Appt with surgeon tomorrow....

pauley13 said:

Thanks for all the info.

Thanks for all the info. Others i have talked to about the da vinci has also said recovery time was shorter than open, but they also had gynecological surgeries vs urological.   Da Vinci is big around here now so alot are doing just that.

I think you will be amazed at how easy it is on the body. I don't know if you have experienced regular sugery but you will be up and about within  24 hours after this op.

Are you on nights, or just up early?. It is only just after 11 am here in France.

Djinnie x

pauley13 said:

Thanks for all the info.

Thanks for all the info. Others i have talked to about the da vinci has also said recovery time was shorter than open, but they also had gynecological surgeries vs urological.   Da Vinci is big around here now so alot are doing just that.

Count another vote for the early date - I'd take it without a moment's hesitation. 

You are young, fit, you have a tiny tumor and the op will be laparoscopic (why can almost no-one spell this correctly?!) - you shouldn't have any problems at all - even with the travelling two weeks later - just take all the sensible steps to make the journey as comfortable as possible. 

All the stres and anxiety of having this hanging over your Family until September is a much less attractive prospect.

pauley13 said:

So I had my appt today with

So I had my appt today with the dr.  he explained to me all about surgery, how long i will be under, how long i will be in hospital, and all kinds of other details that i cant remember....but i need some advise from everyone on what to do next. first available is July 1 (i am scheduled that day),  however i have my kids to think about, a vacation already booked and paid for July 13-21. they think as long as i take it easy i will be fine on vacation...13 days post op?? As long as i just lay around, which all our plans are is to lay on the beach for a week.  BUT if i want to wait till after vacation, i cant get in until Sept, he will be on a 6 week vacation.   Would you guys wait it out or get it over with and let the healing begin?? 

thanks,

Crystal

I have a hand assisstent radical nephrectomy.  I ended up canceling a vacation 2 months post op because I did not think I could do it.  It is major surgery.  You need to let your body heal.  with that said, I had complications (wound got infected...).  I am still in pain one year out.   Optionally, you could have the surgery right after the vacation.  It will be the last time you feel good for a while.  RCC is usually not that agressive, and three weeks should not matter.

pauley13 said:

Im sorry you had a rough

Im sorry you had a rough time.  i was given a choice of July 1st or mid September for surgery.  I am afraid i will in pain but then again i am afraid of driving everyone insane waiting for September

I know, though.  The car ride will be tough.  You will need to stop a lot.  Three weeks, I could see delaying the surgery.  Thee months, no.  Can you cancle the vacation if you are not up to the trip?  For example, on the 10th of July you realize things are not going well?  It also depends what you are doing...I was planning on flying cross countyr then driving the oregon coast.  About 2 weeks before the trip, I realzied that it would be a really bad idea.  On the other hand, 6 weeks after my lung sugery (removing a met), I did a solo trip to florida for spring training.  everyone and eveery sugery is different.

good luck. 

Texas_wedge said:

Early date

Count another vote for the early date - I'd take it without a moment's hesitation. 

You are young, fit, you have a tiny tumor and the op will be laparoscopic (why can almost no-one spell this correctly?!) - you shouldn't have any problems at all - even with the travelling two weeks later - just take all the sensible steps to make the journey as comfortable as possible. 

All the stres and anxiety of having this hanging over your Family until September is a much less attractive prospect.

Get it out and celebrate at the beach.  I had a motorcycle crash, 6 broken ribs, punctured lung, fractured scapula, and a severe concussion, CT in the ER found my tumor.  Four weeks later I had a lap. rad. nephrectomy, five days after that they made an 8" incision and went into my chest through the broken ribs to repair damage from the crash, two weeks later I was back at work (desk job) and would not have passed on a trip to the beach except it was December and Michigan beaches were white with snow.  Will you be sore, probably, but you won't be lying there thinking about cancer, you'll be showing off your scars and telling everyone "Can you believe it, 2 weeks ago I "HAD" cancer!".

Texas_wedge said:

Early date

Count another vote for the early date - I'd take it without a moment's hesitation. 

You are young, fit, you have a tiny tumor and the op will be laparoscopic (why can almost no-one spell this correctly?!) - you shouldn't have any problems at all - even with the travelling two weeks later - just take all the sensible steps to make the journey as comfortable as possible. 

All the stres and anxiety of having this hanging over your Family until September is a much less attractive prospect.

