Question: My 89 year old father had a CT scan in August 2014 which indicated "abnormal focal segmental thickening of the wall of the distal sigmoid proximal rectum for 4-5 cm segment, and similar size focal mass lesion of serosal versus gastric wall. (Diagnosed with colorectal cancer confirmed by a biopsy.) In January 2015, he had another CT which said: "Known apple core tumor involving upper 4 cm segment of the rectum dimension on the current exam measuring 4.3 cm." My father opted not to undergo any surgery, and has asked his oncologists whether the tumor has "grown" in the 5 months. They are saying "yes", but I'm not reading that from a comparison of the comments on the August CT vs the January CT. The August CT report did not say how "big" the tumor was. The oncologist is also saying that the "segment" length is more important factor than the size. But, does this mean that the segment was 4-5 cm in August and it is still 4 cm in the January CT. I can't get straight answers from his doctors who I think are "angry" that he won't have surgery. Thank you for any guidance in how to interpret the CT results.

Dr. XXXXXXX
Thank you very much. I have uploaded the August 2014 CT scan (pages 1-2) and the February CT scan report (pages 3-4). What I'm trying to determine is how much the cancer has grown/worsened in the last few months.

I also uploaded the PET scan (pages 5-6) which I understand confirms what the CT scan shows.

If you can tell from the CT scans how much worse the cancer has gotten that would be very helpful.

Regards, XXXXXXX

Thank you very much. How do you tell what grade the tumor is? The doctors of said that this is a stage III cancer. Was it a stage III cancer in August as well?
XXXXXX

Dr. XXXXXXX
Thank you for this explanation. Would it also help to get the actual images for the August and January CT scans?
Regards XXXXXXX