Ok, I'm definitley in this sorority now

I'm sorry you had to join us but you're among friends here.  Yup, it certainly does put your life on hold, doesn't it?  The first few months are especially rough as everything gets sorted out.  I had a total hysterectomy on September 30th and danced out of the hospital the morning of October 1st.  I never even had to take a pain pill.  That was the easy part.

I have UPSC, Stage II, Grade 3.  I made it through three rounds of chemo before the wheels fell off the bus.  As I've witnessed on this site, everyone had different reactions to chemo and radiation.  

I'm glad you found a good cancer team that you trust.  It seems that women near large cities have many more choices than those of us in small towns.  

Good luck with everything and keep us posted about how it goes!!!

Love,

Eldri

Hi CheeseQueen, I agree with Eldri that we're so sorry to have to meet under these circumstances. You'll find a lot of support here as you travel along your journey. At this stage, my two recommendations are:

1) be sure that you receive copies of all of your pathology reports for your files. I ended up getting 3 opinions on my diagnosis before settling on a specific treatment. It went pretty quickly because I was able to provide copies of the reports directly. Hopefully your experience will be more straightforward!

2) be sure that your surgeon is an gynecological-oncologist. They are the experts in this field and will ensure that your surgery is as effective as possible.

Good luck and please know that we're all routing for you!

Wishing you strength and good health,
Kim
Debulking Surgery 10.5 cm (TAH & BSO, 14 lymph nodes excised) - Sept 2015; 47 years old
Dx: Uterine carcinosarcoma (MMMT) Stage 1b, Grade 3 - Sept 2015
Frontline: Chemo (Taxol-day 1 & Ifosfamide/Mesna-days 1-3) - 6 rounds - Dec 2015 - June 2016
Radiation - external, 28 treatments over 6 weeks - Feb - Mar 2016

CheeseQueen57 said:

Trip

Thanks for the encouragement Nancy.

We haven't cancelled the trip yet.  Fortunately, my credit card will cover the cost of cancelling for my husband, son, and me, but NOT my son's girlfriend.  My surgeon was not too optimistic about me making the trip.  My main concerns were an 8 hour flight (blood clot risk?), not having enough energy to walk around a lot ( which I actually could deal with), or having some kind of medical emergency while in the wilds of Tuscany.  I don't think we would need to cancel until the last minute, frankly. 

How long does it usually take to get the pathology reports back after surgery?  My surgery is scheduled for March 17 and our trip is scheduled for April 12.  Perhaps there is still hope I can go

about having to possibly cancel a trip.  10 years ago I badly sprained my knee two weeks before a friend and I were supposed to leave for Australia, also a trip of a lifetime.  I was devastated, because my trip was to be a very active trip... biking, kayaking, diveboat.  There was no way I could have made that trip except on crutches, and I cried when I had to cancel.  

Now, I can say that a month after my hysterectomy, I was out on the dance floor and getting around quite fine.  However, I am not sure that I would have opted for a full-blown European vacation.  If you have the flexibility to cancel at the last minute and still get most of your money back, I'd say wait.  Listen to your body after surgey and see how you feel then about that long flight and what you may or may not feel like as far as energy level and activity. 

In my case, the pathology was back in about a week, though my follow-up appointment wasn't until a few weeks after that.

Chris

CheeseQueen57 said:

Trip

Thanks Chris!  That's encouraging.  Sorry about your Australia trip.  I would be fine letting my party go out and do things while I rested, if necessary.  I'm not the most active, physical gal anyway .  Perhaps if I committed to drinking a lot of water, wore compression stockings and got up and walked ( instead of sleeping) on the flight over, I might be able to swing this, if surgery goes well.  And as many have said, if you need follow up therapy, it's usually not scheduled for weeks after.  This trip is only for 8 days.  I think we'll wait a while before making a definite decision. 

Have you begged and pleaded and asked if there were any cancellations that you could be scheduled sooner. If you are still working that might not work but I wouldn't be hesitant to beg, plead and grovel for a sooner surgery date.  When my gyny/onc had the diagnosis of UPSC he pointed to the calendar in about one week and said I want you in surgery NOW! I think I could have put off the start of chemo a week or two but not the surgers. I was State 3, grade 3C and started chemo 4 weeks after surgery. I was almost 68 at the time and recovered very quickly from surgery.

Wishing you the very best.

Joanne

but glad you found us.  We are a strong feisty group.  You will find that you are much stronger than you ever thought you could be.  As hard as it is, the waiting to know is always the hardest part of this battle.  My Doctors have all been really good about adjusting times so I could be a part of special family events.  Hugs and prayers, Lou Ann

I so hear you. Diagnosed yesterday and have not yet learned to pace myself with information. Hardly noticed a thing yesterday morning but today I can feel the cancer metastizing! I do better with information and hope to have appointment with surgeon scheduled Monday. Just for the record, I do not want to be a cancer patient! That becomes one's identity for at least a while and I like being thought of in other ways. But here I am. Talk (often) to you later.