Just beginning this journey

I'm 63 and had a total hysterectomy at 1:00 p.m. on September 30th using the DiVinci robot.  I literally danced out of the hospital the next morning.  If I had to, I could have gone to my office job the day after that.  I never had to use the Percoset that was prescribed.  If your post operative healing goes like mine, you could take that trip with no problem.  

But, prior to my hysterectomy, the preliminary diaganosis was Stage I, Grade 1 regular old endometrial cancer.  My doctor thought surgery would take care of it.  After the hysterectomy, that changed drastically to Stage II, Grade 3, UPSC which meant I had to have chemo started ASAP.

By the way, welcome to the board.  We have a wonderful group of women who support each other through thick and thin.

Love,

Eldri

I am sorry that you are going through this cancer experience, but you have come to the right place as the ladies here are knowledgeable and caring.  When I first learned that I had adenocarcinoma, my gyn oncologist told me that it was curable.  Well, he then did a biopsy and the results came back that I had a grade 2 uterine cancer.  I was concerned, as grade 2 is more aggressive than grade 1.  It was not until after I had my DaVinci robotic hysterectomy surgery that I received the results of the lab analysis of my tissues: I had stage 3a, grade 3 cancer called UPSC or uterine papilliary serous carcinoma. This was terrible news to receive.  Ask you surgeon to do a CA-125 blood test before you have surgery for possible baseline purposes and ask if he will be removing lymph nodes and your omentum. He should also be doing a peritoneal wash in the very beginning of your surgery to determine if you have cancer floating around in your peritoneal cavity (I did).   I did not have a CA-125 blood test nor did I have my omentum removed, both of which are standard operating procedures for UPSC. My doctor didn't think I had UPSC from the biopsy report alone. This is not unusual, as often it is not until after the tissues are removed and analysed that the exact type of cancer is identified.  It is also not unusual to have more than one type of uterine cancer, such as endometriod, UPSC, clear cell or sarcoma.    I had 14 lymph nodes removed and all were free of cancer.  I started chemo 5 weeks after my surgery as I sought a second opinion about treatment and then six months later a third opinion.  Treatment is based on research, so the standard of care is similiar for women diagnosed with grade 2 or grade 3 uterine cancer.  Sometimes, a woman only has surgery.  Sometimes, she may have chemo only or chemo with radiation later. Prior health must figure into treatment choices.  My cancer was high up in the uterus, so I didn't have brachytherapy (radiation to my vaginal cuff). Two gyne oncologists didn't think it was necessary.  I highly recommend that you get copies of all your important reports such as your biopsy report, your operative report, your lab report of your tissue analysis and the results of any Cat scans or MRI's. 

I hope all goes smoothly and well for you on the 4th, BabyCoach.

Cathy 

Hi Baby,

i feel your pain. I'm scheduled for hysterectomy on St Patrick's Day. My family had planned a trip to Tuscany on April 12. As much as I really want to go, I'm being realistic since my path report shows endometriod high grade and now my CT scan is showin suspicions nodes. Pretty sure I'm on my way to chemo. So even if I "danced" out of surgery as Eldri did, I'd be concerned about blood clot risk on the flight over, general fatigue, and being in an unfamiliar area should I have any surgical complications. Plus the anxiety of wanting research impending treatment and start ASAP would put a damper on the trip for all. I've resolved I'm not going but will always ache for The missed opportunity we were so looking forward to. 

Good luck, Baby. I hope your news is all good. 

BabyCoach said:

Cheesey:  I'm expecting the

Cheesey:  I'm expecting the same!  One of the particular problems is a non changeable (what was I thinking) reservation in a St. Petersburg hotel for 5 days.  I'm preparing to beg to postpone that reservation.  I"M GOING!!  Maybe not this May - but I"M GOING.   You should too.  Let your family scout out some recommendations for you next Spring.  Tuscany is too good to miss.  I'll be holding you close on Thursday.  Let us hear back. 

Thanks Baby!

My son has the most adorable girlfriend who has Italian heritage and speaks the language. They traveled Italy for 3 weeks before graduating from college a couple years ago and now are working professionals. My son found this smoking deal for all of us to go so they could show us around. He's our only child and I feel so lucky that they like to spend time with us. So it's a disappointment for all of us. Fortunately, I think I can get our money refunded (for immediate family members) because I charged all of our tickets on my Chase Visa. We didn't bother with trip insurane. But I wouldn't be able to get the girfiend's money since she's not related.  So I'm going to encourage my son and his girlfriend to go  It's only 8 days and nothing is going to happen in that period of time  

Maybe check on your credit card. They may refund the hotel money. I was surprised mine had this policy but my son told me to check, and yes it did. I'm sure there are some hoops to jump through but hey, I've got a pretty good excuse. 

Thanks for the well wishes and please keep posting because we'll be looking to see how you are doing