My surgery was a hand assisted laparoscopic radical left nephrectomy. We went on a 1 week vacation 13 days post-op. I would say that as long as you aren't planning a Disney trip or horseback riding or something else strenuous you will probably be fine. For me the hardest parts were the drive (~4hrs, but it wasn't horrible) and sleeping. I took pain meds at night just to help me sleep b/c I couldn't get comfortable. Honestly I think going on vacation, relaxing and soaking up some sun as opposed to sitting in my house, helped me recover faster!

Just make sure you are comfortable with whatever you decide.

Note** I didn't drive, my husband did! (I'm on my iPad and I can't go in and change "drive" to "car trip"  for some reason..)

MDCinSC said:

I'm with Texas Wedge on this

I'm with Texas Wedge on this one!

Get it out, over and done. At two weeks with a hand assist laparascopic I was driving, albeit not far. I substituted in a class for a four hour stint. Was I tired? Yes! Was I sore? Occasionaly.

I would say, using Icemantoo's logic, that roller coasters are OUT! So would be scuba diving, sky diving, alligator wrestling, mountain climbing, panning for gold in the Yukon, and a number of other heavily physical options.

If we are talking about beach time, hotel time, being lazy and taking the opportunities for numerous breaks and naps and letting your partner take primary rsponsibility for the kiddos, then get the surgery and get that vile thing out of you. Then take the vacation and let others take the lead in everything except you resting and enjoying the trip!

Send me a post card!

Michael

I am sure you wll be fine.  I went to a family wedding  by air to the midwest  10 weeks post op from a hand assisted lap.  I wasn't in any pain or anything but of course I had to act like a big man and pretend I was 100%.  I think this was more a l guy type mistake and I ended up pretty  exhausted.  As long as you are not doing anything physicially demanding I don't think you will have any problem whatsoever.  In fact I think the opposite is true.  You sit around for a couple weeks watching TV and it is really boring. It can drive you nuts especially with almost everyone being nice to you and everyone else pretending to be).    That kind of stuff can wear pretty thin.  Family Friends Beach!

pauley13 said:

Thanks everyone for all the

Thanks everyone for all the info you have shared....I go today for all my pre-op stuff, then Friday for a Angio, then Monday i will be in surgery to kiss this cancer good bye!!! Wish me luck!!

You're going to be fine - you won't need luck, but, of course, we all wish you the very best of it anyway and look forward to hearing a good account from you by about this time next week.

pauley13 said:

So I had my appt today with

So I had my appt today with the dr.  he explained to me all about surgery, how long i will be under, how long i will be in hospital, and all kinds of other details that i cant remember....but i need some advise from everyone on what to do next. first available is July 1 (i am scheduled that day),  however i have my kids to think about, a vacation already booked and paid for July 13-21. they think as long as i take it easy i will be fine on vacation...13 days post op?? As long as i just lay around, which all our plans are is to lay on the beach for a week.  BUT if i want to wait till after vacation, i cant get in until Sept, he will be on a 6 week vacation.   Would you guys wait it out or get it over with and let the healing begin?? 

thanks,

Crystal

Hi, Crystal.

I'm sorry to hear you are going through this.

I had a radical nephrectomy two and a half weeks after I got "the call." 

That was the worst time of my entire life.  i was so horrified that this "thing" was growing inside of me, all I could think of was getting it out of me.  A friend told me about how he wanted to take an Xacto knife to an excruciatingly painful boil rather than wait to see a doc--which sounded like a very reasonable solution to my problem.  Thankfully, we both waited for treatment from trained professionals.

Followed up with surgeon one week post-op. He confirmed that it was Stage II RCC and that they got  it all.

Physically, I'm fine.  The incision site is a little tender yet, and I'm pretty easily exhausted (100 + degrees in Abq is probably contributing to that, though).

Emotionally, I'm a disaster.  I think going back to work on Monday will be good for me--I have WAY too much time right now to think about what happened over the last month.

Emotional state notwithstanding, in my case, having the surgery almost immediately was the best thing that could have happened.

God bless you, Crystal, and I'll keep you in my prayers.

pauley13 said:

Thanks everyone for all the

Thanks everyone for all the info you have shared....I go today for all my pre-op stuff, then Friday for a Angio, then Monday i will be in surgery to kiss this cancer good bye!!! Wish me luck!!

Kicking it in the keister is far superior to kissing it goodbye!

This thing is trying to hurt you. It is your enemy! Do it dirty!

Waiting anxiously hear back!

Michael