in SF, who
> believes in tx w/ chemotherapy first to see if you can
> shrink the tumors down w/o
having to do rad. Then you
> can save the rad for later if you need it. So i'm on
> taxotere and adria weekly
plus 2000mg Xeloda po daily.
> My eyes haven't gotten worse since my 1st tx, last
> thurs and then a 2nd this
thurs but they aren't better
> yet either. I have one brain lesion in my cerebellum,
> 8mm. Because of it's
size they are not too concerned
> about it yet. My lungs are affected bilaterally and my
> bones too. But for
right now I'm symptom free except
> for the eyes.
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I also have a sore eye upon waking in the morning with water
in the eyelid. It is very sensitive to light. Just this
morning the
other eyelid has retained some water in the lid. I'M A MESS. Since about
a month I cannot look straight
forward and see normally because my
vision is distorted. I recently found out my right eye is partially
FROZEN.
It can't track with the left eye. It is visably out of whack
when I try to focus upwards to onlookers.************************************************************
*******************************
Harrrrrrrumph. Girls. Can we talk pain here? I had a small one-centimeter
eye tumor in the summer of 2003 which
caused me life-altering pain. I mean,
the pain was so horrible that I pleaded with my doctors to amputate my head.
I was hospitalized twice for pain and given Demerol and Morphine around the
clock. For several MONTHS, no one
could say for sure whether I had an eye
tumor or not because it didn't show up on my scans, so I was tentatively
diagnosed
with: a.) pesticide poisoning, b.) sudden onset of migraine, c.)
cluster headache, d.) CNS mets, and e.) brain mets
(don't ever mention
spinal tap in my presence). Finally, the tumor grew enough to be visible on
a scan and it
was easily radiated. To this day, my left eyelid droops.
Apparently, the tumor, small though it was, was sitting on
a nerve bundle
behind my eye.
Now, really, who can top that? Is there some sort of award around here for
worst pain? I am nominating myself.
Karon (Karon is no longer with us, but many will always remember her.)
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