Steve is home...path report....

nancyann3
nancyann3 Member Posts: 173 Member
in Esophageal Cancer #1
Steve came home today. He continues to improve, altho he doesnt feel like it...lol. He is weak, but can get around for short periods. We have known that he would take a little longer to bounce back because he went into surgery weak. He is cleared to have a full liquid diet, but is still hesitant.

Now for the path report. We will see the surgeon Monday for more interpitation, but some I can make out. Out of 17 nodes removed, 4 were positive. The path staging is T3N2MX. 6.5cm of esophagus and 8cm of stomach was removed. The proximal and distal margins of resetion are clear.

I am the kind of person that looks at "the glass is half full" so I betting on the tumor and those 4 nodes is all their is. But thats just me thinking.....lol. Its not what I wanted to report to say, but wont let it slow us down either.

Now we focus on recovery. Thanks for all your prayers.

Nancy

Comments

  • sandy1943
    sandy1943 Member Posts: 824
    #2
    Nancy, So glad the surgery
    Nancy, So glad the surgery went well. Recovery is a slow , but each day will get better. After surgery in may '08, I tested positive in one node, but today I am still testing cancer free. I only had the start of the first post op chemo and it had to be stopped. I thank the Lord that what I did have, helped.
    I'm praying that all Steve's days ahead will be good, and he will regain his strength fast. He needs to eat and stay hydrated, and exercise. this will help him to regain the strength.
    Praying for you both,
    Sandra
  • paul61
    paul61 Member Posts: 1,392 Member
    #3
    Great to hear that Steve is home!!!!
    Nancy,

    Great to hear that you and Steve are back home again and that Steve is improving. It will take some time. My first two weeks home consisted of trips from the bed to our reclining couch in the living room and back at the end of the day. I made occasional short walks around the house to insure the blood in my legs got moved around a bit. After the first couple of weeks it was short trips to the mailbox and the end of the road and back. My mind always thought that I could do more than my body wanted to do, so I had to learn to listen to my body.

    Like Steve; I had a positive node in my pathology report. Of course at first I was very disappointed because I knew it meant follow up chemotherapy. But then I thought, “the key thing to remember about the pathology report was that the positive cells were found in one of the lymph nodes that had been REMOVED”. “They were no longer in my body”. The follow up chemotherapy is to insure that cancer cells wandering around in the blood stream are killed as well.

    I will admit that the follow up chemo was not easy while recovering from surgery, but I made it through and am doing much better now.

    I have read some postings on this board where people have been told by their oncologist that follow up chemotherapy does not change the outcome after surgery. They suggest that once the surgery has been completed and the affected nodes have been removed that chemo is not necessary. I don’t agree with that. I wanted to make sure I did everything I could to improve my chances of staying cancer free. I hope if your oncologist recommends it, that you and Steve choose to do the same.

    Best Regards,

    Paul Adams
    McCormick, South Carolina

    DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
    12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
    2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
    6/21/2010 CT Scan NED

    Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!
  • linda1120
    linda1120 Member Posts: 389
    #4
    Thinking of You
    Hi Nancy,

    I want you to know that you and Steve are in my prayers and thoughts. I know that this wasn't what you wanted to hear on the pathology report, but like Paul said, thd esophagus and the nodes are now out of the body and hopefully you will have them do chemo to get any possible cancers floating around just waiting to multiple.

    I am so happy that you have Steve home. He will heal faster and be more comfortable with you. It takes a long time to recover, especially when you are weak going in. Be patient because his new body parts need to heal and he also will be going through some psychological adjustments as well. Jim's surgery was 1-5 and he is still very much in the healing stages. He does have heart complications which affect him. It truly is a journey.

    Linda
  • BMGky
    BMGky Member Posts: 621
    #5
    Hope all goes well when you
    Hope all goes well when you meet with the surgeon. Sounds like he's doing great! Hope he continues to do so. Mary
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #6
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